Celebrities Who Are Richer Than You Think
Wealth and celebrity status go together. Take George Clooney. His $500 million net worth is staggering, but given his stature in the entertainment industry, it isn’t surprising.
But that isn’t always the case. When a low-key celeb who hasn’t crossed your mind in a decade racks up that kind of dough, however, things get interesting. Some of these names aren’t the biggest in their industries.
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Last updated: March 17, 2021
PewDiePie
Net Worth: $40 Million
Impressive as it is, $40 million doesn’t put you among the richest of the rich celebrities. What’s surprising about Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg’s fame and fortune, however, is the way he made it.
PewDiePie is among the first of the new type of celebrity — he’s one of the highest-paid YouTube stars. And although a handful of arduously trained pro gamers make bank at competitions, PewDiePie makes tons of money by streaming and commentating on games.
His fame brought attention to his past racist and anti-Semitic comments, which caused Disney to cut ties with him in 2017. PewDiePie seems to have moved past the controversy, however. He signed an exclusive live-streaming deal with YouTube in May 2020.
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Daisy Fuentes
Net Worth: $75 Million
It’s probably a safe bet that Cuban-born Daisy Fuentes is the wealthiest former MTV-VJ by, well, a lot. In addition to being Revlon’s first Latina spokeswoman, Fuentes has a successful clothing and accessory line.
She also hosts the NBC genealogy show “A New Leaf.”
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Bob Saget
Net Worth: $50 Million
Not counting the terribly reviewed Netflix-exclusive “Fuller House” — a sequel to the show that put Bob Saget on the map in the late 1980s — the last time this stand-up comic made a pop-culture splash was as the narrator of “How I Met Your Mother.” Saget’s combo of stand-up and sitcom work, in addition to his hosting “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” netted him an estimated net worth of $50 million — not to mention the big bucks he brings in from reruns.
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Andrew Shue
Net Worth: $100 Million
That’s right, Billy Campbell from “Melrose Place” is worth nine figures. After his career on television, Shue went on to co-found the popular website CafeMom with childhood friend Michael Sanchez, which rebranded to CafeMedia in 2015 and, as of 2020, boasted some 164 million unique visitors a month to its websites. In addition, CafeMedia ranked as one of the top sites for parenting, food and home by Comscore.
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Rowan Atkinson
Net Worth: $150 Million
Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean and Johnny English characters were a quirky oddity in America, but they were pop-culture staples across the pond. So was “Blackadder,” a sitcom Atkinson appeared in from 1983 to 1989. He’s not at that peak of fame anymore, but Atkinson’s work continues and his net worth has more than doubled since then.
Sammy Hagar
Net Worth: $150 Million
How much is it worth to be part of the legendary band Van Halen? Quite a bit. Hagar’s success in music is paired with his Cabo Wabo Cantina restaurant that ultimately gave rise to a Cabo Wabo tequila and a string of other successful eateries. He and fellow rocker Rick Springfield are also partners in the spirits business. Together, they own Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum, a line of flavored alcohol.
Jessica Alba
Net Worth: $200 Million
You expect Jessica Alba to be rich, but not one of the richest actresses of all time — even though she’s worked in film and television since she was 13. Although Alba hasn’t had a major box-office smash since the 2000s, she executive produced and starred in “L.A.’s Finest,” a Spectrum original series for two seasons.
In addition to steady movie paychecks, Alba co-founded The Honest Company, maker of green household products.
Reese Witherspoon
Net Worth: $200 Million
Reese Witherspoon has had a long, successful career as an actress, including an Academy Award, but her acumen in business is shaping her career today. She founded the media brand Hello Sunshine and Southern-themed lifestyle brand Draper James.
The A-lister recently earned $1.1 million per episode for her work on the Hulu miniseries “Little Fires Everywhere” and more than $1 million per episode for the Apple TV+ series “The Morning Show,” according to Variety.
With all of her financial success, it seems as if Reese “Silverspoon”could me a more fitting moniker.
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Net Worth: $250 Million
At $250 million, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ fortune is considerable for someone who dropped out of college and has acted primarily on television. Her appearance on this list, however, is also due to the fact that her family founded and still owns the Louis-Dreyfus Corporation. Her inheritance from her father, who died in 2016, could play a role in her net worth.
Of course, it’s worth noting that she earned $250,000 per episode for her work on HBO’s “Veep,” according to Variety. She also earned around $600,000 per episode toward the end of the run of NBC’s “Seinfeld” in the late 1990s, according to The New York Times. Being among the highest-paid television actresses certainly helped boost her net worth.
Victoria Principal
Net Worth: $350 Million
Regardless of who shot J.R., Victoria Principal, with a net worth of $350 million, is probably ready to pay for a robust legal defense. Principal rose to fame as Pamela Barnes Ewing on “Dallas,” but her tremendous wealth has a lot more to do with her status as a best-selling author and a successful line of natural skin care products under her Principal Secret brand.
