Category:
Richest Business › Producers
Net Worth:
$1 Billion
Birthdate:
Dec 20, 1946 (77 years old)
Birthplace:
New York City
Gender:
Male
Height:
6 ft 3 in (1.93 m)
Profession:
Screenwriter, Television producer, Film Producer, Television Director, TV Program Creator
Nationality:
United States of America
Dick Wolf is a prolific American producer, television show creator and writer. Dick Wolf has a net worth of $1 billion. Dick Wolf is probably most famous today for being the creator of the popular “Law & Order” television franchise. To date, Dick has personally earned around $1.5 billion from syndication royalties. With a net worth of $1 billion, Dick Wolf is on the same level as fellow mega-rich producers Chuck Lorre, James Burrows and Jerry Bruckheimer. As we detail later in this article, Dick Wolf earns $120 – $180 million every year from his TV empire. This range was confirmed in a 2019 divorce court filing.
The very first episode of the very first iteration of “Law Order” debuted on NBC on September 13, 1990. Fast forward three decades, and there have been over 1,300 episodes of what has become one of the most valuable franchise television properties of all time. As of this writing, there are a total of nine current, former, and planned iterations of the “Law & Order” franchise. This franchise has made Dick Wolf one of the richest television producers of all time. As of this writing, the original “Law & Order” franchise has produced more than 450 episodes over 20+ seasons. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” has aired more than 500 episodes over 23+ seasons, making it the longest-running television show of all time. “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” aired 195 episodes over ten seasons. There have been several other iterations, and there are several more in development.
Contrary to what you might assume, Dick is not a one-trick pony. Through Wolf Entertainment, Dick is also the Executive Producer of the “Chicago” television franchise, which has produced more than 530 episodes across its “Fire,” “P.D.” and “Med” iterations. Wolf Entertainment is working on a third powerhouse with its “FBI” franchise. As of this writing, there have been around 130 episodes of “FBI,” “FBI: Most Wanted” and “FBI: International.” Total it all up, and we’re talking about roughly 2,000 episodes of television content thanks largely to one man.
During his divorce proceedings a few years back, Dick’s third wife Noelle filed paperwork that laid out the Wolfe empire in detail. Those filings revealed that every year Dick personally makes…
$120 – $180 million
On a monthly basis, that breaks down to…
$10 – $15 million
Breaking it down on a daily basis, that’s…
$330,000 – $490,000
Every single day. Seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Using the $490,000 number, Dick Wolf essentially earns around $20,000 every single hour of every single day of the year. That’s $333 every minute he is alive, whether he’s working, sleeping, eating, going for a walk…
Richard Anthony Wolf was born in New York City on December 20, 1946. His mother, Marie G. (ne Gaffney), was a homemaker, and his father, George Wolf, was an advertising executive. He attended Saint David’s School, The Gunnery, and Phillips Academy before receiving a college degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated as a member of the class of 1969 and was a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity.
Upon graduating, Dick initially followed his father’s footsteps into the advertising industry. He spent a short period working as a copywriter. After moving to Los Angeles, he has three of his screenplays produced. Out of these three, the film “Masquerade” (1988), starring Rob Lowe and Meg Tilly, was particularly well received. He went on to start his career in television as a staff writer on “Hill Street Blues.” He was nominated for his first Emmy Award for his work on the episode “What Are Friends For?” for which he was the sole writer. He later moved to the show “Miami Vice,” where he was a writer and co-producer for the third and fourth seasons.
Wolf’s next project, the drama “Law & Order,” ran from 1990 to 2010. It is one of television’s most successful franchises and tied “Gunsmoke” for the title of the longest-running dramatic show in television history at the time. Other achievements of the show include the most consecutive Emmy Award nominations of any primetime drama series. It also inspired several spin-off shows, including “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Law & Order: Trial by Jury,” “Law & Order: UK,” and “Law & Order: Los Angeles.” Although the spin-off series listed have been canceled, one spin-off is still on the air. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is, as of May 2019, the longest-running scripted primetime drama, having aired 458 episodes. It broke the record of the original “Law & Order” record of 456 episodes. Wolf serves as the creator and executive producer of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Other projects Wolf worked on in the late 1990s and early 2000s include the police drama “New York Undercover,” which ran on the Fox Broadcasting Company Network from 1994 to 1998. He co-created the series with Kevin Arkadie, and was also executive producer of the series. He was also the creator and executive producer of NBC’s courtroom reality series “Crime & Punishment”, which chronicled real-life cases that were prosecuted by the San Diego District Attorney’s office. He was also involved in the production of a documentary about the rock group The Door, called “When You’re Strange,” and his company produced the Academy-Award-winning Short Documentary about two brothers who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, “Twin Towers” (2003).
