Jami Gertz Net Worth

What is Jami Gertz's net worth?

Jami Gertz is an American actress, sports team owner, and philanthropist who has a net worth of $12 billion. That makes her the richest celebrity on the planet. She's richer than Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Oprah.

Though she has had a successful career on her own, the vast majority of Jami Gertz's net worth comes thanks to her longtime marriage to billionaire investor/sports team owner Tony Ressler. Jami and Tony are part-owners of the Atlanta Hawks NBA team. They also own a minority stake in the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tony Ressler is the co-founder of both Apollo Global Management AND Ares Management, which have $500 billion and $600 billion in assets under management, respectively. Before you assume Jami married Tony for his money, at the time they married, SHE was actually the breadwinner. She paid for all of the couple's early vacations and bought their first home in LA. At the time they married in 1989, Tony's employer, Drexel Burnham Lambert, was in the midst of one of the most explosive financial collapses in Wall Street history. A year after they married, he founded Apollo Global with three former co-workers from Drexel.

As an actress, Jami Gertz first rose to prominence in the 1980s with roles in films like "Crossroads," "Less Than Zero," and "The Lost Boys," demonstrating a range that spanned from drama to horror. Gertz transitioned successfully to television, where she has been consistently active since the early 1990s. She starred in the short-lived but critically acclaimed series "Square Pegs" and had recurring roles in popular sitcoms like "Seinfeld" and "Ally McBeal."

She landed a lead role in the sitcom "Still Standing" alongside Mark Addy, playing the character of Judy Miller from 2002 to 2006. More recently, she starred as Debbie Weaver in the science fiction sitcom "The Neighbors" from 2012 to 2014, and has had recurring roles on "This Is Us" and "Difficult People."

Jami Gertz + Antony Ressler / Alexandra Wyman/Getty Images

Early Life

Jami Gertz was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 28, 1965. She attended Maine East High School, followed by NYU. She began acting in the early 80s. Her first on-screen role was the 1981 film "On the Right Track."

Early Television Work and Film Breakthrough

Gertz first gained notice through appearances on popular 1980s television shows, including "Square Pegs," "Diff'rent Strokes," "The Facts of Life," "Family Ties," and "Dreams." These roles established her as a working young actress at a time when network television was a key stepping stone to film.

By the mid-1980s, she had transitioned into movies, landing co-starring roles in films such as "Sixteen Candles" and "Solarbabies." She broke out more prominently with "Less Than Zero," where she starred alongside Robert Downey Jr., and the vampire cult classic "The Lost Boys." These projects cemented her status as one of the recognizable faces of late-1980s youth-oriented cinema.

International Detour and Career Reset

At the height of her early success, Gertz made an unconventional decision to step away from Hollywood and relocate to France. During this period, she worked as a scent designer for Lanvin, gaining experience in the fashion and fragrance world.

After a few years abroad, she returned to the United States and resumed her acting career, transitioning into a mix of television and film roles throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Television Career and Critical Recognition

Throughout the 1990s, Gertz maintained a steady presence on television. She had a recurring role as Dr. Nina Pomerantz on the hit medical drama "E.R." and made appearances in a variety of series, including "Seinfeld" and "Sibs."

One of her most notable roles came with her portrayal of Kimmy Bishop on "Ally McBeal" from 2000 to 2002. Her performance earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, marking a significant moment of critical recognition in her career.

In 2002, she took on the role of comedian Gilda Radner in the television film "Gilda Radner: It's Always Something," further showcasing her range as a performer.

Later Roles in Television and Film

In the 2000s and 2010s, Gertz continued working consistently across television and film. She appeared in the blockbuster "Twister" and the comedy "Keeping Up with the Steins," while also taking on a wide range of guest and recurring roles.

She starred in the sitcom "Still Standing" from 2002 to 2006, which introduced her to a broader audience in a comedic role. Later, she had a recurring role as Marlo Klein on "Entourage" from 2009 to 2010 and made a memorable guest appearance on "Modern Family" in 2011.