Amitabh Bachchan
Net Worth: $400 Million
Plenty of Americans might underestimate just how popular Indian cinema is globally, but Bollywood is wildly successful throughout the world. Actor Amitabh Bachchan got his start with “angry young man” roles in the 1970s and went on to appear in more than 100 films by the early 1980s.
Today, he has more than 230 credits to his name, including recent films “Gulabo Sitabo” and “AB Aani CD.” He also founded his own production company, the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, en route to a net worth of $400 million.
Gisele Bündchen
Net Worth: $400 Million
Brazilian-born supermodel Gisele Bündchen is best known in the U.S. for being a Victoria’s Secret model and marrying NFL quarterback Tom Brady. Even so, maybe her claim to fame should also be for being filthy rich. She has had a wildly lucrative career as a spokesmodel for various clothing and beauty lines and is also a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme.
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Larry David
Net Worth: $400 Million
Before Larry David starred in the beloved “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” his name was known to hardcore sitcom fans as one of the creators and writers — and real-life inspiration for George Costanza — on “Seinfeld.” It’s the latter pop-culture phenomenon that accounts for David’s insane wealth — nine years after the show ended, PR Newswire estimated that an unprecedented syndication deal earned the “Seinfeld” alum $3.1 billion. At that time, the same source projected Larry David’s net worth at $900 million.
Two things are certain: Larry David is rich, and wealth hasn’t changed him much. “[Money] gave me something that I didn’t have, but […] it’s not a total transformation. I still, to this day, couldn’t walk up to a woman at a bar and say hello,” he told Charlie Rose in a 2015 “60 Minutes” interview.
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” earned four Emmy nominations in 2020 and has been renewed for an 11th season. David’s net worth isn’t done growing — even if his self-confidence is.
Judge Judy
Net Worth: $440 Million
Judith Sheindlin’s show, “Judge Judy,” doesn’t need high production values to be a hit — it’s already in its 25th season. Sheindlin’s a former judge in New York as well as a smart, shrewd and ruthless negotiator who takes home $47 million per year, according to Forbes.
Sheindlin described her annual paycheck “negotiations” with CBS bosses, according to a transcript The Hollywood Reporter obtained. She hands them an envelope containing her salary demands and other requests for her crew and production — if CBS doesn’t accept her terms, she walks and produces the show herself.
In March 2020, it was announced that “Judge Judy” will come to an end at the end of the 2020-21 season. However, Sheindlin also announced she will be moving on to “Judy Justice.”
Victoria Beckham
Net Worth: $450 Million
Victoria Beckham rose to fame as one of the Spice Girls in the late 1990s. But if you’re thinking three pop albums almost 20 years ago will net you close to a half-billion dollars, think again. Posh Spice’s net worth has more to do with her successful career in fashion as she launched her own fashion line in 2008. Her label is still going strong, and she recently collaborated with Reebok for the third release of the Reebok x VB collection.
Gloria Estefan
Net Worth: $500 Million
The rhythm is gonna get you, and, if you’re Gloria Estefan, make you a half-billion dollars in the process, apparently. Estefan’s tremendous success as a pop musician in the 1980s gave way to a career in Miami business and real estate that led to the founding of multimedia entertainment company Estefan Enterprises.
In August 2020, she released “Brazil305,” her first album in seven years.
Kathy Ireland
Net Worth: $500 Million
A net worth of $500 million is pretty high for someone who arguably wasn’t even the best-known model of the 1980s. But the real story of Kathy Ireland’s success actually started in 1993 when she launched her own line of socks. That led to Kathy Ireland Worldwide, which clocks about $2.6 billion in sales per year.
Jimmy Buffett
Net Worth: $600 Million
You might think of Jimmy Buffett as the guy with a Hawaiian shirt whose music your dad always plays during barbecues, but you also should think of him as one of the richest celebrities in America.
Once a busker in New Orleans, Buffett now has nearly 30 albums and more than 40 live tours under his belt — and he’s a smart investor. In partnership with OSI Restaurant Partners, the book author, casino owner and hotel magnate owns the Cheeseburger in Paradise and Margaritaville restaurant chains. Buffett released his most recent album “Life on the Flip Side” in 2020.
Earvin 'Magic' Johnson
Net Worth: $600 Million
From Lansing, Michigan, Magic Johnson was a basketball phenom from a young age, winning state championships in high school and the NCAA championship with Michigan State in 1979. The Lakers made the 19-year-old Johnson the first pick of the 1979 NBA Draft, and he went on to win five championships in 13 seasons in Los Angeles.
The size of his fortune, though, derives primarily from his business acumen. Johnson earned about $40 million playing basketball, but he used that to launch Magic Johnson Enterprises, which is worth an estimated $1 billion today.
