Who was he?
Stan Lee was an iconic American comic book writer, actor, and entrepreneur, most famous for his Marvel Comics characters. He was also the head of Marvel Comics and the creator or co-creator of dozens of iconic, globally recognized comic characters including “Spider-Man”, the “Fantastic Four”, “Iron Man”, and “The Hulk”.
For his work and contributions to entertainment, he was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, in the year 1994. He passed away in November of 2018, leaving behind him a great legacy. Read on to learn more about Stan Lee’s net worth, career, and life.
Biography
He was born as Stanley Martin Lieber, on December 28, 1922, in New York City. He grew up in a Jewish family. Early on, young Stan dreamed of writing the Great American Novel, an idea of a novel of high literary merit, which would show the culture of the United States of a specific time in history.
This passion led him to become an editor of Marvel Comics during the 1960s. His first duties were humble, but he eventually rose to Marvel President and Chairman. During his time at the helm of Marvel Comics, he changed the company from a small publishing house to a major multimedia Corporation worth millions.
Under the guidance of Stan “The Man” Lee, Marvel Comics revitalized the whole superhero genre. In collaboration with other iconic and notable artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he is the co-creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the Silver Surfer, among dozens of other prominent fictional characters. In the past twenty years, live-action movies involving the most famous of his characters have generated more than $25 billion in revenue at the global box office.
Back in August of 2009, The Walt Disney Company bought Marvel for $4 billion. However, Stan Lee did not see a huge personal financial gain from this, but Disney continued to pay him a lifetime annual salary of approximately $1 million, for his continuous involvement and advice on their projects.
In 2002, Stan Lee sued Marvel, with a claim that his contract entitled him to 10% of all profits earned from films and TV shows based on his iconic superheroes and villains. A judge sided with Stan at first, but the parties finally agreed on a one-time $10 million settlement in his favor. At the time, strangely, Marvel was losing money on most of the early films because of a complicated financing and production plan they set in motion.
Since 1947, Stan Lee has been married to Joan Boocock. She passed away in 2017. They have a daughter together, Joan Celia Lee.
Awards and achievements
Regarding awards, Stan Lee was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame and Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1994 and 1995, respectively. He also has a Saturn Award from 2002, and a National Medal of Arts from 2008. In 2011, he was honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star. He has a Scream Award from 2009, a Visual Effects Society Award and a Producers Guild of America Award from 2012.
Except for the comic book world, he was involved in charity works. He founded the Stan Lee Foundation in 2010, a charity that focuses on arts, literacy, and education.
Stan Lee Net Worth
At the time of his death, the great Stan Lee’s net worth was around $50 million. Regarding his wealth, he once said, “I don’t have $200 million. I don’t have $150 million. I don’t have $100 million or anywhere near that.”
He was asked if it was fear that George Lucas is worth $7.3 billion, whose LucasFilm is also owned by Disney. Stan replied, “George Lucas did it all by himself. He came up with the ideas. He produced the movies. He wrote and directed them and held the rights to the merchandising. It was all his. In my case, I worked for the publisher. If the books didn’t sell, the publisher went broke and a lot of publishers did go broke.”
During around 40 years in the business, Stan lived in a modest two-story home on a street in LA, which over time became one of the most desirable locations in the city. His neighbors were Dr. Dre and Leonardo DiCaprio. One of his neighbors sold his property for $29 million.
He also owned a home in the same neighborhood, which he bought for $4.4 million several years ago, after selling another one in the same neighborhood for $2.8 million. The legendary writer also had a valuable art collection, including original works from himself, as well as Salvador Dali, Roy Lichtenstein, Joan Miro, and Pablo Picasso.