John Wells Highest-Paid Director in the World

By Carol Kearney
Washington
Last updated on April 17, 2025

John Wells 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. 68-year-old John Wells has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid directors for 2025 with an estimated $82 million in combined earnings.

UPDATE 17/04/2025 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

John Wells 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 (April 16) that Wells is the highest-paid director in the world, pulling in an astonishing $82 million between March 2024 and March 2025, a nearly $50 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 American director-screenwriter-producer has an estimated net worth of $245 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 Wells Burger” chain) in Washington, a Football Team (the “Alexandria Angels”), has launched his own brand of Vodka (Pure Wonderwells - US), and is tackling the juniors market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from John) and a fashion line called “John Wells Seduction”.

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