'Star Wars' creator George Lucas has largely retired from filmmaking since he sold his Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 for $4.1 billion in stock and cash. Lucas is now focused on philanthropy: his charitable family foundation has more than $1 billion in assets.
Under Iger, Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 billion, a deal under which Lucas received 37.1 million Disney shares. Lucas, who had founded the company in 1971, has an estimated net worth of $7.9 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
What did George Lucas do with the $4 billion? Upon news of the massive media move, a spokesperson for Lucasfilm confirmed to journalists that Lucas (who owns 100% of the company) planned to transfer much of the $4 billion to private philanthropy focused on U.S. education issues.
In addition to his career as a filmmaker, Lucas has founded and supported multiple philanthropic organizations and campaigns dedicated to education and the arts, including the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which has been noted as a key supporter in the creation of the federal E-Rate program to provide broadband ...
He has been an ardent advocate for education at all levels. For 25 years, he has been chairman of the George Lucas Education Foundation, which provides materials and strategies to innovate in classrooms from kindergarten through high school.
What George Lucas Did with the Money from Selling Lucasfilm to Disney
What has George Lucas done with his money?
'Star Wars' creator George Lucas has largely retired from filmmaking since he sold his Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 for $4.1 billion in stock and cash. Lucas is now focused on philanthropy: his charitable family foundation has more than $1 billion in assets.
Lucas does not earn any royalties from the newer movies or shows as a writer, director, or even creator. However, because of the Disney stock shares he received as part of the transaction, Lucas still sees a hefty payout due to the value of the stocks.
What did George Lucas do with the money Disney gave him?
Filmmaker George Lucas plans to devote the bulk of the proceeds from the sale of his Lucasfilm company to his philanthropic endeavors, the Hollywood Reporter reports.
In a section titled “Enduring franchises highlight our powerful IP and unique monetization capabilities,” Disney indicates that it has seen a 2.9 times and 3.3 times return on investment after purchasing Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios in 2012 and 2009, respectively.
What were the reasons at the time? When George Lucas sold his company, Lucasfilm, to Disney, he was 68 years old. He had been thinking about retirement for some time, and he wanted to pass on his company to a company he thought would continue the Star Wars legacy.
Disney acquired “Toy Story” creator Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion. The company became the owner of the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises following the purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012.
Disney's largest individual shareholders are the company's insiders, including the current CEO, Robert Iger, and top managers, such as Brent A. Woodford, Maria Elena Lagomasino, and Mary Barra. The largest institutional investors include the Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street.
Later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the film sprang up from the mind of 33-year-old writer-filmmaker George Lucas, who celebrates his 77th birthday today. Star Wars was set in a fictional far away galaxy and was mounted on an epic scale.
Because he opted for a half-stock/half-cash deal when he sold Lucasfilm, George Lucas owns 2+ percent of Disney. His current stock holdings are worth more than $4 billion even at today's not-great price.
Oh, I think he deeply regrets it on one level, in that Disney ruined the Star Wars franchise coming out of the gate and continues to ruin it. Lucas always considered the original six Star Wars films as “my kids,” and he felt very protective of them. But, when The Force Awakens premiered, 3 years afte…
On October 30, 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the production company founded by George Lucas, for a reported $4.05 billion. This deal granted Disney the rights to all existing Star Wars films and the rights to create new movies, TV shows, and other merchandise based on the brand.
Lucas himself has been called a “Buddhist/Methodist,” though it's not clear that he identifies with either religious tradition. “Let's say I'm spiritual,” he told Time magazine in 1999.
In September 1978, George Lucas purchased the first parcel of land, and named it Bulltail Ranch, which in subsequent years became Skywalker Ranch. Lucasfilm acquired 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of adjoining land for a total of over 4,700 acres (1,900 ha). Only 15 acres (6.1 ha) have been developed.
The Force and the Jedi religion, Lucas stated, were thus based on all religions in the real-world, as he constructed Star Wars mainly from Methodism—or Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—and Buddhism.
And with a net worth estimated by Forbes of $5.4 billion, mainly thanks to selling Lucasfilm to Disney, “Star Wars” creator Lucas is in a galaxy far, far away from anyone else on the list. Though his peer Steven Spielberg comes in at second place, with a net worth of $3.7 billion.
