James Cameron’s $1.1 Billion Net Worth Began With One Life-Changing Film
Does James Cameron have any failures? Although he dropped out of college in his 20s and worked for a time as a truck driver, since the original Terminator in 1984, every single one of his movies has been successful. And not successful in a modest way. From True Lies to Titanic and, of course, the Avatar saga, Cameron is, as many say, the moviemaker nobody would ever bet against.
But just how rich have Cameron's movies made him? What's the filmmaker's net worth, and how did he get there? Ahead of the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, here's why Cameron is in a unique spot when it comes to movie-making wealth.
James Cameron's Net Worth
As recently reported by Forbesand confirmed by Celebrity Net Worth, Cameron's net worth is now at $1.1 billion. This puts him in a rare group of billionaire filmmakers, including George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who are worth $5.2 billion and $7.1 billion, respectively. So, Cameron isn't the richest filmmaker in the world, but he's certainly up there. In fact, at $1.1 billion, Cameron is closer to Peter Jackson, who sits at $1.7 billion for his net worth.
How George Lucas Put James Cameron on the Path to $1.1 Billion
Born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, on August 16, 1964, Cameron tried to study physics in 1973, but dropped out of Fullerton College in California. What was the thing that jolted Cameron to become a filmmaker? After working tons of odd jobs, including being a drunk driver and a janitor, Cameron saw Star Wars in 1977. This single experience propelled him into the movie industry.
So, if you think there's a bit of Star Wars flair in Avatar, that's exactly correct. Cameron was directly inspired by Star Wars to pursue filmmaking. In 1997, exactly 20 years after the first Star Wars hit theaters, Cameron's Titanic became the first movie to break the record of Star Wars as the highest-grossing movie of all time.
Where to Stream All of James Cameron's Movies
Other than his first movie, Piranha II: The Spawning, pretty much all of Cameron's films have been huge hits. Here's where to stream every single one.
- Piranha II: The Spawningstreams on the Roku Channel
- The Terminator streams on Netflix and Pluto TV
- Aliensstreams on Hulu and Disney+
- The Abyss streams on Disney+
- Terminator 2: Judgement Daystreams on Paramount+, Netflix, and Pluto TV
- True Lies is available to rent on YouTube, Fandango and elsewhere
- Titanic is streaming on Paramount+, Netflix, and Pluto TV
- Avatar is streaming on Disney+
- Avatar: The Way of Water is streaming on Disney+