Another successful series Dick Wolf produced is “Chicago Fire,” which premiered on NBC in May 2012. The series follows a group of men and women working at the Chicago Fire Department. Although it initially did not have high ratings, it would go on to become NBC’s No. 2 scripted drama series. It also spawned several spin-off series, such as “Chicago PD,” “Chicago Med,” and “Chicago Justice.” As of January 2019, the Chicago franchise has aired more than 35- episodes across its various series. Another show Wolf has worked as executive producer on is the CBS drama “FBI,” starring “Law & Order” cast members Jeremy Sisto and Alana de la Garza. He also developed the unscripted show “Cold Justice” for TNT and announced on March 31, 2020, a new “Law & Order: SVU” spin-off series set to air in the 2020-2021 season and will consist of 13 episodes.
In May 2021, NBC ordered a docuseries called “LA Fire and Rescue” produced by Dick Wolf, and in 2023, NBC renewed his other six dramas, including “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU,” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”
Wolf has won many awards for his work, most notably from the Banff Television Festival, NATPE, Anti-Defamation League, Entertainment Industries Council, New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Publicist’s Guild of America, and the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. On March 29, 2009, Dick Wolf received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Wolf has been married three times. His divorce battle with his second wife, Christine Marburg, lasted 12 years. In January 2019, it was revealed that Wolf was divorcing his third wife, Noelle Lippman.
The divorce between Wolf and Marburg started in the early 2000s and was legally settled in 2005. Not surprisingly, a big part of their settlement talks was the value of “Law & Order.” Since it was created during their marriage, Marburg was legally entitled to half the value of the show. During negotiations, financial advisors estimated that the total value of “Law & Order” was a meager $8 million. So, you can imagine Marburg’s shock when, just a few months after signing the settlement deal, she read in the LA Times that claimed Wolf was finalizing a new production deal with NBC that valued Law & Order at$1.6 billion. This revelation set Christine on a legal rampage that lasted until 2016. Her lawsuits were ultimately not successful. Third wife, Lippman, agreed to receive a settlement of $17.5 million in cash plus $2 million per year for eight years.
In 2012, it was reported that Wolf earned around $70 million. In January 2019, a court filing as part of his divorce from Noelle Lippman revealed that Dick Wolf earns between $10 and $15 million every month from his TV empire. That’s $120 $180 million per year. The same filing showed that Wolf and Lippman did not have a prenup, which would have protected a large portion of TV assets, although she would still be entitled to half the income he earned and half the assets they acquired during their marriage, which lasted from 2006 to 2018.
In April 2019, Dick gave his ex-wife Noelle the $14.8 million mansion in Santa Barbara, California. She sold it in 2022 for $18.2 million. Dick’s primary home since 1999 has been a 5-acre estate not far from Santa Barbara in the upscale town of Montecito. His property features 16,000 square feet of living space spread over multiple structures. Based on recent comparable sales, Dick’s Montecito spread is potentially worth north of $50 million.
Out of all entertainment industry art collectors, Dick Wolf is arguably the most prolific. He has been collecting significant pieces for decades. To give you an idea of the scale of his collection, there are TWO wings named after him at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. MOMA named the two wings in his honor after he donated around 200 pieces and “tens of millions of dollars” in late 2023. The Dick Wolf MOMA collection includes works by Botticelli, Van Gogh, Giovanni Battista and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, among dozens of other artists.
Even after the 2023 donation, Dick continues to own an extremely impressive private collection that is likely worth well north of $100 million.
