The entertainment industry was shocked when Mark Wahlberg left Hollywood, but he wasn’t going too far since he didn’t leave Los Angeles. Many of his acquaintances were horrified that the 51-year-old actor was leaving the world of entertainment for something new. The actor explained to Fox News Digital that he moved his family from their Hollywood home to Las Vegas, which is only a few hours east, “It’s really giving the kids a chance to thrive.”
Mark Wahlberg and his wife Rhea Durham have four children together. Their names and ages are Ella, 19; Michael, 17; Brendan, 14; and Grace, 13.
Mark Wahlberg spoke with Fox News Digital “It just has the best of both worlds. I know a lot of people; when they think of Las Vegas, they think of the Strip. But just about 15, 20 minutes away, there’s a whole lot of other amazing areas that are all about family and community.”
Although Wahlberg was leaving Hollywood for Las Vegas, he still held onto his aspirations for a Hollywood lifestyle. His motive was to provide his children with more opportunities to pursue their dreams, as he believed that Las Vegas would offer a greater range of options for their desired paths in life.
“My daughter’s an equestrian,” he stated. “My son’s a golfer. My oldest daughter now she’s off to college. My son’s a junior.”
He continued, “There’s lots of opportunity here as well for me. We’re trying to create a studio. We’re trying to build the shoe factory. We want to create lots of jobs here.”
Wahlberg discussed on The Talk show last fall his ambition of creating a business that would exceed the level of achievement of Hollywood and go beyond.
“I moved to Nevada where, after this gubernatorial election, hopefully, it will go to legislation and get a bill passed so we can get a tax credit for the state — build a state-of-the-art studio here and make this Hollywood 2.0.”
In April of last year, he gave a statement to Fox “We’re always looking for new opportunities and new adventures. I hope to create a lot of opportunities here. And I moved to California originally to make movies. I’ve made three movies in the last 15 years in LA. So, as you know, it’s been difficult. The kids are really happy, and it’s all about them.”
In April 2022, Wahlberg listed his Beverly Hills house for sale at $87.5 million. The mansion boasts twelve bedrooms and twenty bathrooms. TMZ reported that the property sold for over $55 million.
Wahlberg is “hoping to enlist the help of” Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo “to further his plans for a Vegas-based film studio.”
Wahlberg continued, “There’s lots of opportunity for growth here. And the government, especially our new governor, is really looking for opportunities to create jobs outside of gaming. So we’re looking to create 10,000 jobs in the studio alone. The average salary would be $100,000 more than what it is now. We want to train people both in front of and behind the camera, create jobs, most importantly, first and foremost, for locals.”
