JAMES CAMERON | $700 MILLION

James Cameron is a widely known Canadian-born director. Two out of five movies that reached $2 billion in gross were directed by Cameron—Avatar and Titanic. Cameron was born in Ontario on August 16, 1954. At 17, his family relocated to Brea in the state of California. After high school, he intended to have a degree at Fullerton College but stopped after a year.

His breakthrough project as a director was when he single-handedly directed the movie
The Terminator in 1984. It grossed $78 million from a $7 million budget. Most of his movies after were Academy award-winning—Aliens and The Abyss. In 1997, he directed Titanic that went to receive a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations. While taping, the movie went over budget. For that reason, Cameron gave up his $8-million salary. Instead, he took back-end points. In the end, it translated into a $650 million payday for him. Avatar, on the other hand, was nominated for nine Academy Awards and brought home three. In 2020, Cameron’s net worth was $700 million.