Barbara Broccoli Net Worth

What is Barbara Broccoli's net worth?

Barbara Broccoli is an American film producer who has a net worth of $400 million. Barbara Broccoli was born into one of the most successful movie dynasties of all time. Her family are the custodians of the long-running James Bond franchise. They run the empire through the production company Eon Productions Ltd. Her contributions to cinema have been widely recognized. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2008 and was later promoted to Commander (CBE) in 2022. In 2014, she received the David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures from the Producers Guild of America, a testament to her impact on the film industry.

Barbara is the daughter of famed "James Bond" producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli. In 1961, Albert and a partner acquired the rights to produce films based on Ian Flemming's James Bond novels. They soon struck a deal that gave movie studio MGM the exclusive right to produce and distribute their films. The resulting deal gave MGM and the Broccoli family 50/50 ownership over James Bond. MGM's 50/50 stake was acquired when the studio was acquired by Amazon in 2022, but Barbara and her step-brother still have full creative control over the franchise.

Barbara took full control over the Bond empire in 1995, a year before her father's death. Upon Albert's death, Barbara and her half-brother, Michael G. Wilson, inherited ownership of the franchise. Before dying, Albert told Barbara and Michael: "We have the golden egg here. Don't let anybody else screw it up."

(Photo by Victoria Jones-Pool/Getty Images)

Early Life

Barbara Broccoli was born on June 18th, 1960, in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in the behind-the-scenes world of James Bond, traveling with her family around the world to various exotic locations. She majored in motion picture and television communications at Loyola Marymount University.

A year after she was born, Barbara's father, Albert, and a partner named Henry Saltzman struck what would later be the deal of a lifetime: They bought the rights to adapt Ian Fleming's James Bond novels into films.

The Birth of James Bond on the Big Screen

In 1961, Ian Fleming's frustration with Hollywood finally ended when he struck a landmark deal that would transform his James Bond novels into one of cinema's most successful franchises. After years of false starts, including a low-paying CBS adaptation of "Casino Royale" in 1954, Canadian producer Harry Saltzman secured a six-month option on Fleming's Bond novels for $50,000.

The deal's structure was crucial to its success. Saltzman offered Fleming $100,000 for each novel adapted into a film, plus a share of profits. With only weeks remaining on his option, Saltzman partnered with American producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli. The pair formed EON Productions and quickly secured a $1 million commitment from United Artists for the first film.

However, the agreement had notable exclusions. "Casino Royale" wasn't included because its rights had been sold previously. Fleming specifically restricted the use of "The Spy Who Loved Me," allowing only its title to be used for future films. "Thunderball" was initially excluded due to legal disputes with writer Kevin McClory, though it was later produced in 1965 after a settlement that gave McClory producer credit and remake rights.

Fleming surrendered creative control in exchange for financial security, which he needed for medical bills. Though initially skeptical about Sean Connery's casting as Bond in "Dr. No," Fleming later embraced the actor's portrayal, even adding Scottish heritage to Bond's background in subsequent novels. The deal proved transformative for both Fleming's finances and his books' popularity, as the films drove increased sales of his novels.

The timing was bittersweet. Fleming passed away in August 1964, shortly before "Goldfinger" premiered, but he lived long enough to see "Dr. No" (1962) and "From Russia with Love" (1963) become successful. He had witnessed his creation's successful transition to the screen and the beginning of what would become a global phenomenon.

As we mentioned previously, in the mid-1970s, Harry Saltzman sold his 50% share in the film rights to MGM. For the next five decades, Bond was a 50/50 partnership between members of the Broccoli family and MGM. In 2022, MGM was acquired by Amazon for $8.5 billion. The deal did not include creative control or ownership over the Bond franchise. In February 2025, Amazon reached a deal with Barbara Broccoli and step-brother, Michael, to acquire creative control. The deal was rumored to be a $1 billion payment.

The 1961 deal's structure – combining upfront payments, per-film fees, and profit participation – became the foundation for decades of James Bond films. While the $50,000 option might seem modest by today's standards, it launched a franchise that would far exceed anyone's expectations. It also established a model where the author benefited from ongoing film success while giving producers the creative freedom to adapt the works for cinema. The deal's legacy continues today, as the framework it established still governs how EON Productions brings James Bond to the screen.

Bond Career

Throughout the 1980s, Broccoli gained increasing responsibility within Eon Productions. She became an associate producer on "The Living Daylights" (1987) and "Licence to Kill" (1989), working alongside her father and half-brother Michael G. Wilson. In 1995, Broccoli and Wilson took over primary producing duties on "GoldenEye," which successfully relaunched the franchise with Pierce Brosnan after a six-year hiatus. While the casting choice of Pierce Brosnan – the fifth James Bond actor – was ultimately made by her father, Cubby Broccoli, Barbara was directly responsible for assembling the creative team and leading the production of  GoldenEye. GoldenEye was a huge hit and breathed new life into the franchise. The movie earned $350 million worldwide on a budget of $60 million. Brosnan would go on to appear in four Bond films between 1995 and 2002.

Under Broccoli's co-leadership, the Bond franchise has experienced some of its greatest commercial and critical successes. She was instrumental in casting Daniel Craig as 007, despite initial skepticism from some fans and media. The decision proved transformative – Craig's debut in "Casino Royale" (2006) earned widespread acclaim and reinvented Bond for the 21st century. The films under Craig's tenure, particularly "Skyfall" (2012), achieved unprecedented box office success and critical recognition.

Beyond Bond, Broccoli has demonstrated a strong commitment to theater production. She has produced several successful plays and musicals in London's West End and on Broadway, including "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "A Steady Rain" (starring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman), and "Once" (which won eight Tony Awards). This theatrical work showcases her interest in storytelling beyond the action-packed world of 007.

MGM Production Deal

For several decades, Barbara and her half-brother, Michael G. Wilson, earned a large flat fee from MGM for producing each Bond movie, plus a lucrative back-end percentage of all profits. Best of all, they didn't need to contribute their own money to production costs, as would be standard with the typical producer/studio deal.

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Amazon Acquisition

MGM was acquired by Amazon in 2022 for $6.5 billion. However, under the terms of the original contract signed with MGM, which carried over to Amazon, Barbara and her half-brother Michael maintained full creative control over the franchise. That meant they fully controlled casting decisions, script approvals, spinoffs and more.

At the time of the acquisition, and for the next three years, the Bond franchise rights were split between multiple parties. While MGM held the distribution rights and co-financing position, the creative control and overall franchise rights remained firmly with Eon Productions, specifically Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. This meant that despite Amazon's purchase, all major decisions about Bond's future – including who plays the character, the tone of the films, and even whether Bond could appear in a spinoff TV series – still required approval from Broccoli and Wilson.

Broccoli and Wilson consistently maintained their position that James Bond is primarily a theatrical franchise. After the Amazon acquisition, they publicly reaffirmed that Bond films would continue to debut in theaters rather than going directly to streaming on Amazon Prime. They also resisted ideas for Bond TV shows or spinoff series despite Amazon's likely interest in expanding the franchise for its streaming platform.

On February 2020, 2025, it was announced that Barbara and Michael had reached an agreement to hand creative control over the Bond franchise over to Amazon. The deal finally gave Amazon three key points that it had been long seeking from the Brocolis: The ability to choose who will play Bond, who will write the scripts and when films go into production. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, though it is safe to say a large amount of money was exchanged.

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