There are only a few American filmmakers who can boast of the kind of things that George Lucas has accomplished in the entertainment industry. Among other things, he is mostly known for being the brain behind the Star Wars franchise. The entrepreneur, also admired for creating the Indiana Jones franchises, later sold Star Wars to Disney. Since then, a lot of people have been wondering how much he made from the deal. Read about that below and discover what George Lucas’ net worth is at the moment.
How George Lucas Created The Star Wars Franchise
Born on the 14th of May 1944 in the United States of America, precisely in Modesto, California, George Walton Lucas’ journey in the industry has been traced back to the 1960s. Following his graduation from the University of Southern California, way back in 1967, he partnered with Francis Ford to establish a film production company that they named American Zoetrope. A few years later, he made his debut as a director; he wrote and directed the 1971 science fiction film, THX 1138. This marked the beginning of his illustrious career as a filmmaker. The man would go on to establish himself in the industry as the writer and director of 1973’s American Graffiti before his fame touched the skies following his creation of Star Wars. It all began in 1977.
Now on record as one of the highest-grossing film franchises in history, the popular space-opera brand came into existence in 1977 with the original film titled Star Wars. As you must have guessed, it was written and directed by Lucas. Thus far, this first film has birthed several prequels and sequels. In addition to that, it has expanded to incorporate other forms of entertainment, from theme park attractions to television series, comic books, video games, and what have you. Star Wars is now regarded as a business empire on various quarters and revenues from its films alone at the box office are estimated at over $9 billion.
What George Lucas Made From Selling Star Wars to Disney
Many questions come to mind whenever one ponders on the fact that George Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney. Apart from the inquiries made regarding how much he made from the deal, there are those who have been wondering if it was a wise move, considering how successful the franchise has become in terms of merchandising. As of 2018, it was reported that the franchise is worth a massive $65 billion. Rated as the 5th highest-grossing media franchise in history, Star Wars holds a Guinness World Records as the most successful of all film merchandising franchises.
In view of that, it is understandable that many are quick to conclude that selling Star Wars was a foolish decision. But then, would it have been this successful without the expertise of a multinational entertainment conglomerate like Disney? While we won’t bother to answer that, there is no doubt that a bulk of George Lucas’ net worth came from letting go of Star Wars.
It was in October 2012 that Lucas sold his film and television production company (Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC) to Disney. The outlet which he founded in 1971 is now a division of The Walt Disney Company. Based on what was reported, Disney parted with $2.2 billion in cash to acquire Lucasfilm. In addition to that, they doled out $1.855 billion in stock. All in all, it took a massive $4.055 billion for Disney to obtain Lucasfilm as a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios.
See Also: How Did Ryan Seacrest Achieve a Net Worth of $410 Million?
What Is George Lucas’s Net Worth?
The man is a billionaire. As of 2019, the total value of the filmmaker’s riches is as much as $6 billion. Looking at what he’s worth, it is easy for many to regard him as a lucky fellow. Maybe he’s lucky, but George made a lot of sacrifices and smart moves; he totally deserves what he has. For instance, he took a pay cut of $500,000 while filming the original Star Wars film. He did this in order to have full merchandising rights over the franchise.
Lucas is very much interested in promoting the welfare of humanity. Even before he made bank with the sale of his company, he established a nonprofit organization called The George Lucas Educational Foundation. After Disney acquired his production outlet, the filmmaker related that he’d be donating most of the money to his philanthropic endeavors.
