Director James Cameron of iconic movies like Titanic, The Terminator, and Avatar series is now a billionaire. According to Forbes, the 71-year-old auteur’s movies have collectively earned nearly $9 billion at the global box office. Forbes reports that Cameron’s chunk of a personal net worth can be estimated to be $1.1 billion.
James Cameron reportedly joined the billionaire ranks
James Cameron is reportedly a billionaire now. Cameron has now joined the elite club of filmmakers who have reached billionaire status, including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, and Tyler Perry. Interestingly, while other filmmakers might earn from outside their movies, Cameron has earned it entirely from the titanic success of his movies (via Forbes).
Cameron, however, doesn’t believe he is a billionaire. In a new podcast interview with Puck’s Matt Belloni, he confessed, “I wish I was a billionaire. The billionaire thing assumes certain deals that didn’t exist, one, and, two, that I’ve never spent a dime in 30 years.”
James Cameron has always been an ambitious and talented filmmaker, but numerous times he sacrificed personal gains to retain creative control over his projects. However, despite that, his salary as a director, profit share, and licensing revenues for theme parks and toys helped him achieve billionaire status.
Additionally, he earns a lion’s share of revenue and equity from his production company Lightstorm Entertainment, which reportedly helped him join the billionaire ranks. Furthermore, Forbes also predicts that his cash-cow franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash, stands to earn $200 million (before taxes and fees). This is an assumption if the film actually does incredible business at the box office on its release weekend.
According to Forbes list, Steven Spielberg of Jurassic Park fame is the biggest billionaire director with a staggering $7.1 billion personal net worth. Star Wars creator George Lucas boasts of a personal net worth of $5.3 billion. The Lord of the Rings hitmaker ranks third with a personal net worth of $1.7 billion. Furthermore, Beauty in Black fame Tyler Perry is credited with a personal net worth of $1.4 billion.
