What is Paul Verhoeven's Net Worth?
Paul Verhoeven is a Dutch film director, screenwriter and producer who has a net worth of $12 million. Paul Verhoeven is best known for producing films which contain graphic sex and violence, such as the Sharon Stone thriller "Basic Instinct" and the near-apocalyptic action film "Robocop."
Early Years
Paul Verhoeven was born on July 18, 1938 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the son of teacher and hat-maker Wim Verhoeven. The Verhoeven family resided in The Hague, the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands, which was the location of German headquarters during World War II. The Verhoeven house, and the property surrounding it, was repeatedly bombed by the allies.
Paul Verhoeven first attended the Van Heutszschool where his father taught. He then went on to Gymnasium Haganum, a public secondary school in the Netherlands. In 1955, Paul Verhoeven entered Leiden University, a public research institution in Leiden, Netherlands, and later graduated with a double major in mathematics and physics. While a student at Leiden University, Paul Verhoeven also attended the Netherlands Film Academy and it was there that he made his first film; "Een hagedis teveel."
Military Life & Television
After college, Paul Verhoeven entered the Royal Dutch Navy, a service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. While a soldier in 1965, he made the film "Het Korps Mariniers" which won a "Golden Sun," a French award for military films.
After he completed his military service, Paul Verhoeven obtained work in the Dutch television industry. In 1968, he made a television documentary about Anton Mussert, the Dutch politician who co-founded the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands.
In 1969, Paul Verhoeven directed "Floris," a Dutch action television series which gained him widespread attention.
Film
As he delved deeper into film, Paul Verhoeven produced the 1971 Dutch comedy "Business is Business" which wasn't well-received. It wasn't until 1973 that his erotic romantic drama "Turkish Delight" would prove to be his breakout film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Foreign Film" and won the "Best Dutch Film of the Century Award" at the Netherlands Film Festival.
The awards and nominations kept coming for Paul Verhoeven. In 1977, he co-wrote the romantic war thriller "Soldier of Orange" which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Based on a true story about the Dutch resistance during World War II, the film also received the LA Film Critics Award for "Best Foreign Language Film" and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Paul Verhoeven's first Hollywood film, and first English-langauge film, was the romantic historical adventure "Flesh and Blood," produced in 1985 and starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Paul Verhoeven went on to earn wide acclaim for his direction of America films through projects such as "Robocop" in 1987 and "Total Recall" in 1990. Both films won Academy Awards; "Robocop" for "Sound Effects Editing" and "Total Recall" for "Visual Effects."Â He also won the 1987 Saturn Award for "Best Director," given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
When Paul Verhoeven finished his long stint of making American films, he returned to Europe where he directed the Dutch war film "Black Book" and the psychological thriller "Elle," both of which were nominated by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for a "Best Film Not in the English Language" award. "Elle" also won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Foreign Language Film" and a Cesar Award for "Best Film."
Back in America in 1992, Paul Verhoeven presented his new film "Basic Instinct" at the Cannes Film Festival. The erotic thriller starring Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas became the ninth highest grossing film of the year and won two Academy Awards; one for "Film Editing" and one for "Original Music."
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Awards: Good & Bad
The next awards to be handed out to Paul Verhoeven weren't exactly complimentary but he showed up in person to accept them anyway, one of very few Golden Raspberry Award winners to do so. A parody award show honoring the worst of the worst within the film industry, the Golden Raspberry Awards bestowed seven awards on Paul Verhoeven's 1995 film "Showgirls." The American erotic drama, which starred Elizabeth Berkley as a stripper trying to become successful as a showgirl, earned "Worst Picture" and "Worst Director" among its Golden Raspberry Awards. However, once the film was released into the home video market, it earned over a million dollars in rental fees, making it one of the highest-grossing video rentals.
In 1997, Paul Verhoeven made "Starship Troopers," an American science-fiction action film which won an Academy Award for "Best Visual Effects." His 2000 science-fiction thriller film "Hollow Man," also won an Academy Award for "Best Visual Effects."
Paul Verhoeven returned to the Netherlands once again in 2006 and filmed "Black Book," a dramatic war thriller starring Dutch actress Carice Anouk van Houten and German actor Sebastian Koch. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and garnered three Golden Calf Awards at the Netherlands Film Festival.
Books
Paul Verhoeven is a member of "The Jesus Seminar," an organization consisting of Biblical criticism scholars. In 2007 he wrote the book "Jesus of Nazareth" in which he portrays Jesus Christ as a radical political activist as opposed to a godly being who performs miracles.
Personal Life & Real Estate
In 1967, Paul Verhoeven married Martine Tours. They have two children; Claudia and Helen. In November 1991, Paul and Martine paid $2.65 million for a home in LA's Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Today this home is worth around $5 million.
