Bitcoin, ‘Home Improvement’ Trust Funds, and Default Judgments: What’s Zachary Ty Bryan’s Net Worth?

Landing a role on a major network TV sitcom that spans multiple seasons is a huge deal. Not only do you become a household name for millions of people, but these deals often come with fat paychecks for years to come. Just ask the cast of Friends, who purportedly earn $20 million each year in residuals alone.

And while the NBC series is one of the most popular TV shows ever produced, and subsequently, higher earnings for its stars, other popular shows have also left their cast members and their families set for life.

Another widely-viewed sitcom of the '90s, Home Improvement, should also have bolstered the net worth of its stars. Is this the case for Zachery Ty Bryan?

Bryan is most widely known for his role on the series, where he played the oldest of the Taylor siblings on the Tim Allen-led series. But reports about his net worth vary greatly. Hollywood Life wrote in 2025 that Bryan has a $5 million net worth, crediting Celebrity Net Worth as a source into how much money he's got in the bank.

However, the latter outlet reports a figure that's a tenth of what Hollywood Life reported, stating that Bryan actually has $500,000 to his name. As with any net worth reporting, these figures are often difficult to pin down, as the public figures are effectively private citizens who don't disseminate their private data for the world to see.

In the same Celebrity Net Worth overview of Bryan's career, the actor was quoted as stating that the money he received as part of his work on Home Improvement has provided him with a steady stream of income. However, he purportedly also made a decent amount of money investing in Bitcoin.

He spoke with fellow child star Brock Pierce about cryptocurrency, and the two managed to earn a decent amount of money by getting in early. "I've always been fortunate with my trust fund from Home Improvement, but this definitely moved things into a different [place] for me," he was quoted as saying.

Radar Online, however, reported that Bryan was suffering from financial hardship in 2023. The actor had to cough up $108,940.57 to an investor after failing to respond to a lawsuit for allegedly forging a contract for the 2021 film Warning. In the same piece, the outlet wrote that Bryan experienced legal issues after being arrested on July 28, 2023.

The actor was charged with fourth-degree felony assault, third-degree robbery, and harassment, along with felony strangulation against his girlfriend, Johnnie Faye Cartwright. Bryan was placed under house arrest and contested that he couldn't afford the $50/day ankle monitor fee due to financial hardship. Subsequently, the court lowered Bryan's daily payment to $20.

His legal troubles persisted. On March 20, 2026, Bryan was sentenced by an Oregon judge to 19 months in prison due to three probation violations. He was also slapped with a DUI in California, for which he is also serving time.

Bryan's attorney gave the following statement: "Mr. Bryan needs help. He had a very traumatic childhood and he was abused and exploited as a child and has had resulting difficulties, but sending him to prison is really not the appropriate fix for this situation. What he needs is help."

The child star was married to Carly Matros, whom he knew from high school. They have four children together: twin girls (Gemma and Taylor) who were born on June 23, 2014, a daughter (Jordana) who was born on June 7, 2016, and a son, Pierce, who was born on March 18, 2019.

On Nov. 17, 2021, Bryan became engaged to Johnnie Faye Cartwright, with whom he also has three children: a daughter, Kennedy Faye (born April 2022), and twins Parker and Sequoia (born in 2023).

In 2025, Bryan purportedly had an eighth child. Some reports indicate that he had a baby with Cartwright, while others indicate that the identity of the mother is unknown.