Steven Spielberg’s Remarkable Transformation from Struggling Film Student to Hollywood’s Creative Genius

Hollywood is indeed a hotbed of celebrities, and billionaire Steven Spielberg has mastered the art of wading through the industry’s murky waters.

The filmmaker has convincingly earned his place in the Los Angeles neighborhood, and his reputation precedes him. Acting in either capacity as director or producer, Spielberg has made over a hundred movies, translating to a handsome box office return of well over $25 billion. How about that!

Who doesn’t know of DreamWorks Studios? We always have a feeling that a movie will be a hit once we see the company’s logo in the film’s opening credits.

What you may not know is that Spielberg serves as the principal partner in the company and that he also co-founded it in 1994. Now it all makes sense why most of their movies hit it off with audiences across the world!

Billionaires’ Club

With a career as successful as Spielberg’s, the man must have accumulated quite the fortune. He’s been in the game for over half a century, and Forbes estimates that the filmmaker is worth $3.7 billion.

Bloomberg, on the other hand, reports a much higher net worth, registering it at $6.08 billion. Either way, the point is home – the man is stinking rich!

Spielberg’s love for film was evident from when he was still pretty young, making a home movie aged just 12. Throughout his teenage years, a young Spielberg couldn’t have enough of 8 mm films, which he had his friends help him make. With his sisters, the upcoming filmmaker occasionally explored the horror genre.

In 1964, Firelight hit the screens as Spielberg’s first feature film. However, this wasn’t the flick that transformed him into a household name. That came in 1975, after the release of Jaws. The movie exceeded all expectations, making $60 million within a month of its release. Talk of a mega-hit!

And guess what? Jaws opened the floodgates for Spielberg, and he went on to produce or direct other insanely successful movies (and franchises) such as Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (Indiana Jones). Of course, these are just but a few examples. We did say he’s had a hand in over a hundred movies, didn’t we?

Soulmate

While directing the 1984 Indiana Jones prequel (Temple of Doom), Spielberg met Kate Capshaw, the film’s lead actress. The two became close, but it wasn’t until 1991 that they officiated their union. Decades later, they are still together and happily married.

The family is indeed a blessed one, with the couple sharing six kids. At the time of their marriage, Capshaw already had two kids from a previous marriage, but Spielberg readily embraced them as his own.

Probably due to their father’s influence, several of Spielberg’s kids are also into the creative arts, with Theo and Sasha forming a band and going on tour with Ryan Adams.

The world better watch out for them! Destry Spielberg, who dropped her surname (she’s now Destry Allyn) is an actress, and she credits this eventuality to growing up in the industry.