To put it simply, Steven Spielberg’s wealth is a direct result of his decades-long career in the film industry. As the world prepares to see the groundbreaking, hyper-ambitious director’s Oscar contender The Fablemans, let’s take a look back at the career highlights that made the Cincinnati-born cinematic auteur behind such classics as E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and the Indiana Jones saga (just to name a few) one of the richest people in entertainment.
As Spielberg led an extremely problematic production of the first summer blockbuster, Jaws, he was denied three times by USC Film School. Since then, he has maintained his position at the top of Hollywood’s elite, and seven of his films have been selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.
Learn more about Steven Spielberg’s wealth and media empire, including how he did it, in the article below.
What is Steven Spielberg’s Estimated Net Worth in 2023?
Spielberg is not only one of Hollywood’s richest producers/directors, but also one of its most respected and well-known names in the industry. Forbes estimates Steven Spielberg’s net worth at $4 billion. His annual income of around $150 million.
Is There a Secret Behind Steven Spielberg’s Success?
Spielberg attended California State University, Long Beach in 1968, where he directed the short film Amblin’ after being denied repeatedly by the University of Southern California. His debut feature film, Duel, starring Dennis Weaver as a business commuter stalked by a mysterious truck driver.
It premiered on television and, after receiving positive reviews, made its way into theatres. Following this, Goldie Hawn’s crime drama The Sugarland Express (1974) made its way into theatres. Jaws, Spielberg’s 1975 horror-adventure classic that had a tumultuous production but ultimately became the first summer blockbuster, catapulted the director to fame.
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How Much Have Steven Spielberg’s Films Earned at the Box Office?
At an unfathomable $10.1 billion, Spielberg is the highest-grossing director of all time, even after accounting for inflation. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo of “Avengers: Endgame” came in second with $6.84 billion.
How Much Did Steven Spielberg Make on Jurassic Park?
The legendary director made an estimated $250 million (about $360 million now) for the first Jurassic Park after accepting a modest upfront salary in exchange for a backend part of earnings, as is typical of his working style. Around $150 million was paid to him for the sequel The Lost World, and $75 million was paid to him for Jurassic Park III (which he didn’t direct) in 2001.
Steven Spielberg Co-founded Both Amblin Entertainment and Dreamworks Pictures
In 1994 (after Jurassic Park became the highest-grossing movie ever and the first to gross a billion dollars), Spielberg co-founded DreamWorks Films with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. The studio’s broad catalog includes hits including Amistad, The Ring, and Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report.
The Shrek, Madagascar, and How to Train Your Dragon franchises, among others, are among DreamWorks Animation’s most financially successful offerings. The DreamWorks brand was created by Amblin. In 1981, the year before E.T. became the highest-grossing movie of all time, Spielberg co-founded Amblin Entertainment with producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.
How Much Money Does Steven Spielberg Make From Consulting?
Spielberg also acts as a consultant for the Universal Studios international franchise, which is a huge part of his business. There are supposed “consulting fees,” but it amounts to $30,000,000 annually. Besides the ones in Hollywood, Florida, and Japan all have their own Universal Studios theme park.
How Much Money Does Steven Spielberg Make From Star Wars?
Spielberg’s longtime friendship with coworker George Lucas has allowed him to profit from the Star Wars saga to the tune of millions of dollars, even though he hasn’t even received a credit on any of the films. In 1977, both Lucas and Spielberg directed critically acclaimed science fiction films: Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
A lot of people, including Lucas, were worried that Star Wars would tank at the box office when it was first announced in 1975 due to the film’s outlandish premise and lack of precedent-setting features. During their long-running friendly rivalry, Lucas and Spielberg reportedly swapped 2.5% of their films’ residuals, with Spielberg coming out on top.
While Close Encounters did well at the movies, Star Wars broke all kinds of records and generated one of the most successful brands in recent memory.
What Was Steven Spielberg’s Salary for Making Schindler’s List?
How could you possibly have any faith in anything? Even though many of Spielberg’s most famous films are in the genre, it is important to remember key career moments in which he virtually silenced any remaining critics, such as his adaptation of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, the underrated and entirely masterful Munich, and of course, the Oscar-winning Holocaust biopic Schindler’s List (1993), frequently cited as one of the finest films ever made.
Spielberg directed his most ambitious and mature film only after he had failed tried to convince other famous directors to take on the project. Refusing pay because he considered it “blood money,” he became famous for this stance.
Instead, Spielberg formed the USC Shoah Foundation in 1994 to honor and remember Holocaust survivors with the film’s perpetual profits. (Spielberg is involved with the likes of the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, International Medical Corps, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.) In total, Schindler’s List took home seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Steven Spielberg.
How Much Did Jaws Director Steven Spielberg Make?
Despite the success of Duel and The Sugarland Express and the praise they received, Spielberg was still a relatively unknown director in 1975. There wasn’t much money to be made in directing because he wasn’t a household name.
His salary was probably in the low single digits of the $9 million budget, based on standard Hollywood practice. Jaws’ unprecedented success (it earned $476 million worldwide, not accounting for inflation) propelled Spielberg to the top of the Hollywood director ranks.
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How Much Money Does Steven Spielberg Make Per Film?
At first look, Spielberg’s upfront $10 million seems paltry, especially considering that he is the highest-grossing filmmaker of all time. Spielberg, though, typically has back-end deals and earns a cut of his films’ earnings.
How Much Money Did Steven Spielberg Make With E.T.?
With a total worldwide gross of almost $794 million (without accounting for inflation), E.T. dethroned Star Wars as the highest-grossing film of all time upon its release. Spielberg had a hand in all of the film’s re-releases, including the one in 2002 that featured updated special effects. Because of Spielberg’s subsequent regrets about the “special edition” release, that version of the film has mostly been forgotten.
