George Walton Lucas Jr., born on May 14, 1944, is a prominent American filmmaker, renowned for creating the iconic Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. He is also the founder of Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and THX. Previously serving as chairman of Lucasfilm, Lucas sold the company to The Walt Disney Company in 2012.
With numerous nominations and four Academy Award nominations to his credit, Lucas is recognized as one of the most successful filmmakers in history. His films are among the top 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for inflation. Lucas is widely acknowledged as a significant figure in the 20th-century New Hollywood movement and is credited with being a pioneer of the modern blockbuster.
George Lucas Net Worth
George Lucas has a $10 billion net worth as a director, writer, producer, and businessman. His most famous works are the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, which together have earned more than $12 billion at box offices throughout the world. In addition to establishing Lucasfilm, a production firm, he also established Industrial Light & Magic, a special effects studio.
With a net worth of $10 billion, George Lucas far surpasses every other celebrity in terms of wealth, both in and out of the entertainment industry.
As a member of the “Giving Pledge” charitable organization, Lucas has committed to giving away half of his fortune either before he dies or after he passes away.
To the tune of $4 billion in cash and shares, George sold the Star Wars franchise to Disney in 2012. Lucas was given $2.21 billion in cash plus 37 million shares (37,076,679) of stock, which was worth about $50 at the time.
That works out to $1.85 billion in Disney stock at the time the deal was finalized. Lucas receives around $64 million per year in dividend payments based on his share count and Disney’s semi-annual $0.88 payout.
When Disney’s stock reached over $200 in March 2021, the value of those 37 million shares increased to $7.4 billion.
When Did George Lucas Get So Ridiculously Wealthy?
Everything can be traced back to a brilliant business choice he made while negotiating his salary for the original Star Wars film in 1973. After American Graffiti’s massive box office triumph, Lucas was due a salary of $500,000. Compared to his $150,000 salary from Graffiti, there was a huge increase.
George approached the Fox executives with an offer rather than take the over 300% wage boost. George was kind enough to propose keeping his compensation at $150,000 in exchange for two seemingly minor concessions: 1) George would keep all merchandising rights, and 2) George would keep the rights to any sequels.
Fox execs were overjoyed by the offer, assuming George’s space movie would be a minor success at best. Clearly, this was a disastrous agreement for Fox, but for George, it was the best film contract ever. Twenty billion dollars have been made through Star Wars merchandising and home videos by 2012.
George Lucas announced the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney for a whopping $4.1 billion in cash and equity on October 30th, 2012. Since Lucas owned the whole business, he got to keep all $4 billion for himself. Overnight, his fortune jumped from $3.3 billion to $7.3 billion.
George Lucas: World’s Wealthiest Celebrity Despite Extensive Charity Work
George’s current wealth is lower than it would have been without his extensive charity work. He has long-term ambitions to give away the vast majority of his fortune to educational causes. His organization has amassed over $1 billion in assets.
George has given a significant amount of money to the Make-A-Wish and cancer research organizations. More than $175 million has been donated by him to his alma institution, USC. George Lucas is still the world’s wealthiest celebrity, even after donating a billion dollars to charity.
Inside George Lucas’s Multi-Million Dollar Real Estate Portfolio
Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California, is George’s most valuable piece of property. He bought the ranch in 1978 and spent over a hundred million dollars transforming it into a residence, film studio, retreat, and screening theater with seating for three hundred.
There are multiple swimming pools, tennis courts, and a 50,000-square-foot private residence on the property. Lucas has permanently conserved about 5,000 acres of the land by enrolling it in the Marin County Agricultural Land Trust.
He spent $33.9 million on a mansion in Los Angeles’s Bel Air in 2017. The residence has nine thousand square feet.
His oceanfront mansion in Carpinteria, California (south of Santa Barbara) cost him $19.5 million in 2010. He demolished the old house and replaced it with a brand new, considerably bigger Cape Cod-style one.
George paid $28,000,000 on the neighboring property in December 2019. Frances Morehart, the previous owner of the house next door, passed away in 2018 at the age of 93. Together, his new Carpinteria coastal holdings now cover more than 3 acres.
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