In 2020, Johnson teamed up with MBE Capital Partners to offer $100 million in loans to minority- and women-owned businesses unable to secure federal PPP loans during the COVID-19 crisis.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Net Worths: $600 Million and $700 Million, respectively
The creative duo behind the show “South Park” — and the voices of the show’s characters Kyle and Cartman — Trey Parker and Matt Stone are worth over $1 billion combined. The ever-relevant humor and media empire of “South Park” is their bread and butter, but Parker and Stone also co-created the Broadway hit “The Book of Mormon,” which has pulled in more than $650 million worldwide.
“South Park” has been renewed through 2022, and in 2019, the duo told The Hollywood Reporter they’re hoping to make a new movie.
Celine Dion
Net Worth: $800 Million
Near, far, wherever you are, you might be pretty surprised to learn that Celine Dion is worth $800 million. She earned most of her fortune through international touring and her extremely lucrative Las Vegas residencies.
In 2019, she ended her 16-year run on the Las Vegas Strip with a record-breaking $681 million in ticket sales, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Dr. Dre
Net Worth: $820 Million
Dr. Dre, born Andre Romelle Young, might be straight outta Compton, but his talent as an entrepreneur over the years is straight outta Wall Street. Although Dr. Dre’s initial rise to prominence came through his skills as a producer and DJ, it was his foray into designer headphones that made him so rich. Apple purchased Beats Music and Beats Electronics — the latter the maker of the “Beats by Dre” headphones — in 2014 in a $3 billion transaction.
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Diddy Net Worth
Net Worth: $885 Million
Anyone familiar with Sean “Diddy” Combs’ successful but relatively brief music career in the 1990s might be a little shocked to know that he’s edging in on billionaire status. Diddy has always kept an eye on business, however, from founding music production company Bad Boy Entertainment early in his career to his Sean John clothing line to his lucrative development deal with Ciroc vodka.
Jay-Z
Net Worth: $1 Billion
Born Shawn Corey Carter, Jay-Z has had one of the most successful hip-hop careers ever. But it’s his myriad of other interests, spread out across a vast business empire, that helped him to reach billionaire status. Jay-Z created a joint venture with Live Nation called Roc Nation, launched the clothing line Rocawear and studio Roc-a-Fella Films. He also owns The 40/40 Club, Roc Nation Sports — a sports management division of Roc Nation that represents huge names such as Kyrie Irving — and the streaming service Tidal.
Also an investor, his firm Marcy Venture Partners raised an $85 million fund in 2019.
David Copperfield
Net Worth: $1 Billion
David Copperfield is the most commercially successful magician in history, according to Forbes, but how rich can a magician be? The answer is enormously, insanely, ridiculously rich.
At a shocking net worth of $1 billion — up from about $930 million in 2017 — Copperfield is now part of the elusive billionaires club. Copperfield earned $46 million in 2020, in part from his gig at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas before the pandemic shutdown, as well as his ownership of Musha Cay, a group of 11 private Bahamian islands where guests shell out six figures to vacation.
Oprah Winfrey
Net Worth: $3.5 Billion
Apparently, you can count Oprah Winfrey’s massive sums of money among her favorite things. Her entertainment empire is undeniably impressive in its scope, but her journey from popular talk show host to a multibillionaire is what’s really stunning.
In July 2020, she launched her new series, “The Oprah Conversation,” with Apple TV+.
Steven Spielberg
Net Worth: $3.7 Billion
It’s certainly no surprise that the legendary director of “E.T.,” Jaws” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” among others, is incredibly rich. But his net worth in excess of $3.7 billion puts him in rarified air for someone in the entertainment industry.
Some of his upcoming projects including directing the film “West Side Story” and serving as an executive producer on “Jurassic World: Dominion.”
Ralph Lauren
Net Worth: $6 Billion
It’s not a surprise that fashion designer Ralph Lauren is a wealthy man for his role in founding his eponymous apparel company. What’s surprising is just how rich he is. Worth $6 billion, Ralph Lauren is richer than Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey ($3 billion) and outgoing President Donald Trump ($2 billion).
In 2019, “Very Ralph,” the first documentary about Lauren, was released on HBO.
George Lucas
Net Worth: $6.5 Billion
Of course, even Spielberg and Oprah have to crane their necks to get a look at George Lucas, whose sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 paved the way to the wildly popular “Star Wars” sequels — as well as a $4 billion payday for Lucas, who was the sole owner. May the dividend check be with him.
Fans can rest easy, as achieving billionaire status hasn’t led Lucas to retire. He’s working on several “Star Wars” films and television productions still in the development phase.
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Andrew Lisa, Priscilla Aguilera and Laura Woods contributed to the reporting for this article.
All net worth figures are provided by Celebrity Net Worth unless otherwise noted and are accurate as of Nov. 13, 2020.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Celebrities Who Are Richer Than You Think
