Steven Spielberg is a globally renowned movie director who has been instrumental in the creation of some of Hollywood’s best-known movies, but has this made him a billionaire?
Steven Spielberg is a billionaire. According to Forbes, his net worth is $3.6 billion as of 2020, a fortune he has amassed from his movies and his share of the profits from Universal theme parks.
Read more below about Steven Spielberg’s life and career, as well as his huge wealth.
Early Life
Steven Spielberg was born in 1946. His father worked as an engineer, while his mother was a pianist.
The family relocated multiple times. While Speilberg was born in Ohio, he also spent some of his early years in New Jersey, Arizona, and California.
As a child, he was bullied for being Jewish and having acne.
He recalls one incident, where his uncle took him to Washington DC, and he was fascinated by the statue of President Lincoln. “Just before I left, I dared myself to look up into his face and suddenly felt like we were in some way related. It was a very familiar face, a very warm feeling, and I felt very safe and protected, just at a glance.”
Spielberg would eventually go on to direct a movie about him, ‘Lincoln’ released in 2012.
His movie career began at an early age. Inspired by the military history of his father, he created a World War 2 movie before his 16th birthday.
He applied to study in the film department of the University of Southern California, but after being rejected, attended California State University, though he did not complete his studies.
Career
Spielberg’s first full-length movie was named ‘Fireflight’. His family is believed to have been encouraging of his career, with his father renting a local theatre to show the movie.
At the age of just 21, he signed a directing deal with a Hollywood studio. His first major release came with ‘The Sugarland Express’ in 1974.
The following year, ‘Jaws’ was released, a defining moment in his career. The movie, which centered around attacks from a rogue shark, became the first movie to make $100 million in box office sales.
Dozens of successful movies followed, including ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’, ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ and ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, to name a few.
Spielberg’s talents do not end at directing. He is also a successful producer and screenwriter.
He is the recipient of three Academy Awards, winning best picture and best director in 1993 for ‘Schindler’s List’ and best director in 1998 for ‘Saving Private Ryan’. He’s been nominated for 12 Oscars in total.
He has received the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the French Legion of Honor. In 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Wealth
Forbes claims that Spielberg is worth $3.6 billion, while some sources claim this figure could be as high as $6.18 billion.
Spielberg’s movies are believed to have earned over $25 billion in box office sales.
Away from directing, he co-founded DreamWorks Studios in the 1990s alongside Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. The production company is responsible for movie hits including ‘Shrek’, ‘Madagascar’ and ‘How To Train Your Dragon’.
In 2016, DreamWorks Animations was sold in a multibillion-dollar deal.
Spielberg also acts as a consultant for Universal Studios and is believed to have had creative input in the attractions. In 2017, it was reported that Spielberg earns a little over 5% of the parks’ revenue, a deal thought to be worth around $50 million per year.
For him though, amassing a fortune was not the motivation behind his career. “I’m not really interested in making money,” he says.
“That’s always come as the result, but it’s not been my goal, and I’ve had a tough time proving that to people.”