What Is Forrest Lucas' Net Worth?
Forrest Lucas is an American entrepreneur and film producer who has a net worth of $500 million. Forrest Lucas founded Lucas Oil with his wife Charlotte in 1989 to manufacture better oil products for their fleet of trucks. The products quickly caught on, and the company grew exponentially. The company is heavily involved in motorsports and sponsors multiple racing teams. In 2008, Lucas Oil agreed to purchase the naming rights to what is now known as Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. This stadium is home to the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, and it reportedly cost Lucas Oil $120 million to purchase the naming rights. Lucas co-founded the production company Forrest Films with race car driver/actor Ali Afshar in 2018. Lucas has produced 13 films, including "The Dog Lover" (2016), "Running Wild" (2017), "Pray for Rain" (2017), "Bennett's War" (2019), "Wheels of Fortune" (2020), and "Born a Champion" (2021), and he appeared in "Pray for Rain" and "Bennett's War."
Early Life
Forrest Lucas was born on February 13, 1942, in Ramsey, Indiana. His parents, Marie and Raymond, had a farm in Elkinsville, and Forrest grew up with three sisters in "rural deprivation." Lucas took care of pigs and cows in the morning and after school, and when he was 15, he left his family's farm to work at a Harrison County cattle ranch. He has said that after he graduated from high school, he "went to a long college called hard knocks."
Lucas Oil
When he was 19 years old, Forrest purchased his first truck, and two years later, he bought a semi-trailer. He began working for Mayflower Transit, then he built up a fleet of more than a dozen trucks and started brokering freight. After freight was deregulated in 1980, Lucas was the first person to obtain a license that gave him "full 48-state authority, to haul anything, anywhere."
In 1988, Forrest founded Lucas Oil with his wife, Charlotte. The company manufactures and distributes automotive oil, lubricants, and additives, and it has sponsored numerous motorsports racing teams. Lucas Oil's products are sold in over 30,000 auto parts stores.
Forrest started executive producing films in 2016, beginning with "American Wrestler: The Wizard." He followed it with "The Dog Lover" (2016), "Running Wild" (2017), and "Pray for Rain" (2017), and he founded his own production company, Forrest Films, in 2018. That year he produced the films "Dirt" and "The Ride," and then he produced 2019's "American Fighter" and "Bennett's War," 2020's "Lady Driver," "The Stand at Paxton County," "Roped," and "Wheels of Fortune," and 2021's "Born a Champion."
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Personal Life
Forrest has been married to his wife, Charlotte, since 1982, and they have welcomed seven children together. Their son Morgan has competed in drag racing as part of the National Hot Rod Association, and he serves as the president of Lucas Oil. Forrest has said that his first wife, who he divorced in 1969, "couldn't stand to save money … she'd spend it as fast as I made it." Lucas established the nonprofit organization Protect the Harvest, which is against "the radical animal rights movement" and called the Humane Society of the United States "a wealthy and successful attack group."
Real Estate
Forrest and Charlotte bought a 33-acre property in Carmel, Indiana, in 2003, and construction began on a 15,000 square foot mansion in 2006. It took close to seven years to build the home, which includes eight bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, an indoor swimming pool, a sauna, and a fitness center. An 18-hole golf course sits on the property. In 2019, the estate went on the market for $5.5 million.
