World’s Richest Film Directors, 2021 - CEOWORLD magazine (2024)

With a net worth of roughly $7.62 Billion, George Lucas is the wealthiest film director in the world, followed by Steven Spielberg ($5.41 Billion), Joao Moreira Salles ($5.33 Billion); and Davis Guggenheim ($2.5 Billion). James Cameron is the fifth-richest film director in the world, with a $700 million fortune. James Burrows ranked 6th with a personal wealth of $600 Million, followed by Chuck Lorre with $555.1 Million. Who are the richest film directors in the world?

There is nothing that beats a good movie experience! No matter how much we adore the actors who star in the motion picture, a good storyline and direction is needed for engaging the audiences. Depending on your movie genre, the below list has names of some of the top directors who are responsible for your entertainment.

RankNameNet worthCountry
1George Lucas$7.62 Billion United states
2Steven Spielberg$5.41 Billion United states
3Joao Moreira Salles$5.33 Billion Brazil
4Davis Guggenheim$2.5 Billion United states
5James Cameron$700 Million Canada
6James Burrows$600 Million United states
7Chuck Lorre$550 Million United states
8James L Brooks$500 Million United states
9Peter Jackson$450 Million New Zealand
10Michael Bay$430 Million United states
11Ridley Scott$400 Million United kingdom
12Tyler Perry$400 Million United states
13Francis Ford Coppola$250 Million United states
14The Wachowskis$250 Million United states
15Lee Unkrich$215 Million United states
16Roland Emmerich$200 Million Germany
17Michael Crichton$175 Million United states
18Tony and Ridley Scott$165 Million United Kingdom
19Barry Levinson$150 Million United states
20Guy Ritchie$150 Million United kingdom
21Ron Howard$140 Million United states
22Christopher Nolan$135 Million United kingdom
23Gore Verbinski$130 Million United states
24Coen Brothers$120 Million United states
25Tim Burton$113.2 Million United kingdom
26John Lasseter$100 Million United states
27Joss Whedon$100 Million United states
28Larry Charles$100 Million United states
29Ivan Reitman$100 Million Canada
30Judd Apatow$90 Million United states
31Jay Roach$90 Million United states
32Michael Mann$90 Million United states
33Quentin Tarantino$90 Million United states
34Jon Turteltaub$80 Million United states
35Chris Columbus$80 Million United states
36Irwin Winkler$80 Million United states
37Todd Phillips$80 Million United states
38Andy Ackerman$80 Million United states
39Ben Affleck$75 Million United states
40Brett Ratner$75 Million United states
41Farrelly Brothers$72 Million United states
42John Landis$70 Million United states
43Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (Daft Punk)$70 Million France
44Warren Beatty$70 Million United states
45Bryan Singer$70 Million United states
46Martin Scorsese$70 Million United states
47David Fincher$65 Million United states
48John Woo$60 Million China
49Rob Reiner$60 Million United states
50Robert Zemeckis$60 Million United states
51Danny Boyle$60 Million United kingdom
52Barry Sonnenfeld$60 Million United states
53David Lynch$60 Million United states
54Paul Haggis$60 Million Canada
55Jon Favreau$60 Million United states
56Sam Raimi$55 Million United states
57Yash Chopra$50 Million India
58Michael Moore$50 Million United states
59Oliver Stone$50 Million United states
60Paul Thomas Anderson$50 Million United states
61M. Night Shyamalan$50 Million United states
62Robert Rodriguez$50 Million United states
63Garry Marshall$50 Million United states
64John Singleton$50 Million United states
65Terry Gilliam$50 Million United kingdom
66Gus Van Sant$50 Million United states
67Steven Levitan$50 Million United states
68Roman Polanski$45 Million France
69Chris Carter$40 Million United states
70Anthony Edwards$40 Million United states
71Kathryn Bigelow$40 Million United states
72Wes Craven$40 Million United states
73Brian De Palma$40 Million United states
74McG aka Joseph McGinty Nichol$40 Million United states
75Spike Lee$40 Million United states
76Jonathan Demme$40 Million United states
77Roger Corman$40 Million United states
78John Waters$38 Million United states
79Cameron Crowe$35 Million United states
80John Carpenter$35 Million United states
81George A. Romero$35 Million United states
82Ang Lee$32 Million United states
83Sam Mendes$30 Million United kingdom
84Sofia Coppola$30 Million United states
85Guillermo del Toro$30 Million Mexico
86Oren Peli$30 Million United states
87Matthew Vaughn$30 Million United kingdom
88Zack Snyder$28 Million United states
89Kevin Smith$25 Million United states
90Julian Schnabel$25 Million United states
91Antoine Fuqua$25 Million United states
92Diablo Cody$25 Million United states
93Darren Aronofsky$22 Million United states
94David Yates$22 Million United kingdom
95Pedro Almodovar$20 Million Spain
96Jason Friedberg$20 Million United states
97Aaron Seltzer$20 Million Canada
98David Mamet$20 Million United states
99Til Schweiger$20 Million Germany
100Baz Luhrmann$20 Million Australia

