The billionaire football fans and real-life Top Guns funding your favourite Oscar films
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Superyachts, football clubs, social media networks… and Oscar-winning films? Money has always been the dirty secret behind Hollywood success – those Best Picture goodie-bags don’t pay for themselves – but in recent years, the billionaire class behind the biggest films has come increasingly into the limelight. Moguls and (multi-multi) millionaires are turning away from the industries that made them their fortunes and investing in movies. Even more eyebrow-raising? Most of these films are very good.
It makes robust financial sense: in a fractured industry, one busy fending off the numerous alternative forms of entertainment cannibalising eyeballs worldwide, it’s become harder for studios to justify investing money on a product that doesn’t guarantee some sort of pre-existing audience. So what’s a filmmaker to do when increasingly risk-averse studios choose not to produce their passion projects? Enter the billionaires.
While billionaires have long tried their hand at film financing, notably Howard Hughes, the late Dodi Fayed (who helped fund Steven Spielberg’s Hook), and Planet Hollywood founder Keith Barish, they were often seen as vaguely inexperienced, starry-eyed characters throwing their money at flop projects.
All that has changed in recent years, however, with billionaire financiers now considered the potential saviours of the film industry. The major connection between many of the films they’re financing? They’re largely mid-range adult dramas with no real merchandising potential, and subsequently unlikely to get financing from a studio directly. Meaning for many artistically-minded films aimed squarely at adult audiences (like, say, a three-hour epic about the murder of Indigenous Americans), private financing is one of the few remaining means of getting projects made.
Take A24. The entertainment company was founded in 2012 and since then has become – depending on your perspective – either a hallmark of interesting, well-made films. Or a triumph of try-hard merchandising and film-bro self-congratulation. Possibly, it’s both. They were behind last year’s Oscars upsetter, Everything Everywhere All At Once, as well as the acclaimed Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest (up for five Oscars at this weekend’s ceremony), Priscilla and Zac Effron’s The Iron Claw.
Yet their impeccable cineaste credentials disguise some serious bucks: it was established by a trio of industry insiders – Daniel Katz, John Hodges and David Fenkel – all of whom had worked at the sharp end of the movies/money interface. And it’s backed by American billionaire Todd Boehly (see below), via his investment portfolio, Eldridge Industries.
But Boehly is far from the only tycoon getting in on the indie action. Here are a few of the big-hitters:
Todd Boehly
Net worth: $6.1 billion
Films financed (via A24) include: Priscilla, Beau is Afraid, The Zone of Interest, Midsommar, The Iron Claw, Talk to Me, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Whale
After studying at LSE, American Boehly made his wealth in finance, joining Guggenheim Partners in 2001. He’s long had an interest in entertainment and sport, making early deals for Time Warner and the LA Dodgers. Since 2015, his personal portfolio – incorporated under Eldridge Industries – has included a raft of magazines, including Variety, Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter, as well as A24 and other entertainment studios. He’s also the chairman and owner of Chelsea football club.
Requisite eccentric billionaire trivia: Boehly had a rocky relationship with former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel. In September last year, during a run of poor performances by the club, Boehly was barred from the dressing room at half time by Tuchel. In fairness to Boehly, he was reportedly showing a group of children around as part of a prize tour. But denying your boss entry is never a good look, and Tuchel was fired soon after only six months. Boehly denied it had anything to do with this incident.
Dan Friedkin
Net worth: $6.1 billion
Films financed include: The Square, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Mule, All the Money in the World
Heir to Toyota Gulf States, which distributes Toyota’s vehicles, Friedkin took over from his father, who founded the company, when he was 35. His other investments include a portfolio of luxury resorts and the ownership of Italian football club, A S Roma.
Yet it’s through his entertainment company, Imperative Entertainment, that Friedkin has had most impact on popular culture. Established in 2014, it’s produced podcasts, TV, documentaries and film. They backed Clint Eastwood’s The Mule and Ruben Ostlund’s The Square. Most recently, it fronted some of the $200m budget for Martin Scorsese’s great Oscars hope, Killers of the Flower Moon. Friedkin’s 30West group also owns a majority stake in overachieving independent distributor Neon, who won Best Picture in 2020 with Parasite and are in the 2024 race with Anatomy of a Fall.
Requisite eccentric billionaire trivia: Alongside purchasing sports teams and backing directors’ passion projects, Friedkin has a pleasingly eccentric spread of billionaire-appropriate interests. He’s a semi-pro golfer and a stunt plane pilot, flying high-performance vintage aircraft in shows across the UK and America. He even cameoed as a Spitfire pilot in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, piloting an authentic Spitfire through an aerial dogfight before cresting down on a beach at Dunkirk: a display which won him a Taurus Stunt award.
