Here's Exactly How Rich Your 'Law & Order' Obsession Made Dick Wolf
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Dick Wolf's net worth makes him one of the richest people in TV thanks largely to the Law & Order and One Chicago franchises (and, let's be real, everyone's obsession with #Bensler).
Wolf has worked exclusively with NBCUniversal since 1990, a deal he credits to hard work, good hiring and basic bookkeeping.
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“I’ve survived six owners and 10 administrations,” he told The Los Angeles Times in 2012. “At some point, it’s a bit of the devil you know. I’m not really a high risk. I’ve never missed an air date or gone over budget. It’s a business relationship and that’s why I’ve survived. We all have the same aim. But the real secret to my success is that I hire obsessive people. For the senior producers, a 60-hour week is the norm. You can’t put out a quality product on half days. I have people who are firing on all cylinders.”
While working for him certainly sounds exhausting, it's also famously lucrative. Find out how Dick Wolf became famous and how much money he rakes in from all of his shows and their spinoffs.
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How did Dick Wolf become famous?
Dick Wolf was born in New York City. Early in his career, he worked as an advertising executive (his father's field), coming up with slogans for everything from airlines to toothpaste.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1977 to break into screenwriting for movies and had some success, namely with School Ties (which starred future Oscar winners Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, plus then-up and coming stars Chris O'Donnell, Cole Hauser and Anthony Rapp). His television work was acclaimed as well, earning an Emmy nod as a staff writer for Hill Street Blues and writing for St. Elsewhere, then writing and producing Miami Vice.
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Still, Wolf recalled being exhausted by the constant hustle and, somewhat ironically, decided to return to the city that never sleeps. He was in the process of developing Law & Order and insisted to then-president of Universal Television Kerry McCluggage to film in New York City, even though it would cost, on average at that time, $25,000 more per episode (nearly $50,000 adjusted for 2023 inflation) than to shoot in California. McCluggage eventually gave in.
"Everything else supposedly shot in New York doesn't look like New York," he told The New York Times. "N.Y.P.D. Blue is one of my favorite shows. But I can tell you every scene not shot in New York. When you hear a cop talk on Law & Order, you know it's a New York cop."
The rest, as they say, is history: Since the original Law & Order premiered in 1990, Wolf has had at least one show airing on NBC for the last 33 years.
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What is Dick Wolf's net worth in 2023?
Dick Wolf's net worth in 2023 is estimated at a whopping $600 million thanks to his prolific producing career. Not that he would, of course, but he could pay off a lot of crooked cops with that kind of cash.
Forbes reported in January 2020 that Wolf had a net worth of $550 million and made $10 million to $12 million per month from all of his TV shows. At that time, NBCUniversal would strike a deal with Wolf for another $300 million for exclusive streaming rights for his series on their Peacock platform.
But wait! There's more!
Wolf also signed yet another deal with NBCUniversal a month later for a reported $1 billion for five years.
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What is Dick Wolf's age?
Born Dec. 20, 1946, Dick Wolf is 76 years old.
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How many shows does Dick Wolf produce?
Throughout his career, Dick Wolf has been credited as a producer or executive producer on 47 TV shows.
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What shows does Dick Wolf produce?
Dick Wolf has been credited as a producer or executive producer on the following scripted series:
Miami Vice
Gideon Oliver
Christine Cromwell
Nasty Boys
H.E.L.P.
Law & Order
Mann & Machine
Human Factor
South Beach
Crime & Punishment
New York Undercover
The Wright Verdicts
Swift Justice
Feds
Players
Exiled: A Law & Order Movie
The Invisible Man
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
D.C.
Deadline
Arrest & Trial
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
L.A. Dragnet
Law & Order: Trial By Jury
Conviction
Law & Order: U.K.
Law & Order: LA
Chicago Fire
Chicago P.D.
Chicago Med
Chicago Justice
Law & Order True Crime
FBI
FBI: Most Wanted
Law & Order: Organized Crime
FBI: International
Law & Order: Hate Crimes
On Call
He's also produced unscripted the shows Cold Justice, Nightwatch, Cold Justice: Sex Crimes, 3AM, Inside the FBI: New York, Criminal Confessions, Murder for Hire, First Responders Live and LA Fire and Rescue.
How much did Dick Wolf have to pay in his divorce?
Dick Wolf and wife Christine split in 2003. In their divorce settlement, Wolf was ordered to pay Christine a one-time payout of $17.5 million, plus $2 million annually for eight years for a total of $33.5 million. She was also given their estate in Maine and other material possessions, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Law & Order as a franchise was valued at $4 million at the time of their divorce settlement, and Christine later learned from reading The Los Angeles Times that Wolf signed that famous billion-dollar deal with NBC—only after she'd signed off on the divorce agreement. She alleged in court filings afterward that Wolf had been concealing assets from her in the divorce, suing him for fraud and appealing decisions for another 15 years to no avail: The original settlement stuck.
