Barry Levinson's Net Worth (Updated 2024)

Publish date: 2024-05-22

What is Barry Levinson’s net worth?

Net Worth:	$150 Million
Age:	80
Born:	April 6, 1942
Gender:	Male
Height:	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Source of Wealth:	TV/Film Director
Last Updated:	March 8, 2023

Table of Contents

Introduction

Barry Levinson started out as a comedic writer and actor when he first arrived in Hollywood, eventually making the leap into directing filmmaking.

He’s worked with the cream of Hollywood actors and actresses, with his movies making millions in revenue and being nominated for numerous Emmy and Oscar Awards.

As of January 2024, Barry Levinson’s net worth is estimated to be $150 Million.

Barry Levinson Facts

Barry worked as an executive producer on the series “Homicide: Life on the Streets”, from 1993 up until 1999.
During his early years, he lived with George Jung, who became a drug smuggler and a subject in a film called “Blow” in 2001.
In 2014, Barry helped produce “The Humbling”.
Barry’s biggest hit was the critically acclaimed Rain Man, released in 1988.
In 2007, Barry voiced the character Martin Benson in the successful animated film “Bee Movie”.

Early Life

Barry Lee Levinson was born April 6, 1942, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. His parents, Irvin and Violet Levinson, are descended from Russian Jews and his father worked in the furniture and appliance industry.

Not much is known about his early life except that he graduated from Forest Park Senior High School in 1960. He went on to attend Baltimore City Community College before attending American University located in Washington, DC, where he studied journalism.

After graduating from university, he moved to Los Angeles, where he was motivated to start a writing and performing career. In the beginning, he stayed with George Jung, who became a drug smuggler and is a subject in the film “Blow”, which was released in 2001.

Career

Barry’s early work started with writing television series such as “The Tim Conway Show”, “The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine”, and others.

He moved on to screenwriting, creating spectacular comedies like “Silent Movie” in 1976 and “High Anxiety” in 1977.

His next move was into acting, with his performance being a part in “High Anxiety” where he played a bellboy. He also screen-wrote the Oscar-nominated “…And Justice for All” in 1979.

Not long after that, he became a director, producing the film “Diner”, in 1982, which went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

He was also executive director and producer on the HBO films, “Paterno”, “You Don’t Know Jack” and “The Wizard of Lies”, which ended up with a combination of 21 Emmy nominations.

During this time, he created nostalgic films such as the iconic, “Good Morning Vietnam”, “The Natural”, “Sleepers” and “Wag the Dog”. With these impressive films to his name, he became one of Variety’s “Billion Dollar Directors” in 1988.

Barry experienced nostalgia for his hometown and started using it as the setting for a variety of films, including a series called “Homicide: Life on the Street”.

His hometown series earned him an Emmy for “Best Individual Director of a Drama Series” as well as a Peabody Award. But Barry wasn’t content to sit on his laurels and produced a groundbreaking television series called “Oz” which aired from 1998 until 2003.

Recently, Barry directed and produced films through his own production company, Baltimore Pictures. He has released a variety of films through the company, such as “The Wizard of Lies” and “Quiz Show”.

For his exemplary work in the film industry, Barry was recognized with a lifetime achievement accolade; the Laurel Award for Screenwriting.

Barry Levinson’s Career Earnings

Barry has worked on some of the most highly regarded movies and TV shows of all time, earning countless accolades and awards in the process.

His ability to mix humor with action and drama, and then to keep it coming week after week, makes his TV series unbelievably addictive to watch.

Here’s an estimated overview of Barry Levinson’s annual income:

Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2013 – $10 million
Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2014 – $8 million
Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2015 – $9 million
Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2016 – $10 million
Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2017 – $11 million
Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2018 – $14 million
Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2019 – $13.5 million
Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2020 – $12 million
Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2021 – $15 million
Barry Levinson’s Salary In 2022 – $14 million

Levinson directed the historical crime drama Bugsy, which was released in 1991 and starred Warren Beatty. This acclaimed movie was nominated for ten Academy Awards.

He built on these successes, earning huge fees for directing and scriptwriting expertise.

Barry Levinson’s Net Worth Annually

Levinson directed Dustin Hoffman in the much-acclaimed movie, Wag the Dog, which made it big at the box office.

This political comedy, released in 1997, to much excitement, earned Levinson a Silver Bear Award at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.

Here’s a breakdown of Barry Levinson’s annual net worth:

Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2013 – $124 million
Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2014 – $128 million
Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2015 – $130 million
Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2016 – $132.5 million
Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2017 – $134 million
Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2018 – $136 million
Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2019 – $129 million
Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2020 – $132 million
Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2021 – $135 million
Barry Levinson’s Net Worth In 2022 – $150 million

The hits just kept on coming, with Levinson earning huge amounts from royalties, fees, and endorsements.

His wealth continued to grow through the late 90s and into the 2000s, and with his future secured, he could work on only those projects that he was really interested in.

Personal Life

Barry first got married to Valerie Curtin in 1977 but the couple were divorced in 1982. He soon found love with Diana Rhodes and the two got married in 1983.

