The Wachowskis Net Worth

What is The Wachowskis' Net Worth?

Lana and Lilly Wachowski, formerly known as the Wachowski Brothers – Larry and Andy Wachowski – are American film directors, screenwriters, and producers. Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski have a combined net worth of $200 million. The Wachowskis earned the majority of their wealth through The Matrix film and video game franchise.

They were both born in Chicago, Illinois. Laurence "Larry" Wachowski was born on June 21, 1965. Andrew Paul "Andy" Wachowski was born on December 29, 1967.

Film Career

They are the creative minds behind one of the most imaginative and influential film series in Hollywood, The Matrix. The first Matrix installment was released in 1999, three years after they made their directing debut with the 1996 thriller Bound. The Matrix was their second theatrical film release. The movie earned more than $465 million at the global box office and scored the siblings a Saturn Award for Best Director. Upon its release on DVD, The Matrix quickly became the highest-grossing DVD in history up to that point. It was released around the time when most households were getting their first DVD players, and The Matrix was considered essential to own. As of this writing, the DVD version has generated nearly $400 million. Video game versions of the movie were also released. The 2003 video game "Enter the Matrix" sold over 5 million copies.

Next, the duo saw the release of the two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (both in 2003). Those sequels would earn $740 million and $430 million, respectively.

In 2005, they wrote and produced the sci-fi action movie, V for Vendetta, and three years later they completed the family, action film, Speed Racer. Their most recent release is Cloud Atlas, a feature movie based on the novel of the same name by David Mitchell, which was released on October 26, 2012.

The Matrix Earnings

According to court filings made in the early 2000s, Lana/Larry's then-wife, Thea Bloom, revealed that even before box office revenues, the Wachowskis were paid a total of $16 million for "Reloaded" and "Revolutions." That $16 million was allotted as:

• $5 million for two scripts,
• $4.4 million for preproduction services
• $6.6 million disbursed during production based on various delivery and budget milestones.

They both subsequently earned $550,000 when "Reloaded" was completed and another $550,000 when "Revolutions" was completed. Then they also each received $2.75 million advances for their work connected to the video game.

Total it all up, and they earned a combined $23.7 million for their work on the two Matrix sequels before box office participation. For the two sequels, both Wachowski earned a 4% cut of the GROSS receipts. The second film earned $749 million at the box office, implying an additional payday of $75 million per Wachowski. The third movie earned $427 million, implying an additional $42 million payday per Wachowski. That's $117 million total, per Wachowski. If these estimates are accurate, each Wachowski earned $128.85 million from the two Matrix sequels (and a video game advance) before DVD sales.

The first Matrix movie was the first DVD to sell more than 1 million copies. It eventually sold 15 million units globally, generating more than $300 million in revenue. The second film sold 7 million DVDs and the third sold 5 million, generating an additional combined $250 million in revenue. The Wachowskis earned a cut of these gross revenue sales as well.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Transitions and Relationships

Larry was married to Thea Bloom from 1993 to 2002. She then began dating Karin Winslow.

In the mid-2000s reports popped up that claimed Larry was transitioning to a woman. In 2008, around the time they completed work on Speed Racer, Larry completed her transition and announced she would be known as Lana from then on. Lana and Karin Winslow married in 2009.

Andy Wachowski married Alisa Blasingame in 1991. It's unclear when that relationship ended but in 2016 Andy confirmed publicly for the first time that he had a boyfriend named Mickey Ray Mahoney and that SHE was now living as a woman who would be referred to as Lilly.

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