Two directors top the Forbes richest celebrity list
While business magnates like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos blow most creative bank balances out of the water, George Lucas, the director behind the Star Wars franchise, has claimed the title the richest celebrity in the world.
Aged 79, Lucas sits atop an empire of lucrative rights under his Lucasfilm production company. With such far-reaching franchises like Star Wars, video games, merchandise and interminable spin-offs supplement a healthy bank balance.
Alongside his work on Star Wars, which he executive produced, wrote and directed up until 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Lucas also produced the Indiana Jones franchise alongside Steven Spielberg.
Even without other ongoing endeavours, this legacy ensures a disposable income. According to the annual Forbes report, the filmmaker is worth $5.5billion, which places him at the very top of the list of celebrity billionaires.
In 2012, Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4billion, but he has remained active in the Star Wars franchise, offering his production skills to the ongoing saga under Disney’s management.
Trailing just behind Lucas in second place on the rich celebrities list is his friend and fellow filmmaker Steven Spielberg, with $4.8billion to his name. Alongside his work on Indiana Jones, he has enjoyed plenty of exposure and cash flow from such iconic titles as E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park and Jaws.
Spielberg remains active today, aged 77, and released The Fabelmans in 2022 to rave reviews. In a four-and-a-half star review, Far Out said: “Initially, the idea of a director making a film about his childhood passion for making films struck me as self-indulgent, blinkered and lazy. I couldn’t have been more wrong.”
The movie was a self-proclaimed vanity project, but Spielberg pulled it off with purpose and panache. “Spielberg’s coming-of-age drama about one young boy’s love of movies had me from hello and left me – in classic Spielbergian style – in a state of quiet euphoria,” the review added.
With filmmakers wrestling for the top spot on Forbes’s list, sports stars, movie stars, and pop stars trail close behind. Other names in the top 20 include NBA legend Michael Jordan, singer Taylor Swift and television personality Oprah Winfrey.
Of these names, Swift sticks out as uniquely impressive due to her comparatively young age. At just 34, she has become the world’s most popular musician, selling out arena tours, crashing ticket sites and leading the vinyl renaissance.
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