George Lucas is America's wealthiest celebrity. From a California real-estate portfolio to making 'hobby movies,' see how the 'Star Wars' creator built and spends his $6.4 billion fortune.
Filmmaker George Lucas has an estimated net worth of $6.4 billion, thanks to his creation of two entertainment franchises with cult-like followings.
In 1971, George Lucas launched his production company, Lucasfilm, and with it, his claim to fame.
Source: Forbes
The following year, Lucas directed coming-of-age film "American Graffiti" — one of the most profitable movies of all time. Made on a budget of $777,000, it earned $140 million in revenue.
Source: Pajiba via Business Insider
But Lucas is most well-known for creating the "Star Wars" trilogy. The first installment, "A New Hope," was released in 1977. It's grossed a total of $621 million worldwide.
Source: Box Office Mojo
The second installment, 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back," grossed a total of $457 million worldwide.
Source: Box Office Mojo
And the third installment — "Return of the Jedi," released in 1983 — grossed a total of $418 million worldwide.
Source: Box Office Mojo
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lucas returned to "Star Wars" with a prequel trilogy: "The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," and "Revenge of the Sith."
Source: Box Office Mojo
Collectively, the "Star Wars" prequel movies grossed a total of $2.4 billion worldwide.
Source: Box Office Mojo
And these figures are only for the original films. The original, special editions, re-issues, or 3D versions of the "Star Wars" franchise have collectively grossed a total of $9.4 billion worldwide. That's an average of $558 million per movie.
Source: Box Office Mojo
But the cinematic arm of the "Star Wars" franchise isn't what really made Lucas rich.
Convinced the original "Star Wars" would be a flop, Fox (the film's distributor) let Lucas give up an additional $500,000 in directing fees in exchange for ownership of licensing and merchandising rights.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter via Business Insider
That turned out to be a strategic move for Lucas. In 1978, the year following the first "Star Wars," more than 40 million "Star Wars" figures sold for gross sales of $100 million-plus.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter via Business Insider
In 2011, a year in which there was no new "Star Wars" movie, "Star Wars" toys brought in more than $3 billion.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter via Business Insider
As of February 2012, the "Star Wars" series had earned $20 billion in merchandise and $3.8 billion in home entertainment products.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
But "Star Wars" isn't the only movie franchise Lucas is known for — he also created the "Indiana Jones" series with his good pal and fellow filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
Source: Vanity Fair
Released from 1984 to 2008, the series consists of four installments: "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
Source: IMDB
"Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" both spawned TV spinoffs, on which Lucas worked as a producer.
Source: Business Insider
Lucas has also expanded his scope outside the two franchises. He has a number of other producer credits, from Jim Henson's "Labyrinth" to the animated film "The Land Before Time."
Source: Business Insider
He's also helped Lucasfilm pioneer techniques in special effects, sound, and computer animation, from THX Ltd. and Skywalker Sound to Industrial Light and Magic. The latter is one of the most successful companies in the industry.
Source: Business Insider
Lucas owned 100% of Lucasfilm until 2012, when he decided to semi-retire and sold it to Disney for $4.1 billion in stock and cash.
Source: Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter
But Lucas' fortune keeps on growing. In 2018, Forbes named Lucas America's wealthiest celebrity.
Source: Forbes
But Silicon Valley isn't the only place where Lucas spends his time. He owns several properties in California.
Source: The Washington Post
North of San Francisco is the famous Skywalker Ranch, which sits on 4,700 acres.
Source: Business Insider
Lucas has spent $100 million developing the property since 1978, but has only built on 15 acres of the land. But Skywalker Ranch isn't Lucas' home.
Source: Business Insider
He uses the land as a retreat, and as work and studio space — it includes the 153,000-square-foot Technical Building, which features 10 stages, multiple design and editing suites, and a 300-seat theater.
Source: Business Insider, Lucasfilm
The property's 50,000-square-foot house is designed to look like the 1869 Victorian home of a cattle rancher.
Source: Business Insider
The estate includes a fitness center with racquetball courts and a swimming pool. There's also a movie theater, several screening rooms, and mostly underground parking.
Source: Business Insider
Skywalker Ranch even has its own fire brigade to protect the estate. The brigade is an active part of the Marin County Fire Mutual Aid program.
Source: Business Insider
From 2008 to 2010, Lucas owned a Hollywood house Bette Midler previously lived in. In June 2019, it was put on the market for $4.3 million.
Source: The Washington Post
In 2012, Lucas donated land he owned in San Anselmo to the San Anselmo Chamber of Commerce. It was turned into the 8,700-square-foot Imagination Park, which features statues of Yoda and Indiana Jones.
Source: Patch
Known as "Mi Patria," it has nine bedrooms and eight bathrooms. It also has a library, courtyard, gourmet eat-in kitchen, and tropical gardens.
Source: Variety
Since semi-retiring, Lucas is focusing on experimental movies, he told The Telegraph. "I'm finishing all my obligations and I'm going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies," he said.
Source: Forbes, The Telegraph
But he's also focusing more on his philanthropy efforts. In 2012, he announced that he planned to donate most of the $4 billion Disney sale to charity for education.
Source: Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter
The move wasn't a surprise, considering that Lucas has always been philanthropically inclined. He signed The Giving Pledge in 2010, promising to donate the majority of his wealth to improving education.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
His George Lucas Family Foundation is endowed with more than $1 billion.
Source: Forbes, Inside Philanthropy
In 2015, the foundation donated more than $64 million to over 200 organizations, from wildlife initiatives and refugee aid to inner-city youth support and various museums.
Source: Inside Philanthropy
Lucas has also given to other charities, such as the Film Foundation, Stand Up to Cancer, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
He also makes grants through the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which he founded in 1991. He's donated $175 million to his alma mater, USC.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Lucas gave $1 million to help build the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington DC.
Source: Business Insider
In 2017, Lucas announced plans to build the $1 billion non-profit Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. That includes building costs, his art, and a $400 million endowment.
Source: Los Angeles Times
The 300,000-square-foot museum will feature Lucas' collection of art, including "Star Wars" related items.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Lucas Museum
It will also feature daily film screenings in two theaters, a free public research library, and hands-on and digital classrooms.
Source: Lucas Museum
It's currently under construction and will create 1,400 jobs. It's slated to open in late 2021.
Source: Lucas Museum
Lucas has a reputation for being media-shy, according to an interviewer who described him as communicative. Jim Windolf of Vanity Fair called him "a very soft-spoken billionaire."
Source: Empire, Vanity Fair
He's well-respected and has received many awards and honors. In 2005, he received the Life Achievement Award in 2005 from the American Film Institute.
Source: Business Insider
In 2008, he was named one of the 100 "Greatest Americans" by the Discovery Channel.
Source: Business Insider
But he was never in it for the fame or the money. "After interviewing him twice and watching his movies repeatedly, I'm convinced he's driven by a huge, restless imagination," wrote Windolf.
Source: Vanity Fair
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