Writer and producer Norman Lear, who passed away on December 6, 2023, at 101 years old, had one of the most successful show business careers of all time. He acted for years and is responsible for bringing audiences joy for decades. Given his impressive legacy, many are left wondering what his net worth was.
Lear’s net worth, explained
Norman Lear was believed to be worth about $200 million at the time of his death, according to Parade.
Lear began his television career writing for sitcoms in the 1950s. He would go on to create and produce some of the most successful and acclaimed sitcoms of the 1970s beginning with All in the Family in 1971 and continuing with some of the first television shows to portray black family life to be shown on prime-time TV.
His shows are well-known and commended for being some of the first to combine humor with controversial societal issues. He was not shy to include mentions of homophobia, sexual assault, racism, and other important topics.
Despite a career that spans over half a century, Lear continued to work in the field of entertainment and remains the Chairman of his production company, Act III Communications. He even executive produced the 2017 reboot of One Day at a Time that aired until 2020 and, like its predecessor, received mass critical acclaim.
Lear’s fortune sprung primarily from his two production companies, T.A.T. Communications, one of the most successful producers of prime-time television entertainment in the 1970s, and Act III Communications, which produced a string of successful movies in the 1980s including Rob Reiner’s The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, and The Princess Bride.
In addition, Lear sold Avco Embassy Pictures to Columbia Pictures in 1985 for millions of dollars worth of shares in The Coca-Cola Company.
While his career and monetary accomplishments are impressive, the way he made people smile and educated them on important topics through his work is the best part of his legacy.