“Mystery of the Billionaire Actor: Why He Vanished from Hollywood After Amassing an Untold Fortune”

So, who do you picture when you think of the richest actor on the planet? Probably one of those perennial box office draw cards, right? Like maybe Reese Witherspoon, who’s not just known for her iconic role in Legally Blonde but also for her empire-building moves through Hello Sunshine. Or Selena Gomez, who’s turned her Disney wand into a real Midas touch, hitting billionaire status with a magical blend of acting, singing, and business savvy?

Or maybe, you’d guess someone like Harrison Ford or George Clooney, given they’ve been in so many films, they’re practically fixtures in Hollywood. Well, ya know what? You’d be swinging and missing every single time!

It turns out, the world’s richest actor is not one of these high-profile names. No, it’s none other than Jami Gertz. Now, unless you’re a die-hard Modern Family fan or remember her from classics like Twister (1996) or The Lost Boys (1987), you might not recognize her off the bat. But her fortune of around $8 billion?! That’s significantly more green than what her acting career has raked in.

Here’s the real kicker—back in ’89, Gertz married Tony Ressler, a businessman whose Forbes-documented wealth caps over $10 billion. And, in a twist that defies expectations, Gertz wasn’t exactly the “trophy wife.” She had a sense of humor about it too: “Everyone thinks I married a rich guy. But I made more money — way more money — than Tony when I met him. I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation. I married him because I fell in love with him.”

Isn’t it about time we knew this Jami Gertz, the richest actor out there? LEARN MORE.

You might think you have a pretty good idea of who the world’s richest actor might be.

Could it be Reese Witherspoon, who in true Legally Blonde boss style, amassed millions away from her acting career thanks to her woman-focused firm Hello Sunshine?

Selena Gomez would be another great shout, given that she has achieved billionaire status after using her Wizards of Waverley Place magic to manifest a hugely successful career as an actor, singer and businesswoman.

Maybe you’d go down the route of picking an older actor who’s seemingly been in every blockbuster going, such as Harrison Ford or George Clooney. Well, you’d be wrong, wrong and wrong again.

Jami Gertz and Tony Ressler alongside a slightly more recognisable celebrity (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

It turns out that the world’s richest actor is actually Jami Gertz. It’s probably not a name you’d recognise but very keen fans of Modern Family might just know her face.

The former child star is probably best known for Twister (1996), The Lost Boys (1987) and Still Standing (2002) but much of her reported $8 billion fortune came away from her acting.

In 1989, she married American businessman Tony Ressler, who currently has a net worth of over $10 billion according to Forbes. Jami suggested in an earlier interview with the Hollywood Reporter that she was the provider when she first met Tony.

She said: “Everyone thinks I married a rich guy. But I made more money — way more money — than Tony when I met him. I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation. I married him because I fell in love with him.”

Jami Gertz is absolutely loaded ( Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)

It’s difficult to know exactly what you would do with that much moolah but the vast majority of us would probably stop working in some capacity, although Gertz has a very good reason for quitting acting.

The 59-year-old’s last acting credit came in 2022 for a small role as Rita in I Want You Back, with her acting career limited to cameos ever since The Neighbors finished in 2014.

She added: “You reach an age, and you slow down, and the jobs are a little hard to come by.”

After a failed business venture with a production company, Gertz and Ressler became the owners of NBA side Atlanta Hawks, which has supplemented their substantial worth even further.

It is suggested that both she and her husband are philanthropists, which you’d probably expect from such a rich couple, but it’s certainly a point should there ever be a revolution against all these pesky billionaires.

So, there you have it, Jami Gertz is the obscure name you need to remember the next time you’re asked for the world’s richest actor at your weekly pub quiz.