Contemporaneous 2012 reports said Tom Cruise would pay $400,000 a year in child support for his daughter, Suri, through age 18. The often-cited $4.8 million figure is the projected total for 12 years of those reported annual payments—not a lump sum or a verified record of what was actually paid.
How much child support was Tom Cruise reported to pay?
In August 2012, the South China Morning Post reported that Cruise would pay $400,000 annually, citing TMZ and people familiar with the divorce documents. A Reuters report republished by Enstarz that month also relayed the $400,000-a-year figure and the 12-year term. The amount in those reports was annual, not monthly.
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How does the reported total reach $4.8 million?
The reported total is the straightforward multiplication of the annual figure by 12 years:
| Reported figure | What it means |
|---|---|
| $400,000 a year | Annual child-support amount reported in 2012 by the South China Morning Post and by Reuters, republished by Enstarz. |
| 12 years | The reported duration, ending when Suri turned 18. |
| $4.8 million | $400,000 multiplied by 12: a reported projected cumulative total, not a reported one-time payment or confirmed sum paid. |
The $4.8 million headline figure should therefore be read as an estimate based on the reported terms. The coverage reviewed does not provide a payment ledger or the settlement itself to establish the amount actually transferred over time.
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What other expenses were reported?
Later coverage, including a Distractify explainer, also described Cruise as responsible for medical, dental, insurance, education, college, and extracurricular expenses. The available reporting does not make clear whether these costs were included in the $400,000 annual figure or paid separately, so they should not be added to the $4.8 million calculation as though their treatment were established.
When did the reported support term end?
The reports described the annual support arrangement as continuing until Suri turned 18. UOL Splash reported that her 18th birthday was April 18, 2024. That is the reported age-based endpoint; the sources cited here do not establish any broader legal conclusion about obligations beyond the reported arrangement.
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How firmly is the $4.8 million figure confirmed?
It is a widely repeated media-reported figure, not an amount verified here through a primary settlement document or official payment record. The South China Morning Post attributed the terms to TMZ and people familiar with court documents. Reuters’ 2012 report, republished by Enstarz, said Cruise’s attorney declined to comment and Holmes’s lawyer did not respond to Reuters’ request for confirmation. No direct statement from a named person or the court confirming the specific amount appears in the cited coverage.
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