If you were asked to guess the richest actor in the world, you’d probably presume it’s one of the big names.
Celebrities like Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, or Meryl Streep may spring to mind. But it turns out, the real richest actor in the world is not so well known.
Many haven’t even heard of her – despite the fact she’s reportedly worth an unfathomable amount… It turns out the actor with the most money is a star who largely keeps out of the public eye.
Actress Jami Gertz, 58, is estimated to have a total net worth of $3 billion, which equates to around £2.45 billion. This makes the relatively unknown star the richest actor on the planet.
Gertz is best known for her roles in The Lost Boys and Sixteen Candles. She also appeared in the 1996 blockbuster Twister as Dr Melissa Reeves, beside Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.
Regarding her television appearances, the actress has popped up in everything from Seinfeld to Modern Family.
People have been left baffled by the fact this lesser-known actress has such a high net worth.
“Jami Gertz? Never heard of her,” one person comments.
Another asks: “How come I hardly see Jami Gertz in movies? Did she make it from acting, or does she have other incomes?”
“I’m off to Google first ’cause this is giving I don’t know who this person is,” somebody else says.
There may be a good reason you haven’t heard of Gertz.
Although she has enjoyed her fair share of showbiz roles, that’s not where the majority of her fortune comes from.
Gertz and her husband’s business interests have bagged her a lot of cash.
Her spouse is billionaire Antony ‘Tony’ Ressler, who Forbes estimates has a total wealth of $11 billion.
Gertz married the businessman in 1989, and they’ve welcomed four children – sons Oliver, Nicholas and Theo, and daughter Abigail.
Ressler made his fortune by co-founding private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 1990, with his brother-in-law, Leon Black.
He then co-founded Ares Management less than a decade later, before stepping down as CEO in 2017.
Ressler has part ownership of the NBA team the Atlanta Hawks, as well as minority ownership of the Milwaukee Beavers.
However, the couple aren’t hoarding all of their wealth.
Gertz and her husband were named the number one donators to charity in 2012 by the Giving Back Fund after donating more than $10 million to the Ressler Gertz Foundation, which focuses on the arts, education, health and Jewish organisations.
Gertz also serves on a board of directors for the Melanoma Research Alliance – the world’s largest nonprofit funder of research into skin cancer.
Ressler has said (per Metro): “Jami and I take our responsibility as owners of a professional sports franchise in the great city of Atlanta very seriously – and with that responsibility is a commitment to devote resources to organisations that are making tangible, impactful change.”
