Dick Wolf's net worth makes him one of the richest people in TV thanks largely to the Law & Orderand One Chicagofranchises (and, let's be real, everyone's obsession with #Bensler).
Wolf has worked exclusively with NBCUniversal since 1990, a deal he credits to hard work, good hiring and basic bookkeeping.
"I've survived six owners and 10 administrations," he told The Los Angeles Timesin 2012. "At some point, it's a bit of the devil you know.
While working for him certainly sounds exhausting, it's also famously lucrative.
Dick Wolf was born in New York City. Early in his career, he worked as an advertising executive (his father's field), coming up with slogans for everything from airlines to toothpaste.
Dick Wolf and wife Christine split in 2003. In their divorce settlement, Wolf was ordered to pay Christine a one-time payout of $17.5 million, plus $2 million annually for eight years for a total of $33.5 million. She was also given their estate in Maine and other material possessions, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Law & Order as a franchise was valued at $4 million at the time of their divorce settlement, and Christine later learned from reading The Los Angeles Timesthat Wolf signed that famous billion-dollar deal with NBC—only after she'd signed off on the divorce agreement.
She alleged in court filings afterward that Wolf had been concealing assets from her in the divorce, suing him for fraud and appealing decisions for another 15 years to no avail: The original settlement stuck.