The world’s 12 richest film directors in 2023, net worths ranked: from Star Wars and Indiana Jones billionaire George Lucas and E.T.’s Steven Spielberg, to LOTR’s Peter Jackson and Avatar creator James Cameron
- The world’s most famous directors are, surprise surprise, the richest – yep, George Lucas, the brains behind Star Wars and Indiana Jones, sold Lucasfilm to Disney for US$4.1 billion
- Ridley Scott made a fortune from Gladiator, Hannibal and House of Gucci, and The Dark Knight made Christopher Nolan millions – with more set to roll in from new release Oppenheimer
They are the ones responsible for what you see on the screen – making those impeccable casting choices and shaping the overall vision of the production.
We have iconic figures like George Lucas, the genius who created the multiplex-blowing Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, and Peter Jackson, the mastermind behind The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film adaptations.
So, one burning question remains: who’s the wealthiest director of them all? We asked the internet whizzes over at Celebrity Net Worth to find out.
12. Christopher Nolan – US$250 million
This 52-year-old British-American film director is the genius behind some of the past two decades’ biggest – and most mind-boggling – cinematic moments, including Memento (2001), The Dark Knight (2008), Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017) and Tenet (2020).