CHRISTOPHER NOLAN—EST. $180M

Born on July 30, 1970, Christopher Nolan is a director, screenwriter and producer. As a child, he was deeply infatuated with A Space Odyssey and Star Wars. Inspired by his interest, he tried to create a short film with his father’s camera. When he was in college, he chose literature to improve himself.

A Nolan film is, to some degree, like a journey through the mind. If you don’t believe me, consider that the man directed Memento and Inception, two of the most existentially mind-bending, non-linear films of the century. He directed a Batman film—actually, he directed more than one Batman film—which some might think to be camp, in no small part because of George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell’s poisoning of the well. But his Batman films were dark, gritty, and Nolan-esque—they certainly shouldn’t be compared to Joel Schumacher’s schlocky and sorry excuse of a Batman movie.