Megan and David Ellison
Net worth: $4.3 billion (rumoured)
Films financed (as Annapurna) include: True Grit, The Master, Spring Breakers, Zero Dark Thirty, Her, American Hustle, Foxcatcher, Wiener-Dog, Everybody Wants Some!!, Sausage Party, 20th Century Women, Detroit, Phantom Thread, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Booksmart, Landscape with Invisible Hand, Nimona
Films financed (as Skydance) include: True Grit, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Jack Reacher, World War Z, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Baywatch, Annihilation, Life, Top Gun: Maverick, Air, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
One of the first billionaire investors to welcome the spotlight, from 2010 Megan Ellison has been the golden goose of independent Hollywood, using her family wealth to launch Annapurna Pictures and now a video game division Annapurna Interactive. She’s been fairly quiet since 2019’s Booksmart, but will be at this year’s Oscar ceremony with her Best Animated Feature contender Nimona.
Her brother David, though, founder of Skydance Media, has been anything but. In 2010, Skydance partnered with Paramount Pictures, essentially saving the then-beleaguered studio from turmoil, to help finance their projects. Since then, they’ve been behind blockbusters including Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Air. They also backed 2022’s biggest film – Top Gun: Maverick. It’s safe to say without Skydance Tom Cruise’s pension would be looking a little less healthy.
The children of Larry Ellison, the fifth richest man in America (current net worth: $142.2 billion), actual figures for their respective wealth is uncertain; there are rumours of annual $200 million hand-outs, and Megan being gifted $2 billion on her 25th birthday.
While both are notoriously press-shy, Megan in particular has a strong eye for filmmaking, and a reputation for allowing directors she respects to make the films they want.
Requisite eccentric billionaire trivia: In 2013, Megan threw down $30m for an LA pad described as “supervillain worthy” by California real estate magazine Curbed. The architectural nightmare, anchored by a collection of swooping spaceship-like curves, is perfect for a night chilling with Jessica Chastain and Paul Thomas Anderson, or alternatively a meeting between Dr. Evil and his minions.
James Packer
Net worth: $2.8 billion
Films financed include: Gravity, The Lego Movie, Edge of Tomorrow, Mad Max: Fury Road, Black Mass, The Revenant, Midnight Special, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, The Accountant, Rules Don’t Apply, IT, The Lego Ninja Movie, Justice League
One of the few on this list to have become a tabloid celebrity in his own right, having wooed both Miranda Kerr and Mariah Carey, Australian billionaire James Packer moved into film finance in 2013.
The son of Rupert Murdoch-esque media mogul Kerry Packer, James lost “a bunch of money in America” due to the impact of the financial crisis on his casino business, before more than making up for it with investments in China.
In 2013, Packer partnered with Rush Hour director Brett Ratner to create production company RatPac Entertainment. They then teamed up with producer Steven Mnuchin to form RatPac-Dune, which has since been financing movies for Warner Bros. Pictures. Their first collaboration was the Alfonso Cuaron space thriller Gravity. They are considered somewhat hands-off in terms of creativity, running with the ebb-and-flow of Warner Bros’ executive interests.
Requisite eccentric billionaire trivia: Where to begin? Maybe the time Packer and fellow Aussie billionaire David Gyngell brawled in the street over the latter reportedly tailing Packer’s then-girlfriend Miranda Kerr with a camera crew. Or the time he hired Scorsese, DiCaprio and De Niro for a $70 million commercial to promote his Manila casino. Or the time Mariah Carey reportedly threw his laptop out of a window and ran out of the room screaming when he played a Beyoncé song to get her in the mood. He’s a colourful character.
Jeffrey Skoll
Net worth: $3.9 billion
Films financed include: Syriana, The Kite Runner, The Informant!, The Help, Contagion, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Lincoln, The Fifth Estate, Spotlight, Bridge of Spies, A Monster Calls, Roma, American Factory, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Jeffrey Skoll was the first employee and also first president of eBay, having subsequently made $3.9 billion as a result. In 2005, Skoll founded the production company Participant Media.
He’s considered one of the friendlier and more creatively-minded billionaires in Hollywood, striking up strong relationships with the George Clooney/Steven Soderbergh/Matt Damon crowd, financing many of their passion projects. He’s also expanded into documentary financing, and is somewhat responsible for notable hits including Citizenfour, He Named Me Malala and 2019’s Oscar-winner American Factory. Through Participant, he has backed more than 100 films, and received 78 Oscar nominations, winning 18. Next on his slate, among other projects, is the film adaptation of the hit West End play Prima Facie, with Cynthia Erivo taking the Jodie Comer part.
Requisite eccentric billionaire trivia: Unlike many others on this list, Skoll is considered to be a genuinely modest billionaire. He’s environmentally-friendly, appears to have no marital skeletons in his closet, and lives in an unassuming, conventionally-designed $20 million home in Silicon Valley. He gave $120 million to combat Covid-19 in 2020.
Ronald Burkle
Net worth: $3 billion
Films financed include: Movie 43, Safe Haven, August: Osage County, Jane Got a Gun, Rules Don’t Apply
With an estimated worth of $3 billion, Ronald Burkle made his money via a venture capital firm and involvement in merging and acquiring supermarket chains across the United States.
