From the directors of world-famous franchises to filmmakers whose work stretches back half a century, the list of richest directors in the world is filled with household names.
While some on the list, like Tyler Perry, have made most of their money away from the directing game, others including Peter Jackson owe their fortune to the almighty success of beloved ongoing franchises.
So, who is the richest director in the world? See below for a list of the 20 highest earners within the industry.
Who is the richest director in the world?
With a huge net worth of $10billion (£8billion), Star Wars director and creator George Lucas is by far and away the richest director in the world. Alongside his most famous work, he also created the Indiana Jones franchise and production company LucasFilm, which he sold to Disney in 2012.
With a net worth of $8billion (£6.4billion), the second richest director in the world is the legendary Steven Spielberg. At third is The Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson with $1.5billion (£1.2billion), while Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron comes in at fourth with $800million (£640million).
You can find the 20 richest directors in the world below.
- George Lucas (net worth: $10billion)
- Steven Spielberg (net worth: $8billion)
- Peter Jackson (net worth: $1.5billion)
- James Cameron (net worth: $800million)
- Tyler Perry (net worth: $800million)
- Michael Bay (net worth: $450million)
- Mel Gibson (net worth: $425million)
- Francis Ford Coppola (net worth: $400million)
- Ridley Scott (net worth: $400million)
- Ivan Reitman (net worth: $300million)
- JJ Abrams (net worth: $300million)
- Christopher Nolan (net worth: $250million)
- Frank Marshall (net worth: $250million)
- The Wachowskis (net worth: $225million)
- Alfred Hitchcock (net worth: $200million)
- Martin Scorsese (net worth: $200million)
- Rob Reiner (net worth: $200million)
- Roland Emmerich (net worth: $200million)
- Ron Howard (net worth: $200million)
- Todd Phillips (net worth: $200million)