From 2012 to 2014, she starred in 44 episodes of the science fiction sitcom "The Neighbors," one of her most prominent later-career television roles.

Lime Orchard Productions

Jami is also the founder of Lime Orchard Productions. In 2011, Lime Orchard produced "A Better Life." The critically acclaimed movie focused on an undocumented immigrant gardener in East Los Angeles and earned its lead, Demián Bichir, an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Personal Life

Jami married financier Antony Ressler in 1989. A year after marrying, Tony co-founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. He left Apollo in 1997 to co-found an asset management firm called Ares Management. Today, Apollo has more than $500 billion in assets under management, and Ares has more than $600 billion. Ressler owns an estimated 30% of Ares' equity.

The couple first appeared on our list of billionaires in 2015 with a net worth of $1 billion. By 2017, their net worth was $1.8 billion. Today, Jami Gertz and Tony Ressler are worth a combined $12 billion.

Jamie and Tony have three sons: Oliver, Nick, and Theo.

Tony's sister Debra Ressler has been married to his Apollo co-founder Leon Black since 1976. In 2016, when Leon and Debra bought Tom Cruise's Beverly Hills mansion for $38 million, Jami's sister Sharyn Gertz was the real estate agent. In yet another fun twist, Tom and Jami actually both made their feature film debut together in 1981's "Endless Love."

Philanthropy

Jami Gertz and Tony Ressler are widely recognized as one of the most philanthropic couples in the entertainment and business worlds. Their primary philanthropic vehicle, the Ressler Gertz Family Foundation, distributes tens of millions of dollars annually to causes spanning healthcare, education, and the arts.

Gertz takes a notably hands-on approach to philanthropy, focusing on children's health, educational access, and economic opportunity. She is a founding member of The Painted Turtle Camp, a free camp designed for children facing chronic and life-threatening illnesses, and has served on the board of the Melanoma Research Alliance, the largest nonprofit funder of skin cancer research.

In education, Gertz and Ressler helped launch the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, a network of tuition-free charter schools serving thousands of students in underserved Los Angeles communities. Their philanthropic reach also extends deeply into Atlanta through their ownership of the Atlanta Hawks. The couple led a $40 million initiative focused on economic empowerment in the city, including a $5 million contribution to the Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to support Black-owned businesses. They have also supported medical research initiatives, particularly through the Prostate Cancer Foundation, where Gertz has matched donations to fund research and promote early detection.

Their impact in the arts is especially significant and long-standing. Gertz and Ressler were among the lead donors to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's multi-year redevelopment, contributing $50 million toward the construction of the new David Geffen Galleries, part of a broader $700+ million transformation of the museum campus.

In February 2026, ahead of the museum's reopening, LACMA formally announced that the south wing of the new David Geffen Galleries would be named the Ressler Family Wing in recognition of their leadership and financial support. The designation was not a renaming of an existing legacy wing, but rather part of the entirely new Geffen Galleries complex, which replaced several older buildings and reimagined the museum's layout as a single, unified structure.

Ressler's involvement with LACMA spans more than two decades. He joined the museum's board in the early 2000s, later serving as chair of the finance committee and, beginning in 2015, as co-chair of the board of trustees during the critical planning and fundraising phases of the expansion. In that role, he helped oversee the financial strategy behind one of the most ambitious museum construction projects in the United States, working alongside major donors and Los Angeles County officials to bring the project to completion.

Together, Gertz and Ressler were not just financial contributors but central figures in shaping the museum's modern evolution, helping transform LACMA into a global cultural destination with a redesigned campus intended to redefine how art is experienced.

Real Estate

Jami and Tony's primary homes are located in Malibu and Beverly Hills. Their Beverly Hills home is located within the most exclusive gated community in Beverly Hills, sitting at the top of a mountain with 360-degree views of LA. Neighbors included Denzel Washington, Sylvester Stallone, Eddie Murphy, and Mark Wahlberg. Tax records show their house is worth a minimum of $30 million, but on the open market, it might fetch closer to $50 million. Their Malibu home sits above Broad Beach, one of the most desirable parts of the area.

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