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What Is Edgy Filmmaker Spike Lee's Net Worth?

Spike Lee has written and directed critically acclaimed like "Jungle Fever," and  "Malcolm X."
PUBLISHED OCT 11, 2023
Spike Lee has produced over 35 films since 1983 through his production company, 40 Acres and a Mule. Getty Images | Photo by Ian Gavan
Spike Lee has produced over 35 films since 1983 through his production company, 40 Acres and a Mule. Getty Images | Photo by Ian Gavan
Name  Spike Lee
Net Worth $60 million
Salary N/A
Annual income N/A
Sources of income Directing, producing, writing
DOB March 20, 1957
Age 66 years
Gender Male
Nationality United States of America
Profession Director, writer, producer, actor, college professor

Director, writer, producer, actor and professor Spike Lee has produced over 35 films since 1983 through his production company, 40 Acres and a Mule. Since his debut with "She's Gotta Have It" in 1986, Lee has written and directed critically acclaimed films such as "Do the Right Thing," 

"Jungle Fever," and  "Malcolm X." Lee has an estimated net worth of $60 million as of September, according to Celebrity Net Worth

Spike Lee poses in the press room during the 74th Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards | Getty Images | Photo by Jesse Grant
Spike Lee poses in the press room during the 74th Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards | Getty Images | Photo by Jesse Grant

Recently, Lee shared his thoughts on Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film “Oppenheimer,” saying that he wished it showed “what happened to the Japanese people.” Lee told the Washington Post that it was a comment and not criticism. He said that the Japanese had lasting effects from the event and people vaporized, thus he would’ve loved if the film showed what happened to the people at the end.

Lee’s career started with the feature film, “She's Gotta Have It”, in 1985, which had a budget of $175,000. Releasing in 1986, the film grossed more than $7 million at the US box office, as per Celebrity Net Worth. In 1989, Lee won his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay with the film, "Do the Right Thing". He earned another Academy Award nomination for Best Feature Documentary with his 1997 documentary "4 Little Girls," which was about the girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963.



 

His film "BlacKkKlansman" won the Grand Prix at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director. He won his first Academy Award for "BlacKkKlansman" for the Best Adapted Screenplay.

Since 1983, Lee's production company 40 Acres & A Mule has produced over 35 films, and in 2015, Lee received an Academy Honorary Award for his contributions. He received the San Francisco Film Society's Directing Award in 2007 and the Ebert Director Award at the TIFF Tribute Awards for the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

As per Celebrity Net Worth, Lee earned about $3 million for directing 1992's "Malcolm X." He is likely to have made much more on the backend and for movies like "25th Hour," "Love & Basketball," and "Summer of Sam.” In 2020, his Netflix film, "Da 5 Bloods," earned widespread acclaim and he then signed a deal with Netflix to direct and produce more movies for the platform.

Lee taught filmmaking at Harvard in 1991 and 1993. He taught at the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts as a tenured professor. With his production company, Lee has also directed commercials for several top brands like Converse, Jaguar, Taco Bell, and more.

Lee bought a 9,000-square-foot townhome in Manhattan's most expensive Upper East Side for $16.2 million. The mansion comprising two three-story buildings and a shared central courtyard was previously owned by celebrities like Gypsy Rose Lee, and Charles Lanier Lawrence, among others. Lee listed the property for sale in 2014 for $32 million but failed to find a buyer.

His production company is housed a three-story building in Brooklyn that he bought in 1991 for $820,000. As per Celebrity Net Worth, the current value of the property could be in the $2 million to $4 million range. One of his famous properties, Bed Stuy brownstone in Brooklyn, which featured in "Crooklyn", sold in 2023 for $4.1 million.



 

Lee also owns a two-acre estate in Martha's Vineyard, which he purchased for $400,000 in 1989. Located just off the 18th hole of Farm Neck Golf Club, Lee built a four-bedroom mansion on the plot which is estimated to be worth $3 to 4 million today.

Instagram 2.1 million

Lee has been married to attorney Tonya Lewis since 1993. The two met in 1992 in New York and they have a daughter, Satchel, and a son, Jackson.

Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee at a photocall as Spike Lee receives BFI Fellowship | Getty Images | Photo by Joseph Okpako
Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee at a photocall as Spike Lee receives BFI Fellowship | Getty Images | Photo by Joseph Okpako

2019 Oscar: Best Adapted Screenplay For “BlacKkKlansman”

2021 Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award

2005 Ossie Davis Award For “Get on the Bus (1996)”

1997 Berlin International Film Festival: Special Mention For “Get on the Bus”

2019 BAFTA Film Award: Best Screenplay (Adapted) For “BlacKkKlansman”

2002 BAFTA Special Award

2018 Cannes Film Festival Winner Grand Prize of the Jury

2018 Cannes Film Festival Winner Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention

2022 Directors Guild of America, USA: Lifetime Achievement Award

2007 Primetime Emmy: Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming For “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts”

2007 Primetime Emmy: Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking For “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts”

How old is Spike Lee?

Spike Lee is 66 years old.

Does Spike Lee have a wife?

Spike Lee has been married to Tonya Lewis Lee since 1993.

What's Spike Lee's real name?

Spike Lee’s birth name is Shelton Jackson Lee.

What is Spike Lee’s net worth?

Spike Lee has an estimated net worth of $60 million as of September, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

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