John Wilden Hughes, Jr. was born on 18 February 1950, in New York City USA. He was a producer, screenwriter and director, best known for various successful comedy films during the 1980s and 1990s, including “Pretty in Pink”, “Home Alone”, and “Weird Science”. All of his efforts helped raise his net worth to where it was prior to his passing in 2009.
How rich was John Hughes? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that was at $150 million, mostly earned through the financial successes he had from his films. Aside from making good movies, John was also responsible for helping several actors get a head start in their careers. He also worked as a screenwriter for other films, and all of these efforts ensured the position of his wealth.
John Hughes Net Worth $150 Million Dollars
As a child, John and his family moved a lot. He attended high school in Chicago, and started to find inspiration from various artists such as The Beatles, Picasso, and Bob Dylan. He then moved to Illinois, where he attended Glenbrook North High School, following which he enrolled at the University of Arizona, but dropped out.
He started to work as a writer, selling jokes and then found a job as an advertising copywriter at Needham, Harper & Steers. In 1974, he moved to Leo Burnett Worldwide, continuing to work on advertising. While doing this job, he would start getting inspiration for future films he would make. The first screenplay that he was credited with was entitled “Class Reunion” which, however, was a disaster. He then wrote “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, which would become a huge success. After that film, he wrote “Mr. Mom”, and would soon get a movie deal with Universal Studios.
In 1984, he made his directorial debut in the film “Sixteen Candies” which was a depiction of upper middle class high school life. From then on, John focussed a lot on the environment, making films such as “The Breakfast Club”, “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. In order to avoid being type cast to high school films, he then directed “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” starring John Candy and Steve Martin, so lifting his net worth.
John continued to make films, some of which weren’t that well received, but one of his biggest successes would be “Home Alone”, about a child who was accidentally left behind for Christmas, and has to defend his house from inept burglars. The film became the highest grossing in 1990, and is considered one of the best comedies of all time. John’s last film as a director was “Curly Sue” which was released in 1991.
Hughes then went back to screenwriting under the pseudonym Edmond Dantes, a character based on the book “The Count of Monte Cristo”. During this period, he wrote “Drillbit Taylor”, “Maid in Manhattan” and the “Beethoven” series. A few years later, he would retire from public life, rarely even giving interviews.
For his personal life, he was married to Nancy from 1970, and they had two sons. On the morning of 6 August 2009, John suffered a heart attack while walking. He was rushed to hospital but soon passed away. Many organizations, television shows and even the Academy Awards commemorated Hughes’ work.