Detailed findings & methodology: CEOWORLD magazine put together a panel of experts to go over data points culled from virtually every reputable wealth tracking media outlet including Bloomberg, The Richest, Money Inc, Cheat Sheet, GOBankingRates, Celebritynetworth, Wealthygorilla, Forbes, and more. Based on a consensus from these sources, the final decision for ranking was judged editorially. All data is for the most recent period available. Some were not included in the official statistics for various reasons, primarily due to the lack of necessary data. Just remember, these values and fluctuations are estimations based on a host of variables and publicly available documents. The margin of sampling error for the full data sample is plus or minus 1.2 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that as in all survey research, there are possible sources of error—such as coverage, nonresponse, and measurement error——that could affect the results. All figures in US dollars.

World’s Richest Film Directors, 2021 - CEOWORLD magazine (1)

George Lucas: We all experience childhood nostalgia whenever “Star Wars” is mentioned. The film has become such a cult classic today and all credit goes to George Lucas for directing such a masterpiece. Other lines of work from the ace director include Bodyheat and The Indiana Jones Film franchise. With all these movies, it is no surprise that George Lucas has an impressive net worth of $7.62 billion.

World’s Richest Film Directors, 2021 - CEOWORLD magazine (2)

Steven Spielberg: The list of richest and famous directors in the world is incomplete without mentioning the name of Steven Spielberg. The three-time academy award winner has directed some of the best movies like Jaws, Jurrasic Park, and ET. All these have not only made him one of the sought after directors in Hollywood, but also earned him $5.41 billion.

Joao Moreira Salles: For all those who have grown up watching movies like “Santiago”, “Entreatos”, its time to know the man behind these movies. Joao Moreira Salles is a documentary filmmaker who has become one of the top names due to his legacy of works. According to recent sources, the Brazillian director’s net worth stands at $5.33 billion.

Davis Guggenheim: The producer of movies like “The Shield”, “Training Day”, “ER”, and “NYPD Blue” is next to feature on our list. Apart from producing movies, Davis Guggenheim has set a record for releasing three documentaries which became a hit with the masses. His current net worth is $2.5 billion.

World’s Richest Film Directors, 2021 - CEOWORLD magazine (3)

James Cameron: James Cameron is one of the biggest names in the director list. And we know the reason why. He is an exceptional visionary which reflects in his creative choices. With works like “Avatar”, “Titanic”, and “Terminator”, James Cameron has earned a net worth of $700 million.

James Burrow: James Burrow is an eminent television director who has a lot of hit sitcoms to his credit. His notable works include “Will & Grace”, “Taxi”, and “Friends”. With so many hit shows under his belt, James Burrow has earned a whopping net worth of around $600 million.

Chuck Lorre: We all are a fan of TV series “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men”. But did you the man behind these cult classics. Yes, he is none other than Chuck Lorre. His astounding projects have not only earned him a net worth of $550 million but also garnered him a place in “Hollywood Walk Of Fame”.

James L Brooks: James L Brooks is one of the most respected directors due to his works. The man has created some of the epic masterpieces like “Room 222”, “As good as it gets”, and “The Tracy Ullman Show”. Apart from all these he has also received 20 Emmy awards and has a net worth of $500 million.

Peter Jackson: Are you a fan of the “Lord Of The Rings” movie trilogy? Well, then its time to move the spotlight towards the brain behind the masterpiece. Peter Jackson a household name with the Lord Of The Rings film franchise and further cemented his position with “King Kong”. His current net worth stands at $450 million.

Michael Bay: Michael Bay is another name that comes to our mind when we speak of richest movie directors. Known for his directing skills, Michael Bay has to his name films like Bad Boys I and II, Pearl Harbour, and television series Cocaine Boys. His current net worth today stands at $430 million.

If you enjoy this list, don’t forget to check out our compilation of the World’s Richest Race Car Drivers, Richest Musicians, Richest Models, and Richest Rappers Richest Hockey Players.

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World’s Richest Film Directors, 2021 - CEOWORLD magazine (2024)

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