Dick Wolf Net Worth [The Man Behind Law And Order]

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Net Worth:	$600 million
Profession/Career:	Television producer, writer
Best Known For:	Law & Order
College:	University of Pennsylvania
Major/Degree:	BA in English
Full Name:	Richard Anthony Wolf
Date of Birth:	December 20, 1946
Place of Birth:	New York City, New York
Height:	6 ft 4 in

Frequently associated with

Law & Order

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Net Worth of Dick Wolf

Dick Wolf’s net worth is estimated to be roughly $600 million in 2023.

The majority of Dick Wolf’s net worth can easily be attributed to his success in the entire Law & Order franchise and all of its spin-offs, which all started in 1990. These include:

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)
Law & Order: Organized Crime
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Law & Order: Los Angeles (LA)
Law & Order: True Crime
Law & Order: United Kingdom (UK)

Over 1,300 episodes have come out of the entire Law & Order franchise and/or spin-offs. Dick Wolf gets paid around $200K for each episode. This varies slightly from episode to episode, but that is the general range. If we only take into account his total pay from all of the Law & Order episodes he’s created and produce, that totals to over $260 million thus far.

But wait… that’s not anywhere near the $600 million his net worth is valued at.

True. A couple of things that haven’t been accounted for.

One: Even though he gets paid around $200K each episode, it’s not the exact number. There have been claims that the number is closer to $250K. If you multiply that by the number of episodes he’s done for Law & Order alone, that makes it closer to $325K in earnings. On top of that, the claim is an older one, and as Dick Wolf’s reputation climbs with each passing season, his ability to negotiate his pay gets stronger and stronger. His pay could potentially be $300K or $400K per episode by now. As long as the show pays for itself, it’s very plausible.

Secondly: The rest of his net worth can be explained by his supplementary income, including the three books he’s authored as well as other work he has done outside of the Law & Order series. On top of that, if he’s invested the money he’s made smartly throughout his career, the vast amounts of money have probably been riding the bull run that the stock market has been enjoying in the last decade prior to just recently.

But wait… doesn’t Law & Order have over 25,000 episodes?

Maybe that explains how his net worth it so high? No, it doesn’t. It’s a rumor that’s been perpetrated by WE TV, but it has no basis in truth. But if it was true, then that would increase Dick Wolf’s net worth to over $5 billion, assuming the same rate of pay and assuming he could physically have done 25,000 episodes by this stage in his career.

How much does Dick Wolf earn per year?

Dick Wolf earns roughly $8 million a year.

This takes into account the higher pay he likely earns per episode in more recent times, which is well over $200K and probably closer to $300K. Most of his earnings come from work involving Law & Order in some way. He also earns royalties from his books and earns more from work outside of Law & Order on top of it.

Did Dick Wolf grow up rich or poor?

Dick Wolf grew up in a very well-off family. His father was an ad executive who was paid handsomely and had ties to the film industry. Initially, Dick Wolf followed his father into the world of ads and learned how to build a brand quite proficiently. However, he decided to take advantage of the connections his father had in the film industry, starting as a writer as many producers do, then working his way up to becoming a well-respected producer and eventually author of three books as well.