How world's richest actor made her billions despite not being well known

When you hear the phrase 'world's richest actor' you'd most likely think of some of the biggest names in the industry - such as Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford or Leonardo DiCaprio.

Or maybe even some of Hollywood's rising movie stars like Zendaya or Florence Pugh.

However, the title is currently held by a star who hasn't been particularly active over the past couple of years.

The world's richest actor may surprise you. (TM/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

With a net worth of $3 billion (£2.4 billion) as of 2023, US-born Jami Gertz has managed to become the richest actor on the planet without starring in any major blockbusters.

Gertz began her career in the 80s, appearing in the likes of Sixteen Candles,

Seinfeld and Alphabet City.

Despite having a four-decades long career, Gertz has been relatively inactive across the past couple of years - her last regular role was in TV sitcom The Neighbors as well as guest roles in This Is Us and Modern Family.

So just how has she managed to accumulate such an impressive net worth?

As it turns out, the majority of Gertz's wealth doesn't come from her career in acting but instead some seriously smart business investments.

Gertz is married to billionaire investor Tony Ressler, with the pair using their fortune to purchase stakes in several US sports teams.

The couple are currently part owners of NBA team the Atlanta Hawks and minority owners of the baseball team Milwaukee Beavers.

Jami Gertz. (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

While some may argue that Gertz's wealth doesn't count as she married into money - Ressler is reported to have a net worth of $7.5 billion (£5.9 billion) as of 2023.

However, the actor clearly deserves praise for growing her fortune through her business ventures.

Gertz isn't just extremely wealthy, she also donates a huge portion of her wealth to charity too.

In fact she and Ressler are huge philanthropists, donating huge amounts of cash through their charitable organisation, The Ressler-Gertz Foundation.

In 2012, the husband-and-wife duo were even named as the number one donor to charity of any celebrity after they made a staggering $10 million donation to the Ressler-Gertz Foundation.

Grants from the foundation included a $1.7 million donation to the LA County Museum of Art and $400k to Cedar Sinai Medical Center.