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Star Wars Guru George Lucas Crowned America’s Richest Celebrity

Thanks to Disney's $4.1 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm six years ago, George Lucas is now officially America's richest celebrity.

Six years ago, there was… an awakening.

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Deep within the bowels of Disney, the Powers That Be decided to shell out an eye-watering $4.1 billion to seize control of Lucasfilm and all its precious assets, ultimately guiding the Star Wars franchise under the same corporate umbrella as Pixar and Marvel Studios – and, soon, 20th Century Fox.

Such a bold statement of intent has turned out overly well for the Mouse House, given how Disney’s new line of Star Wars movies – namely The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, and Solo – have essentially covered the exorbitant price tag of Lucasfilm. But there’s one man who’s still benefitting for what is perhaps one of the most groundbreaking acquisitions in entertainment history – George Lucas.

Per Forbes, Lucas has been crowned America’s richest celebrity, beating out fellow filmmaker Steven Spielberg ($3.7 billion) and media mogul Oprah (No. 3; $2.8 billion) to the throne. Other contenders included Michael Jordan ($1.7 billion), while Kylie Jenner is still on course to become the world’s youngest ever self-made (!) billionaire at only 21.

For Lucas, the Disney acquisition naturally propelled his fortunes to even greater heights, but the seasoned filmmaker has additional revenue streams, too; as Forbes points out, the Star Wars maestro holds a 90 percent stake in the basketball team Charlotte Hornets, which is said to be worth around $800 million, give or take.

All told, George Lucas has some pretty deep pockets, though it’s fair to say that Disney has also benefited from the subsequent sale of Lucasfilm, having already churned out four live-action Star Wars movies. And there’s plenty of more stories to come, too, what with the so-far untitled Episode IX now less than a year away…