George Lucas, who was born and raised in Modesto, California, on May 14, 1944, had his heart set on a career in racing automobiles, but following a possibly fatal accident in high school in which he was broadsided by another motorist, Lucas’ priorities switched dramatically.
Lucas’s father had a stationery store and hoped that after George graduated from high school, he would work for him. George, on the other hand, wanted to go to art school and declared when he left home that he was going to be a millionaire by the age of 30.
Lucas became interested in photography and filmmaking while attending Modesto Junior College. With an 8 mm camera, he began capturing auto races and other material.
He eventually transferred to the University of Southern California, where he met fellow filmmaker Steven Spielberg and received awards, including a Warner Brothers student scholarship, during his postgraduate studies.
Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, a student film from 1967, was later adapted into THX 1138, his first full-length feature picture, released in 1971.
Despite its bad reception, the film spawned a more successful sequel, American Graffiti, which received five Academy Award nominations and grossed $115 million domestically and $140 million globally.
| Name | George Lucas |
| Birth | May 14, 1944, in Modesto, California |
| Age | 77 years |
| Genre | Film Producer, Film director, Screenwriter, Cinematographer, Film Editor, Entrepreneur, Actor, Television producer |
| Relationship Status | Single |
| Net Worth | $10 Billion |
American Graffiti is regarded as one of the most profitable films in history, with a budget of $777,000 for production.
George Lucas’s Net Worth!
George Lucas has a $10 billion net worth as a director, writer, producer, and businessman.
He is most known for inventing the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film franchises, which have grossed more than $12 billion worldwide.
He is also the founder of Lucasfilm, a production firm, and Industrial Light and Magic, a technological effects company.
With a net worth of $10 billion, George Lucas is the richest celebrity in the world, the richest director, and the richest individual in the entertainment industry in general.
Lucas has signed the philanthropic “Giving Pledge,” pledging to donate at least half of his fortune to charity by the time he dies or at the time of his death.
Sale of Star Wars Franchise to Disney by George!
George sold the Star Wars franchise rights to Disney for $4 billion in cash and equity in 2012.
Lucas received $2.21 billion in cash and 37 million shares of stock (37,076,679), valued at roughly $50 at the time.
As a result, he received $1.85 billion in Disney stock after the deal was completed. Lucas makes about $64 million per year in dividend payments thanks to his share count and Disney’s semi-annual $0.88 payout.
With Disney’s stock hitting $200 in March 2021, the 37 million shares had grown to be worth $7.4 billion.
What makes George Lucas so wealthy?
It all comes down to a brilliant business choice he made in 1973 while negotiating his salary for the first Star Wars film. Following the phenomenal success of American Graffiti, Lucas was entitled to a $500,000 compensation for his next film.
That was a big increase over his Graffiti salary of $150,000. Instead of accepting the roughly 300 per cent compensation increase, George made a proposal to the Fox executives.
George graciously offered to keep his salary at $150,000 in exchange for two seemingly minor requests: #1) that he keeps all merchandising rights, and #2) that he keeps all sequel rights.
The offer delighted Fox executives, who believed George’s space film would be little more than a blip on the entertainment radar.
Obviously, this was a terrible deal for Fox, and George received possibly the greatest film contract in history. Star Wars had made a total of $20 billion in product sales and $4 billion in home entertainment sales by 2012.
George Lucas stated on October 30th, 2012 that he has struck an agreement to sell his entire Lucasfilm company to Disney for a whopping $4.1 billion in cash and equity.
Lucas held 100 per cent of the corporation, which meant he pocketed the entire $4 billion. Overnight, his net worth increased from $3.3 billion to $7.3 billion!
George Lucas’s Assets in Real Estate!
The roughly 6,000-acre Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California, is George’s most valuable real estate asset.
He bought the ranch in 1978 and has spent more than $100 million transforming it into a private house, movie studio, retreat, and 300-seat screening theatre.
There’s also a 50,000-square-foot private residence on the site, as well as swimming pools, tennis courts, and other amenities.
Approximately 5,000 acres of the property have been protected in a perpetual conservation easement with the Marin County Agricultural Land Trust.
He paid $33.9 million for a 9,000-square-foot mansion in Los Angeles’ Bel Air district in 2017.
He bought a seaside mansion in Carpinteria, California, for $19.5 million in 2010. (just south of Santa Barbara).
He demolished the old house and replaced it with a considerably larger Cape Cod-style dwelling.
George paid $28 million for the house next door in December 2019. Frances Morehart, who died in 2018 at the age of 93, was the previous owner of the property next door. In Carpinteria, his new combined beachfront footprint is over 3-acres.
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