The fortune of the director of the cult films “Terminator”, “Titanic”, and “Avatar”, James Cameron, has exceeded $1 billion. This is according to Forbes’ calculations.
They note that the bulk of his capital was formed by income from film projects over a 40-year career. Since the 1980s, Cameron’s films have grossed about $9 billion worldwide.
But soon the director may become even richer – the third part of “Avatar”, which will be released on December 19, is predicted to have box office receipts of about $2 billion. Cameron himself may earn at least $200 million after the film’s release.
When assessing his fortune, Forbes considered the director’s charitable activities, real estate transactions, and instances in which he declined royalties to maintain creative control. The publication estimates that these costs are offset by licensing income from theme parks and merchandise, as well as the value of Cameron’s stake in the production company Lightstorm Entertainment.
Forbes says that Cameron remains the only billionaire director to have achieved this status solely through film, without any outside business. Other filmmakers who have also achieved billionaire status include Steven Spielberg ($7.1 billion), George Lucas ($5.3 billion), Peter Jackson ($1.7 billion), and Tyler Perry ($1.4 billion).