The 10 Richest Movie Directors of All Time

While we always think of actors making the big bucks in Hollywood, it can often be the directors that bring in the real money. Directors often earn a cut of their films, and if they make hits, that can mean a huge payout. Past that, many go on to be producers, raking in lots of money from others’ films, even they’re not directing themselves. Here are the ten richest movie directors.

john hughes

10. John Hughes (Estimated net worth: $150M)

John Hughes recently passed away, but before he did, he brought us immortal hits such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, The Breakfast Club and more. He was also a prolific writer and producer.

barry levinson

9. Barry Levinson (Estimated net worth: $150M)

Out of every name on this list, Levinson’s may be the most surprising to you. Yes, he’s directed many movies you’ve seen from Rain Man to Wag the Dog, but his massive fortune has mostly come from him being a masterful producer.

christopher nolan

8. Christopher Nolan (Estimated net worth: $150M)

Nolan is one of the newer names on the list, but has turned into an unstoppable box office giant with his Dark Knight trilogy, and side-hits like Inception. His next film, Interstellar, will likely increase his worth even further. You’ll note that he’s tied with the last two directors in terms of wealth, because net worth can be tricky to pin down exactly. You’ll see a few more ties on this list.

wachowski

7. The Wachowskis (Estimated net worth: $250M)

Even if The Matrix Trilogy was their only real mega-hit with movies like Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas failing to do very well at the box office, it was enough of a hit to net them tens of millions. The Matrix was one of the quintessential franchises of the 2000s, and even if people didn’t much care for the sequels, they still saw them.

peter jackson

6. Peter Jackson (Estimated net worth: $400M)

It’s easy to guess why Peter Jackson is here, given how he turned JRR Tolkein’s books into the immortal, and hugely profitable, Lord of the Rings series. His new Hobbit trilogy may not prove to be quite as high-grossing, but it’s still doing very well worldwide, and increasing his stock in Hollywood.

michael bay

5. Michael Bay (Estimated net worth: $400M)

Nobody does the blockbuster like Michael Bay, and blockbusters bring in big bucks more quickly than any other genre. Specifically, Bay’s Transformers films have been his biggest financial success story, and he’s made a lot of money as a producer as well.

tyler perry

4. Tyler Perry (Estimated net worth: $400M)

The third entry in the three-way tie here is Tyler Perry, another odd pick for the list. But when you realize that another Tyler Perry movie is coming out practically once a month, and when they do they almost always debut near the top of the box office, you understand how he can be so wealthy.

james cameron

3. James Cameron (Estimated net worth: $700M)

The man has made two of the highest grossing movies ever made, Avatar and Titanic, which have both raked in billions at the box office. Cameron only makes new movies every so often, but when he does, they are always smash hits. Avatar is planned to be a trilogy, and there’s no telling just how much money the series will make him as a whole when all is said and done.

steven spielberg

2. Steven Spielberg (Estimated net worth: $3.4B)

Spielberg has directed more classic movies than I can count, and has produced even more than that. His role in everything from Jurassic Park to Indiana Jones to Star Wars has made him one of entertainment’s wealthiest figures, which leads us to…

george lucas

1. George Lucas (Estimated net worth: $4.9B)

When you created Star Wars, the most popular staple of pop culture in human history, it should be no surprise you’re a multi-billionaire. Lucas has made billions from the films themselves, and even more from all their merchandise. Lastly, he just recently sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4B.

Written by Paul

Paul lives in New York with his beautiful and supportive wife. He writes for Forbes and his work also appears on IGN, The Daily Dot, Unreality Magazine, TVOvermind and more. It's a slow day if he's written less than 10,000 words.