Ang Lee Highest-Paid Director in the World

By Carol Kearney
Taipei
Last updated on May 29, 2025

Ang Lee led People With Money’s annual list of the “100 highest paid directors” released on Wednesday.

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It's been a rough year for the director, but at least he has his millions of dollars to ease the pain. 70-year-old Ang Lee has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid directors for 2025 with an estimated $58 million in combined earnings.

UPDATE 29/05/2025 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Ang Lee tops annual list of highest-paid directors

In 2022 it looked like the director’s spectacular career was winding down. Suddenly, he was back on top. People With Money reports on Wednesday (May 28) that Lee is the highest-paid director in the world, pulling in an astonishing $58 million between April 2024 and April 2025, a nearly $30 million lead over his closest competition.

People With Money’s factors

In compiling this yearly list, the magazine considers factors such as upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work.

The Taiwanese director has an estimated net worth of $185 million. He owes his fortune to smart stock investments, substantial property holdings, lucrative endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics. He also owns several restaurants (the “Fat Lee Burger” chain) in Taipei, a Football Team (the “Chaochou Angels”), has launched his own brand of Vodka (Pure Wonderlee - Taiwan), and is tackling the juniors market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from Ang) and a fashion line called “Ang Lee Seduction”.

The ranking is significant for many Ang fans, who have been waiting for his triumphant return to the glory days for what seems like a lifetime.