Unlike many on this list, he perhaps doesn’t have the best sense of quality control when it comes to his film investments. Movie 43 and Rules Don’t Apply are memorable bombs, while the Natalie Portman western Jane Got a Gun had a notoriously troubled production, with British director Lynne Ramsay quitting the film days into shooting. His other business ventures have also been rocky; he acquired the troubled Soho House brand in 2014. But he’s had more luck with TV, investing in mega-hitter Taylor Sheridan’s universe, including the shows Lawman: Bass Reeves, 1883 and Special Ops: Lioness.
Requisite eccentric billionaire trivia: Burkle was once very friendly with the Clinton family, raising millions for their political campaigns, until a mysterious falling-out in early 2016. Burkle would later go on to help fund the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John Kasich. Outlets have speculated it might have to do with Burkle frequently loaning out one of his private jets to Bill Clinton, which led to several unwanted headlines in the US press. His name was also found in Jeffrey Epstein’s “Little Black Book” and on the flight manifest for his private jet. However, they don’t seem to have been close – Burkle reportedly declined a return flight with Epstein, describing him as “creepy”.
Steven Mnuchin
Net worth: $400 million
Films financed include: Borat, Marley & Me, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Avatar, Black Swan, X-Men: First Class, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Prometheus, Life of Pi, Edge of Tomorrow, Wonder Woman, Mad Max: Fury Road
After making millions from Goldman Sachs, where his father was also a partner, Mnuchin moved into film financing in 2006. With a jarringly schizophrenic slate of films, financed through his Dune Entertainment banner until it merged with RatPac to form RatPac-Dune, Mnuchin himself has a murky track record.
He’s been accused of taking advantage of the 2008 financial crash by purchasing failing mortgage lender IndyMac and subsequently raking in billions of dollars foreclosing homes, all protected by government legislation. He also produced Suicide Squad (the awful one). His most notable recent move, though, was political, serving as Donald Trump’s Secretary of the Treasury from 2017-2021. What another Trump presidency will mean for his political ambitions – or the quality of Hollywood filmmaking – remains to be seen.
Requisite eccentric billionaire trivia: Mnuchin’s very glamorous 43-year-old wife Louise Linton is a Scottish former actress, who you may have seen on CSI: New York or in William & Kate: The Movie. She came under fire for self-publishing a white-saviour memoir entitled How My Dream Gap Year in Africa Turned Into a Nightmare, which chronicled her charitable experiences in Gambia at 18 with rather suspect accuracy. She also wrote, produced and starred in the flop Me You Madness, which Metacritic deemed the worst film of 2021.
Christopher Woodrow
Films financed include: Killer Joe, Welcome to the Punch, The Immigrant, The Green Inferno, Birdman, Manglehorn, Child 44, Triple 9, Rules Don’t Apply, Hacksaw Ridge, Legend, Expend4bles
Former investment banker Christopher Woodrow founded Worldview Entertainment in 2007, financing films including Killer Joe and Birdman, but it quietly imploded soon after Birdman hit cinemas. Woodrow left his role as CEO amid a lawsuit claiming he misled investors and stole business funds for personal expenses. Woodrow counter-sued for defamation. Worldview haven’t produced anything since 2017. But Woodrow himself has been relatively busy as an executive producer, backing 2023’s About My Father and Expend4bles plus the forthcoming video game adaptation Borderlands.
Requisite eccentric billionaire trivia: According to the lawsuit filed by Woodrow’s one-time business partner Maria Cestone, Woodrow splashed out on elaborate luxury items that he claimed were company expenses. These included $180,000 on lotions, soaps and bathroom accessories, $2,000 on a romantic getaway, and $8,000 on interior decoration for his mother’s home. Woodrow denied all allegations.
Sir Leonard Blavatnik
Net worth: $32.7 billion
Films financed include: The Butler, Mr. Holmes, Woman in Gold, Hacksaw Ridge, Silence, The Iron Claw, The Zone of Interest, Tetris, Beau is Afraid, Love Lies Bleeding
With enough money to make many of the people on this list look like they have mere pocket change, Ukrainian-born entrepreneur Blavatnik is a one-man powerhouse, having made his fortune in natural resources and other investments during the collapse of the USSR. He subsequently moved into the entertainment industry via purchases of Warner Music Group and investments in Spotify and Beats Electronics. He’s subsequently been named Britain’s richest man in 2021.
He hasn’t come without his fair share of controversy, however. Critics at Oxford wrote an open letter in 2015 to try and convince the university to reject a £75 million gift from the tycoon, over concerns it was made via corrupt means alongside Vladimir Putin. The billionaire, who has British-American citizenship, insisted he was a strong believer in democracy who hadn’t had any contact with Putin since 2000; the donation went ahead as planned.
Requisite eccentric billionaire trivia: According to a 2014 New Yorker profile asking who Blavatnik is and where he actually came from, it was revealed that he idolises The Great Gatsby, owns an Enigma machine, hates being photographed with anyone who isn’t a beautiful woman, and has been warned to rein in his flamboyant spending by close advisers. In a wonderful sentence that could only be uttered by the moguls on this list, Blavatnik is reported to have replied: “But I have so much!”
