- These billionaires have been recognized for their film achievements at the Oscars.
- Some are filmmakers behind commercially successful franchises.
- Others are billionaires who have accumulated their wealth through other avenues.
When thinking about Oscar winners, NFL team owners and computer-science researchers might not immediately come to mind.
But some of these icons of their industries have joined other, more famously creative billionaires to accept Hollywood's highest honors.
Here are 11 billionaires who have won Academy Awards for movies, documentaries, and short films they've worked on as directors, producers, writers, executive producers, or in other capacities.
Steven Rales
Estimated net worth: $8.3 billion, per Forbes
Rales, the chairman and cofounder of medical manufacturer Danaher, founded the film production company Indian Paintbrush in 2006 and has worked closely with director Wes Anderson ever since.
Rales also owns film distributors Janus Films and The Criterion Collection and has a 20% in the NBA Indiana Pacers.
He won the best live-action short film award in 2024 with Anderson's "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar," which he produced.
Jeffrey Lurie
Estimated net worth: $5.3 billion, per Forbes
The Boston businessman purchased the Philadelphia Eagles for $185 million in 1994 and has won two Super Bowls since. But Lurie has a background in film, and has produced and executive-produced more than a dozen movies.
His grandfather founded the General Cinema movie-theater chain, which operated 1,500 screens at its peak in 1991 before it was acquired by AMC in the early 2000s.
Lurie has won three Oscars for best documentary as executive producer of "Inside Job" in 2011, "Inocente" in 2013, and "Summer of Soul" in 2022.
Jeff Skoll
Estimated net worth: $5.2 billion
Skoll, who was eBay's first president from 1996 to 1998, founded film production company Participant Media in 2004 to create films that increased awareness of social issues.
He won best picture as executive producer of "Spotlight" in 2016 and "Green Book" in 2019.
In total, Participant Media has won 21 Academy Awards over 86 nominations, including best international film for "Roma."
George Lucas
Estimated net worth: $5.2 billion, per Forbes
The creator of the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" franchises founded the film production company Lucasfilm in 1971 and sold it to Disney for $4 billion in 2012.
In 1992, he won the Oscars' Irving G. Thalberg Award, which awards "creative producers whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production." He was also nominated for best director and best original screenplay for "American Graffiti" and "Star Wars" in 1973 and 1977, respectively.
Oprah Winfrey
Estimated net worth: $3 billion, per Forbes
The TV host and media mogul has been often regarded as the most powerful woman in media and was once the world's only Black billionaire.
She won the Oscars' Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which recognizes "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes" in 2011. She was also nominated for best supporting actress in 1985 for "The Color Purple."
Pat Hanrahan
Estimated net worth: $2.3 billion, per Forbes
The computer graphics researcher, founding Pixar Animation Studio employee, and computer-science and electrical-engineering professor at Stanford University has worked on groundbreaking animation software that led to films like "Toy Story."
He won a scientific and engineering Academy Award in 1993 and two technical achievement Oscars in 2004 and 2014.
Steve Tisch
Estimated net worth: $1.6 billion, per Forbes
The chairman, co-owner, and executive vice president of the New York Giants has produced over 40 films and has worked closely with Columbia and Sony Pictures.
He won the Oscar for best picture in 1995 with "Forrest Gump."
Peter Jackson
Estimated net worth: $1.5 billion, per Forbes
The "Lord of The Rings" and "Hobbit" filmmaker has written, directed, and worked on over 20 films and is the fifth highest-grossing director of all time, with his films surpassing $6.5 billion at the box office, per The Numbers rankings.
In 2004, he won Oscars for best director, best adapted screenplay, and best picture for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
Tyler Perry
Estimated net worth: $1.4 billion, per Forbes
The filmmaker and playwright created the Madea character in 1999 and founded his own production company, Tyler Perry Studios, in 2006. In 2019, he unveiled the new 330-acre studio grounds in Atlanta. His films have made over $765 million at the box office.
He received the Oscars' Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2021.
Richard Anthony Wolf
Estimated net worth: $1.2 billion, per Forbes
The film producer, best known for creating the "Law & Order" franchise, founded Wolf Entertainment in 1988. It has become one of the most prolific companies in the television business.
He won the Academy Award for best short film as a producer with "Twin Towers" in 2003.
