Forbes Rich List 2024: George Lucas tops the annual poll of celebrity billionaires despite directing his last film 19 YEARS ago – but who else makes the top five?
His futuristic films are imaginative, but George Lucas also has a bank balance you can only dream of after topping Forbes’ annual list of famous billionaires.
The celebrated director, 79, has amassed a fortune of $5.5 billion, according to the poll, despite his film career effectively ending in 2005 with the release of sci-fi epic Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith.
Lucas, who has since worked as an executive producer on the recently concluded Indiana Jones franchise, has made his money largely through production company LucasFilm – which was sold to Disney in 2012 for a reported $4 billion in cash and stock.
The American filmmaker tops an impressive list that includes good friend and fellow new wave director Steven Spielberg, basketball legend Michael Jordan, talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and rapper Jay-Z.
Spielberg is in second place with $4.8 billion thanks to a prolific run of blockbuster films – despite insisting he hasn’t taken a salary since the mid-1980s.
His futuristic films have always been the subject of fantasy, but George Lucas also has a bank balance you can only dream of after topping Forbes’ annual list of famous billionaires.
Lucas on the set of his first Star Wars film in 1977. Since then, he has become the richest celebrity in the world, despite stepping away from the camera in 2005.
The 77-year-old director has instead negotiated a percentage of the gross sales of each of his films, while also receiving a generous financial share of the tickets sold at Universal’s theme parks, courtesy of the enduring popular Indiana Jones franchise.
Universal Orlando previously hosted the Jaws ride, based on Spielberg’s 1975 classic about a marauding killer shark, before closing for good in 2011.
The director’s last film, The Fabelmans, grossed $45.6 million worldwide on a $40 million budget.
Further down the list, American sports icon Michael Jordan is in third place, having raked in $3.2 billion from various business activities.
The 61-year-old former basketball player was named the world’s first billionaire athlete in 2015, but much of his extraordinary wealth comes from lucrative brand partnerships.
Jordan has made more than $1.8 billion from its popular Nike Air Jordan brand, while its purchase of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team for $175 million in 2010 yielded a huge profit in 2023 when it sold for $3 billion.
Directly below Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, 70, occupies fourth place with a fortune of $2.8 billion, earned through a combination of media work and shrewd real estate investments.
Winfrey, who became the first black female billionaire in 2003, has developed her brand into a lucrative empire that includes real estate and its own production company.
Steven Spielberg comes in second with $4.8 billion thanks to a prolific run of blockbuster films – despite insisting he hasn’t taken a paycheck since the mid-1980s
The director has taken a hefty financial cut from the tickets sold at the Universal theme park, courtesy of the Indiana Jones franchise (pictured on the set of Raiders Of The Lost Ark)
Former basketball player Michael Jordan was named the world’s first billionaire athlete in 2015 and he remains in third place
Directly below Jordan, Oprah Winfrey occupies fourth place with a fortune of $2.8 billion, earned through a combination of media work and smart real estate investments.
As Beyoncé celebrates the release of new country album Cowboy Carter, husband Jay-Z is rushing all the way to the bank with a net worth of $2.5 billion, putting him in fifth place.
Elsewhere, Kim Kardashian moves within striking distance of the top five after being named the sixth richest celebrity with a fortune of $1.7 billion
As Beyoncé celebrates the release of new country album Cowboy Carter, husband Jay-Z is rushing all the way to the bank with a net worth of $2.5 billion.
The 54-year-old rapper and entrepreneur – hip-hop’s first billionaire – owes his wealth to a range of ventures, not all of which are related to the music industry.
In 2021, he sold a 50% stake in his champagne brand Armand de Brignac to luxury goods giant LVMH for an estimated $300 million, followed by the reported sale of a majority stake in his cognac label D’Usse to Bacardi in 2023 for $750 million.
The rapper is also one of the best-selling artists of all time.
Elsewhere, Kim Kardashian moves within striking distance of the top five after being named the sixth richest celebrity with a fortune of $1.7 billion, the result of her beauty and clothing brands, along with a string of lucrative TV shows.
Somewhat surprisingly, pop superstar Taylor Swift only climbs to fourteenth place with a fortune of $1.1 billion.
Swift, 34, has seen her fortune rise significantly thanks to an estimated $190 million in after-tax income from her Eras world tour.
She is the first artist to become a billionaire based entirely on profits from music and performances.
Somewhat surprisingly, pop superstar Taylor Swift only climbs to fourteenth place with a fortune of $1.1 billion
She is the first artist to become a billionaire based entirely on profits from music and performances