What is Jeffrey Lurie's Net Worth?
Jeffrey Lurie is a businessman, film producer, and professional sports team owner who has a net worth of $5 billion. Jeffrey Lurie is probably best known for being the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team. He has owned the Eagles since 1994. He bought the team for $195 million. Lurie borrowed an estimated $190 million from the Bank of Boston to buy the Eagles. Today the team is worth $5 billion. Lurie and the Eagles won their first Super Bowl title in 2018, defeating the New England Patriots.
Jeffrey Lurie was born into wealth. His grandfather Philip Smith founded the General Cinema movie theater chain, which, when Lurie was growing up, was a $3.7 billion company.
Prior to his NFL career, Lurie worked at his grandfather's General Cinema Corporation and founded his own film and television production company, Chestnut Hill Productions. In 2011, the Lurie-produced movie "Inside Job" won an Academy Award for best documentary film.
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Early Life and Education
Jeffrey Lurie was born on September 8, 1951 in Boston, Massachusetts to Jewish parents Morris and Nancy. His maternal grandfather was Philip Smith, founder of the General Cinema movie theater chain. The company operated the fourth-largest chain of movie theaters in the United States during its business heyday. Additionally, after evolving into the multibillion-dollar conglomerate Harcourt General, it owned publishing houses, insurance companies, and a consulting firm.
Lurie has a brother named Peter and a sister named Cathy. For his higher education, he went to Clark University in Worcester. After graduating, Lurie went on to earn a master's degree in psychology from Boston University, and then a doctoral degree in social policy from Brandeis University. He later returned to BU as an adjunct assistant professor.
Career Beginnings
Leaving academia in 1983, Lurie joined his grandfather's General Cinema Corporation, which was being headed by his uncle Richard A. Smith at the time. At the company, Lurie served in an executive position liaising with the Hollywood production community.
Chestnut Hill Productions
In 1985, Lurie founded his own production company called Chestnut Hill Productions. Initially, the company had a multi-feature joint venture with TriStar Pictures. In 1987, Chestnut Hill projects were acquired by other studios including MGM, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Lurie went on to produce the 1988 dramedy "Sweet Hearts Dance," starring Don Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Daniels, and Elizabeth Perkins. Two years after that, he produced Lawrence Kasdan's black comedy "I Love You to Death," featuring an ensemble cast including Kevin Kline, William Hurt, Tracey Ullman, Joan Plowright, and River Phoenix. Lurie subsequently produced the action-comedy crime film "V.I. Warshawski," starring Kathleen Turner as a Chicago-based private investigator. His final film as a producer at Chestnut Hill was the 1996 teen drama "Foxfire," based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel and starring Hedy Burress, Angelia Jolie, Jenny Shimizu, Jenny Lewis, and Sarah Rosenberg.
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Oscar Wins
Lurie has won multiple Oscars for executive producing documentary films. His first came for 2010's Best Documentary winner "Inside Job," directed by Charles Ferguson and focused on the financial crisis of the late-00s. Two years later, Lurie won Best Documentary Short Subject for executive producing Sean Fine and Andrea Nix's "Inocente," about an undocumented, homeless 15-year-old girl in California. Lurie won a third Oscar for executive producing the 2021 documentary "Summer of Soul," directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson. The film explores the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival and the historical context surrounding the event.
Philadelphia Eagles Ownership
As a Boston native, Lurie had always been a devoted fan of his hometown professional sports teams the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots. Because of this, when he ventured into sports team ownership in 1993, he attempted to purchase the Patriots. However, after his uncle balked at the $150 million price tag, Lurie dropped out of the bidding. He went on to express interest in buying the Los Angeles Rams and investing in a Baltimore expansion team. Ultimately, Lurie – along with his mother – purchased the Philadelphia Eagles from owner Norman Braman for $195 million in 1994; they had borrowed $190 million of that sum from the Bank of Boston. To repay the loan, Lurie used millions of dollars of his personal stock in Harcourt General as equity capital, and also pledged his stock in the family trust as collateral.
Lurie's greatest success as owner of the Eagles came in 2018 when the team won Super Bowl LII. Ironically, they defeated Lurie's hometown Patriots with a score of 41-33. The only other Super Bowl appearance for the Lurie-owned Eagles was in 2005, when the team fell to the Patriots 21-24.
Personal Life
In 1992, Lurie wed his first wife, former actress Christina Weiss. The two met during pre-production on the film "I Love You to Death," as Weiss was working at Lurie's production company. Together, the couple had a daughter named Milena and a son named Julian. Lurie and Weiss divorced in 2012, with the latter receiving ownership interest in the Eagles as part of the settlement. Following this, Lurie married Tina Lai in 2013.
