Niamh Shackleton
If asked who you think the richest actor in the world is, who would you say?
Dwayne Johnson or Tom Cruise, maybe? Or potentially Margot Robbie, following the massive success of Barbie last year?
Well, it turns out it's an actress that you might not have even heard of.
Best known for some of her roles in movies and TV shows released in the 80s to 00s, Jami Gertz surprisingly sits as the richest actor on earth.
Advert
Gertz has starred in the likes of Twister, The Lost Boys, Still Standing and Sixteen Candles over the years. Her most recent role was in 2022 Prime Video rom-com, I Want You Back.
As of 2023, Gertz was said to be worth a whopping $3 billion, NME reported, beating the likes of Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lopez and Jackie Chan and taking the title of richest actor in the world.
While she will have made a substantial amount from her acting career, it's her business endevors away from Hollywood that's really helped her financial success.
Advert
Gertz wed American business man Tony Ressler in 1989. A year after tying the knot, Ressler founded private equity firms Apollo Global Management and he's now has a net worth of $10.5 billion, as per Forbes.
The married pair have used the wealth over the years in to invest in sports teams and are part owners of NBA team the Atlanta Hawks and minority owners of the baseball team Milwaukee Beavers.
As well as this, Gertz founded her own production company, Lime Orchard Productions, in 2010.
Advert
While Ressler is worth more that his actress wife, Gertz says this wasn't the case when they first started dating.
"Everyone thinks I married a rich guy," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. "But I made more money — way more money — than Tony when I met him. I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation. I married him because I fell in love with him."
With their massive wealth in mind, both Gertz and Ressler are huge philanthropists and often donated large sums to charity. They've even created their own charitable organization, The Ressler-Gertz Foundation.
Advert
In 2012 the husband and wife were even named as the number one donor to charity of any celebrities after they made a staggering $10 million donation to their foundation.
Away from their charity work, Ressler and Gertz have pooled millions of dollars into their basketball team.
They paid $50 million of their own cash towards the $192 million renovation of State Farm Arena. After closing for six months, the sports stadium reopened in late 2018.