David Mamet Net Worth

What is David Mamet’s Net Worth?

David Mamet is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director who has a net worth of $12 million. David Mamet is known for writing such award-winning plays as “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “American Buffalo,” and “Speed-the-Plow.” For the big screen, he wrote and directed such films as “House of Games” and “Heist,” and earned Academy Award nominations for his screenplays to “The Verdict” and “Wag the Dog.” Mamet’s books include “On Directing Film,” “The Old Religion,” “The Wicked Son,” and “Bambi vs. Godzilla.”

Early Life and Education

David Mamet was born on November 30, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois to Lenore, a teacher, and Bernard, a labor attorney. He is Jewish. As a youth, Mamet attended Francis W. Parker School. For his higher education, he went to Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.

Theater Career

Mamet first got involved in theater when he worked for director Robert Sickinger at Hull House Theatre in Chicago. His breakthrough came in the 1970s with his off-Broadway plays “The Duck Variations,” “Sexual Perversity in Chicago,” and “American Buffalo.” Also that decade, Mamet wrote such plays as “Squirrels,” “The Water Engine,” “A Life in the Theatre,” and “The Woods.” In the early 1980s, he penned “Edmond,” “The Frog Prince,” and “Glengarry Glen Ross,” the lattermost of which became one of his most famous works. Focused on two days in the lives of four unscrupulous Chicago real estate agents, “Glengarry Glen Ross” premiered in London in 1983 before opening on Broadway the following year. Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize for the play and earned a Tony Award nomination. His subsequent plays included “The Shawl” and “The Poet & the Rent.” In 1988, Mamet received his second Tony Award nomination for “Speed-the-Plow,” a satire of the American movie industry. He followed that with “Bobby Gould in Hell,” a one-act play following a character from “Speed-the-Plow.”

In the 1990s, Mamet wrote “Oleanna,” “The Cryptogram,” “The Old Neighborhood,” and “Boston Marriage.” The next decade, his credits included “Faustus,” “Romance,” “November,” and “The Vikings and Darwin.” Mamet also wrote “Race,” which premiered on Broadway in late 2009 with James Spader, Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, and Richard Thomas. A few years later, his two-person play “The Anarchist” opened on Broadway; it starred Patti LuPone and Debra Winger in her Broadway debut. Mamet subsequently wrote “China Doll” and “The Penitent.” In 2019, he returned to London with a new play entitled “Bitter Wheat,” starring John Malkovich. The following year, he wrote “The Christopher Boy’s Communion.” For his career, Mamet was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Film Career

Mamet has both written and directed films. His first produced screenplay was an adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” directed by Bob Rafelson and released in 1981. He next adapted Barry Reed’s novel “The Verdict” into a film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Paul Newman; for that screenplay, he earned an Academy Award nomination. Mamet went on to make his film directorial debut with the 1987 neo-noir thriller “House of Games,” which he also wrote. Hugely acclaimed, the film won Mamet the Best Screenplay award at the Venice Film Festival. Also in 1987, he wrote the screenplay for Brian De Palma’s crime film “The Untouchables.” The next year, Mamet directed the dramedy “Things Change,” which he co-wrote with Shel Silverstein. He closed out the decade writing the screenplay for Neil Jordan’s “We’re No Angels,” an adaptation of the homonymous 1955 comedy film.

Mamet’s first film credit of the 1990s was “Homicide,” which he wrote and directed. He subsequently wrote the screenplay for Danny DeVito’s “Hoffa,” and adapted his play “Glengarry Glen Ross” into a film directed by James Foley. In 1994, Mamet adapted another of his plays for the big screen, “Oleanna,” which he also directed. Two years later, he adapted his play “American Buffalo” into a film directed by Michael Corrente. Mamet had a big year in 1997, writing the political satire “Wag the Dog” and the survival thriller “The Edge,” and writing and directing the neo-noir “The Spanish Prisoner.” For “Wag the Dog,” he received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Mamet went on to write and direct the period drama “The Winslow Boy.” Commencing the new millennium, he adapted his play “Lakeboat” into a film directed by Joe Mantegna, and wrote and directed the comedy “State and Main.” Mamet’s subsequent credits were “Hannibal,” which he co-wrote with Steven Zaillian, and “Heist,” which he wrote and directed. In 2004, he wrote and directed the action thriller “Spartan,” and in 2008 wrote and directed the martial arts film “Redbelt.” Between those, Mamet adapted his play “Edmond” into a film directed by Stuart Gordon.

Television Career

For television, Mamet adapted his plays “A Life in the Theatre” and “The Water Engine” into TV movies. He adapted the former play twice, first in 1979 with the play’s original actors Peter Evans and Ellis Rabb, and again in 1993 with Matthew Broderick and Jack Lemmon. Among his other television credits, Mamet wrote the 1999 television film “Lansky” and wrote and directed the 2013 television film “Phil Spector.”

Books

Mamet published his first book, the essay collection “Writing in Restaurants,” in 1987. He has since written myriad non-fiction books, novels, and children’s stories. Some of Mamet’s most notable titles include “On Directing Film,” “The Village,” “The Old Religion,” “Wilson: A Consideration of the Sources,” “Bambi vs. Godzilla,” and “Chicago.”

Personal Life

In 1977, Mamet married his first wife, actress Lindsay Crouse. They had two children named Willa and Zosia Mamet before divorcing in 1990. Mamet subsequently wed actress Rebecca Pidgeon in 1991; they have two children named Clara and Noah.

Having become increasingly aligned with the political right, Mamet has gained notoriety for his extremist pro-Israel views, endorsement of Donald Trump, and support for Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Real Estate

In 1995 David and Rebecca paid $1.93 million for a home in Santa Monica, California, Today this property is likely worth $6-8 million.