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‘Forgotten’ Hollywood billionaire actor changed career that earned her insane fortune

Home> Entertainment> Celebrity

Published 15:29 11 Apr 2026 GMT+1

‘Forgotten’ Hollywood billionaire actor changed career that earned her insane fortune

She and her husband own the Atlanta Hawks basketball team now

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

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Hollywood actor Jami Gertz had built a decent career on screen with her appearances in films like Sixteen Candles and Twister, as well as on TV in shows such as Seinfeld and Entourage.

However, that's not where she's made most of her money away from acting she amassed a net worth of over a billion in other ventures.

While some people think she made most of her money from marrying wealthy husband Tony Ressler in 1989, she had told the Hollywood Reporter that wasn't true.

She said: "Everyone thinks I married a rich guy.

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"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."

They say there's no business like showbusiness, but when it comes to making money that's not quite the case (Prince Williams/WireImage)
They say there's no business like showbusiness, but when it comes to making money that's not quite the case (Prince Williams/WireImage)

They had met in 1987 through her publicist and two years later they were married, he went on to make lots of money in investing and while she continued acting she decided in 2010 to change careers a bit.

She launched her own production company which had decent success for a while with the likes of the 2011 movie A Better Life, but Gertz said she 'tried for five years and was not very successful' in the end.

Instead she got in on the investing business and together with her husband they put their money into sports teams, becoming co-owners of the Atlanta Hawks NBA team and minority owners of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team.

Having money and investing it well is one of the best ways to make money, and Gertz has become richer than many other Hollywood stars would ever become through her business ventures.

She is apparently rather good at the public facing part of the job, which you'd hope was the case when it comes to someone who has acted in big movies.

Gertz and her husband are worth a lot of money due to their investments (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for An American Fantasy)
Gertz and her husband are worth a lot of money due to their investments (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for An American Fantasy)

She's not the only actor who decided to make a career change and pivot away from the screen.

Former Disney Channel star Bridgit Mendler ended up as the CEO of a space start-up business that she'd founded with her husband, while Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz thinks he did the right thing in getting away from Hollywood.

Muniz did recently return to screens for the Malcolm in the Middle reboot but he said that when he was young he found fame and fortune wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

In the end he swapped LA for Arizona and went into racing, becoming a NASCAR driver.

It's a living.

Featured Image Credit: Prince Williams/WireImage

Topics: Celebrity, Money

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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@MrJoeHarker

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