1. Steven Spielberg
Director Steven Spielberg ends 2023 as the world’s richest celebrity. Bloomberg put his total net worth at $8.3 billion as of December 21, ranking him 291 on its real-time Billionaires Index.
The Oscar-winning director's net worth climbed an estimated $1.25 billion in 2023. The bulk of his assets are in cash.
He has a lifelong consulting agreement with Universal Studios theme parks. The value of the agreement at the end of 2022 was $1.1 billion, Bloomberg reported.
In addition, he has personal property worth $300 million.
Spielberg, 77, is the principal partner in film production company DreamWorks Studios. He has produced about 150 films, including Jaws, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List.
He and his wife, actor Kate Capshaw, own or have owned properties in Malibu and the Pacific Palisades in California, as well a 6,000-square-feet apartment in New York City and a four-hectare estate in East Hampton, New York, according to wealth tracking website Celebrity Net Worth.
He owns a superyacht worth $250 million and avidly collects film memorabilia and art.
2. George Lucas
The man behind the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movie franchises has a net worth of $6.92 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. That is an increase of about 12.4 per cent or $761 million over the previous year.
The filmmaker, aged 79, is now the 360th richest person in the world.
Most of his wealth has come from entertainment – specifically, from selling the rights of his Lucasfilm and special effects business Industrial Light and Magic to Disney for $4.1 billion in cash and stock in 2012.
The deal included 37.1 million in stock and made him the entertainment company’s second largest individual shareholder after Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs.
Lucas’s major investment is in farmland. Skywalker Properties owns about 2,470 hectares of ranches in and around Marin County, California.
3. Michael Jordan
Former basketball star Michael Jordan ends the year with a net worth of $3 billion, according to Forbes. The magazine ranks him as the 1,042nd richest billionaire.
Jordan, 60, has seen his net worth nearly double from $1.7 billion last year.
Many regard him as the greatest NBA player of all time. He played in the league for 15 seasons, from 1984 to 2003, and earned $90 million.
Off court, he has earned another $2.4 billion before taxes from partnerships with brands including Gatorade, Hanes and, perhaps most importantly, Nike.
The $2.5 million, five-year contract he signed with the sports apparel retailer in 1984 also awarded him a percentage of all shoes sold with his likeness.
The shoe brand Air Jordans earned $5.1 billion in 2022, with Jordan taking 5 per cent, according to Front Office Sports.
This year, Jordan banked additional income from selling the Charlotte Hornets basketball team at a valuation of $3 billion.
He has also invested in headphone brand Muzik and esports company aXiomatic, while he also co-owns Nascar team 23XI, along with several restaurants.
4. Oprah Winfrey
The richest woman on our list this year is Oprah Winfrey. Despite a net worth of $2.8 billion, she ranks well outside the world’s top 1,000 billionaires, at 1,121 on Forbes magazine’s real-time list.
The entrepreneur and philanthropist ended 2022 with a net worth of $2.5 billion, down from $2.7 billion in 2021.
Besides from her eponymous talk show, which ran for 25 years, Winfrey, 69, has also profited from films including Beloved and Selma, through her Harpo Productions company.
Reinvested, the profits from these entertainment properties total more than $2 billion, Forbes reports.
Her current projects include the Oprah Daily website and the musical retelling of the 1982 book The Color Purple. This film adaptation releases in cinemas around the world today.
5. Jay-Z
Music mogul Jay-Z, real name Shawn Corey Carter, now has a net worth of $2.5 billion, according to Forbes.
At the end of 2022, his net worth was reported as $1.3 billion.
The difference likely comes down to his beverage business. Luxury goods company LVMH purchased a 50 per cent stake in his Armand de Brignac brand in 2021. This year, he sold a majority of his D'Usse brand to Bacardi.
The 54-year-old is also the owner of entertainment company Roc Nation, founded in 2008.
As an investor, Jay-Z has stakes in companies including Block, Uber and Therabody.
6. Tom Ford
Fashion designer Tom Ford catapulted to billionaire status in 2022 after he sold his eponymous label and a separate fragrance and cosmetics business to Estée Lauder. Forbes magazine puts his net worth at $2.2 billion.
He founded the label in 2005 and owned 63.7 per cent of the company, according to Forbes.
Ford, 62, also owns a film production company, Fade to Black.
He has a real estate portfolio, with homes in Paris, Los Angeles, London, New York and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In August, he bought former US first lady Jackie Kennedy’s childhood holiday home for $52 million.
7. Kim Kardashian
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian, 43, has a net worth of $1.7 billion, most of which is from her stake in clothing brand Skims.
The company has been valued at $4 billion after a funding round this year, raising Kardashian’s net worth.
It is on track to make about $750 million this year, The New York Times reported.
She also owns a high-end skincare line, SKKN by Kim, and a private equity firm, SKKY Partners.
8. Peter Jackson
Holding steady at $1.5 billion is director Peter Jackson. The New Zealander is best known for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies.
Jackson, 62, became a billionaire when he sold his Weta Digital special effects studio to Unity Software for $1.6 billion in cash and stock in 2021.
His investments include $150 million in real estate, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
An aviation fan, he owns a Gulfstream G650 private jet, more than 40 airworthy First World War-era warbirds and Wingnut Wings, a scale modelling company specialising in First World War subjects.
9. Magic Johnson
Also joining the billionaires’ circle this year was former basketball star Magic Johnson. In October, Forbes put his net worth at $1.2 billion.
He earned $40 million over 13 seasons in the NBA. Outside basketball, he has investments and partnerships in cinemas, Starbucks franchises, real estate, health care and other companies.
The largest share of his fortune comes from a 60 per cent ownership stake in life insurance company Equitrust, which has $26 billion in assets under management.
Johnson, 64, also owns stakes in several sports teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers.
10. Taylor Swift
Singer Taylor Swift is perhaps the most notable newcomer to this year’s billionaire list, following the success of her Eras concert tour (and film).
Her net worth is $1.1 billion, according to Forbes.
The tour could earn her as much as $4.1 billion when it closes next year, The Washington Post reported.
The 12-time Grammy winner was also the year’s most streamed artist on Spotify, earning $131 million from 26.1 global streams over the 11 months to November.
She has more than 182 million in total equivalent album sales over her career.
Swift, 33, is one of the world’s richest self-made women. She is also one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires.
Top 10 richest celebrities in 2023
- Steven Spielberg: Net worth of $8.3 billion
- George Lucas: $6.92 billion
- Michael Jordan: $3 billion
- Oprah Winfrey: $2.8 billion
- Jay-Z: $2.5 billion
- Tom Ford: $2.2 billion
- Kim Kardashian: $1.7 billion
- Peter Jackson: $1.5 billion
- Magic Johnson: $1.2 billion
- Taylor Swift: $1.1 billion
