George Lucas’ monetary worth has long been debated over and speculated on; as the creator of the insanely successful “Star Wars” franchise, he’s been able to line his pockets with gold over the past forty-odd years, and it seems everyone is curious as to just how much cash he has.
With the recent announcement that Disney has bought Lucasfilm–and the astronomical sum that exchanged hands in the deal–it’s estimated that Lucas is worth around $7.3 billion. However, he says he’s not keeping that $4 billion windfall from Disney all to himself, but is donating it to various charities and to the advancement of education.
“I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race,” Lucas said in a statement. “We have to plan for our collective future—and the first step begins with social, emotional, and intellectual tools we provide to our children. As humans, our greatest tool for survival is our ability to think and to adapt—as educators, storytellers, and communicators our responsibility is to continue to do so.”
Lucas said the Disney deal came about because it will ensure that his films and ideas live on for new generations of fans.
“Disney is a huge corporation,” he said. “They have all kinds of capabilities and facilities, so that there’s a lot of strength that is gained by this. I’m doing this so that the films will have a longer life, and so that more fans and people can enjoy them in the future. It’s a very big universe I’ve created and there are a lot of stories that are sitting in there.”