They had two sons, Jack and Sam, who were greatly influenced by their father’s work. Sam grew up to follow in his dad’s footsteps and became the director and screenwriter of the well-known HBO series, “Euphoria”.

Although in his 80s, Barry remains active and you can keep up with him on his official Instagram account to see what new projects he’s busy with now.

Awards & Achievements

Over the past five decades, Barry Levinson has been involved in many iconic and ground-breaking movies and series.

It is a testament to his skill as a director, scriptwriter, and actor that he can convey the zeitgeist of each decade while at the same time creating commercially successful productions.

Here are some of the more memorable moments from Barry Levinson’s career:

He won an academy award for his directing work in “Rain Man” in 1988.
Barry directed and produced “Bugsy”, which was to bring him ten Academy Awards nominations.
Barry became ShoWest’s “Director of the Year” and Variety’s “Billion Dollar Director” in 1998.
Later in 1998, Barry’s creation, “Homicide: Life on the Streets”, earned him a Peabody Award.
He also won the Silver Bear Special Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival for “Wag the Dog” in 1998.

Barry was able to successfully balance telling a story about important and defining moments in time with the need to make it a financially viable product.

By blending a mix of humor, drama, and social commentary into each of his productions, Barry managed to build himself enormous wealth.

How Does Barry Levinson Spend His Money?

Barry has an exceptional real estate portfolio, which included his purchase of a mansion in California for $2.3 million, which he eventually sold for $15 million.

He and his wife also bought a 40-acre estate in Connecticut for $10.5 million. When they wanted to sell, they couldn’t get their asking price and ultimately had to settle for a small loss when they sold it for $10.1 million.

Levinson’s movies often feature vintage American cars as props for the main character. He bought one of the 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertibles used in the movie Rain Man and has some of the most expensive cars in the world in his collection.

Highlights

Barry Levinson’s career has been punctuated by some of the most iconic movies in film history.

Who can forget Robin Williams’ “Goooodd Morning Vietnaaaam!” line, or the impressive performances by Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise in Rain Man?

Here are some of the best highlights of Barry Levinson’s career:

Barry directed many impressive films, but one of his biggest successes was directing “Good Morning Vietnam”, which was released in 1987.
Another big success in Barry’s march to the top was his directing of “Diner” in 1982.
He published a novel titled “Sixty-Six” in 2003 which received rave reviews.
Barry also directed the documentary, “PoliWood” in 2009, featuring interviews with Hollywood celebrities Susan Sarandon and Anne Hathaway amongst others.
He was the writer for “The Carol Burnett Show” in the 1970s, winning two Emmys for his efforts.

Levinson has worked with the who’s who of Hollywood, including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Michael Douglas, and, of course Tom Cruise and Demi Moore to name just a few.

Favorite Barry Levinson Quotes

With his background in scriptwriting, Barry has never been short of words when being interviewed.

He’s equally proud of all his movies, but Rain Man holds a particularly dear memory for Barry as it was the first movie to raise awareness of autism amongst the general public.

Here are our favorite quotes from Barry Levinson:

“The public doesn’t know what to believe anymore. We don’t know what stories are supposedly true, this idea of fake news. It’s half entertainment and half mystery.”- Barry Levinson
“It’s those moments, those odd moments that you look for, and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments that somehow mean a lot to an audience when they register right.”- Barry Levinson
“At the end of the day, you can’t do a copy of somebody.”- Barry Levinson
“All I try to do is create an atmosphere that seems comfortable enough, that it removes tension, and everyone feels free.”- Barry Levinson
“You can never squash something and assume it’s not going to come back in some fashion. It’s going to bubble up until it explodes.”- Barry Levinson

3 Amazing Lessons From Barry Levinson

Levinson is particularly proud of his contribution to the general understanding of what autism is and what the challenges are for people who have to face it daily.

His only regret is that sometimes he wished that he could have explained things better.

Now that you know all about Barry Levinson’s net worth, here are some of the best success lessons to learn from Barry Levinson:

1. When The Tough Gets Going, Keep On Going

The film industry is a difficult industry to work in, but no matter the obstacles, Barry never let it get in the way of creating his masterpieces.

The film industry is known for its cut-throat approach to art, with the money men controlling the budget and the purse strings. Barry was able to navigate the murky waters of project funding to create masterpieces that ended up financially successful as well.

2. People Make Mistakes

People make mistakes, obviously, but making a mistake in the film industry can lead to problems down the road.

Barry always found the art in the mistakes and incorporated them into his films regularly, inadvertently making his films so much better.

3. Stay True To Your Dream

Barry feels that it is very easy to take the art out of your creation and turn it quickly to the merchandising side, where you only think about what others want and how much money it will make.

This wasn’t the case for Barry, as he was more interested in the impact his productions would have on his audience, rather than how much money they would make.

Summary

Barry Levinson is a legend in the filmmaking world, not only as a director but as a scriptwriter and actor too.

One can put in all the effort and hard work you want and you may still fail, but Levinson has the Midas touch and is remembered as one of the most renowned directors, producers, and screenwriters in film history.