Gold albums, award-winning TV shows and films and worldwide respect as some of the most creative and sometimes innovative brains in the entertainment industry, producers are what make the things we love come to life. But which ones are the top-earning on the planet? Thanks to various roles and big-time hits, these are the ones who are really cashing-in.
5. Ryan Kavanaugh – $1 billion
Though he’s still only 39 years old, Ryan Kavanaugh has accomplished a lot in his career already. As the founder and current CEO of Relativity Media, Kavanaugh has financed over 200 movies with his company, grossing more than $17 billion, and has since expanded the company into the sports management and music sectors.
4. Cameron Mackintosh – $1.1 billion
As the producer on well-known musicals like Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Planet and Cats, Cameron Mackintosh is both well-respected and highly successful. Arguably the most influential figure in theatre over the past 25 years, the Brit continues to produce award-winning plays these days to grow his wealth even more.
3. Jeffrey Lurie – $1.2 billion
Probably best-known these days as the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jeffrey Lurie actually made most of his fortune from his production company, General Cinema Corporation. While he hasn’t always scored a touchdown with his films, the 2010 documentary Inside Job landed him the Academy Award for Best Documentary and generated $4.3 million.
2. Steve Tisch – $1.2 billion
Starting his career as a filmmaker while studying at Tufts University, he went on to work at Columbia Pictures before branching out on his own. All he did there was produce his own films like Outlaw Blues and Risky Business before working on even more successful projects like Forrest Gump, American History X and Snatch. As the Executive Vice President of the New York Giants as well, Tisch is the only person to have both earned a Super Bowl ring and an Academy Award.
1. Silvio Santos – $1.3 billion
A Brazilian TV host and businessman, Silvio Santos may have started as a street vendor, but he’s climbed to the top of the richest producers in the world these days. Founding Sistema Brasileiro de Televisao in 1981, the company became one of the most successful media brands in Brazil, with Santos earning credits as lead producer on shows like Wheel of Fortune, Celebrity Big Brother and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
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