The passing of Robert Redford, one of the most iconic figures in American cinema, has left behind not only a rich creative legacy but also an impressive financial empire valued at around $200 million. Now, the main question on many minds is how this vast fortune—including cash assets and numerous properties—will be divided among his heirs. The primary claimants are thought to be his daughters from his first marriage, Shauna and Amy, as well as his widow, Sibylle Szaggars.
Redford’s path to wealth was swift. While he earned just $500 for his debut role in the military drama ‘War Hunt’ in 1962, his fortunes changed dramatically just a few years later. His collaboration with Paul Newman was a turning point. For the cult western ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,’ each actor received $750,000—a huge sum for the era, equivalent to about seven million today. This became the foundation of his future business empire. His fees continued to climb: half a million dollars for ‘The Sting,’ two million for ‘A Bridge Too Far,’ and a record $11 million for ‘The Last Castle’ in 2001, which today would be around $20 million.
However, Redford was not just a highly paid actor but also a visionary entrepreneur. He invested the money he earned filming with Newman in purchasing more than 1,200 hectares of land in Utah, on the grounds of a ski resort near Mount Timpanogos. He renamed this area “Sundance.” Originally, it was a modest retreat where he lived with his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, but over time it developed into a large-scale project. In 1981, demonstrating not only business acumen but also a commitment to the arts, Redford founded the Sundance Institute—a nonprofit organization to support young talent in cinema. The project grew into a film festival of the same name, becoming the world’s leading platform for independent filmmaking, and sparked an entire network of brands, including theaters, a TV channel, and a production company.
His business ventures extended beyond Sundance. Redford was actively involved in real estate deals across the country. His portfolio included properties in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and California. For instance, in 2001 he sold a house in Malibu for six million euros, and a neighboring plot went for three million dollars. In New York, he owned a luxurious duplex on Fifth Avenue, which he purchased in 1997 for 3.7 million and sold a few years later for 10 million. Even in recent years, he continued to make profitable deals, such as with a house in Tiburon, California, bought in 2020 for 3.1 million and sold in 2024 for 4.6. All of this shows that Redford was not only a genius on screen but also a talented investor who managed to multiply his wealth many times over.
