Net Worth: $500 Million
About Michael Bay
Michael Bay is an American director and film producer with an estimated net worth of $500 million. Michael Bay is most famous for directing huge blockbuster movies like Bad Boys I & II, The Rock, Armageddon, The Island, Pearl Harbor, and the Transformers trilogy. Bay has so many producer credits for most of the movies he directed and was also the producer of television series No Way Out and Cocaine Cowboys. Not only has Michael Bay directed and produced films and television shows, but Bay has also had acting roles in some of them as well surprisingly. He was one of the goons on the hit TV series Miami Vice which he was used as an extra, and also had acting parts in Bad Boys II, Armageddon, Coyote Ugly and Mystery men. Michael Bay started in the film industry when he was only at the age of 15 years old and was used as a storyboard filler then progressed his way up in his career.
Michael Bay was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1946. He attended Wesleyan University and majored in English and in Film. He also studied film at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Bay still lives in Los Angeles, part time of course now that he is famous for being a director. He also has a home in Miami as well. He started off with directing commercials and music videos early in his career. He directed the famous Aaron Burr “Got Milk” commercial, as well as commercials for Coca Cola and the Red Cross, which won him a Clio Award. He directed music videos for artists such as Donnie Osmond, Tina Turner, Aerosmith, and more. He is the recipient of five MTV Awards for Best Action Scene for “Pearl Harbor,” “Bad Boys II,” and “The Rock,” as well as, Best Movie and Best Summer Movie You Haven’t Seen Yet for “Transformers.” Bay got his first major break when his directing talents were noticed by super producers Jerry Buckheimer and Don Simpson who discovered him. They hired Michael to direct their movie Bad Boys, which was Bay’s first feature film and a huge success. Michael Bay is also the co-founder of the production company, Platinum Dunes, along with partners, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. They are quite successful with their remakes of old horror films, such as “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” They are that good enough that Paramount and Nickelodeon have signed with them to do a remake of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Bay, along with producer Scott Gardenhour also formed a company that produces commercials for companies such as, Victoria’s Secret, Nike, Budweiser, Lexus, Reebok, and Mercedes Benz. The company, which is called the Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness. His biggest career success has been directing the Transformers Trilogy with Steven Spielberg as a producer. His star power as a director has enabled him to negotiate partial ownership of the movies he directs or produces which seniority, giving him a generous cut of the profits. Hasbro, owners of the Transformers franchise even granted him hefty percentage of merchandise sales, on top of the box office receipts. This has earned him upwards of $200 million of his $500 million net worth.
