What is Joe Russo's Net Worth and Salary?
Joe Russo is a director, producer, and screenwriter who has a net worth of $80 million. Joe Russo is best known as one-half of the Russo brothers directing duo alongside his brother Anthony Russo. The pair rose to fame in the 2010s for directing the blockbuster Marvel Comics superhero films "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Avengers: Endgame." The Russo brothers have also directed episodes of several television series, including "Arrested Development," "Community," and "Happy Endings."
Marvel Payday
In July 2024, it was revealed that Marvel had tapped the Russo brothers to helm two Avengers movies; "Avengers: Doomsday" and Avengers: Secret Wars." They were paid a combined $80 million to direct the two films. They will earn millions more if the films hit various performance milestones, for example, breaking $1 billion in box office revenue.
Joe and Anthony Russo (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)
Early Life and Education
Joe Russo was born on July 18, 1971 in Cleveland, Ohio to Patricia and attorney and judge Basil. His older brother Anthony was born the year before. The family is of Italian descent. As teenagers, the brothers attended Benedictine High School. Joe went on to attend the University of Iowa, where he majored in English and writing. He and his brother later went to graduate school at Case Western Reserve University.
First Films
While they were attending Case Western Reserve University, the Russo brothers began writing, producing, and directing their first feature film, "Pieces." The film played at some festivals in 1997, including the Slamdance Film Festival, where filmmaker Steven Soderbergh saw it and offered to produce the Russo brothers' next film. That film was the caper comedy "Welcome to Collinwood," which was released in 2002. A remake of the 1958 Italian film "Big Deal on Madonna Street," it stars William H. Macy, Isaiah Washington, and Sam Rockwell, among others. The Russo brothers went on to direct the 2006 romantic comedy "You, Me and Dupree," starring Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon, and Kate Hudson.
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Marvel Superhero Films
The Russo brothers shot to fame with their fourth film as directors, the Marvel Comics superhero film "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." Released in 2014 as a sequel to "Captain America: The First Avenger," the film grossed over $700 million worldwide and became one of the highest-grossing films of the year. The Russo brothers returned for the next sequel, "Captain America: Civil War," which came out in 2016. An even bigger commercial hit, it grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing film of the year. The Russo brothers next took the helm of "Avengers: Infinity War," released in 2018 as the sequel to "The Avengers" and "The Avengers: Age of Ultron." Another massive commercial success, it broke several box office records and became the fourth film ever to cross $2 billion in worldwide grosses. The Russo brothers repeated that achievement with 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," which became the highest-grossing film ever at the time when it amassed $2.799 billion worldwide.
Further Film Career
In 2017, the Russo brothers founded the production company AGBO. Among the first films they produced through the company were the action thriller "21 Bridges" and the action war film "Mosul," both released in 2019. In 2020, the brothers co-produced the action thriller "Extraction," which Joe Russo adapted from the graphic novel "Ciudad." Returning to the directors' chairs, the Russo brothers subsequently directed the crime drama "Cherry," which came out in 2021. Based on the novel by Nico Walker, it stars Tom Holland as a PTSD-riddled veteran who robs banks to subsidize his and his wife's substance addictions.
In 2022, the Russo brothers served as producers on Daniels' hit film "Everything Everywhere All at Once," which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Also that year, they directed the action thriller "The Gray Man," starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans and based on the novel by Mark Greaney. Joe Russo co-wrote the film's screenplay with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. He went on to write the screenplay to the action thriller "Extraction 2," which was released in 2023. Next, the Russo brothers directed the 2024 science-fiction adventure film "The Electric State," based on the graphic novel by Simon Stålenhag.
(Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for IMDb)
Television Work
The Russo brothers began working in television in 2003 when they directed the pilot episode of the FX series "Lucky." Ron Howard was such a fan of the pilot that he helped get the brothers to direct the pilot episode of his upcoming Fox sitcom "Arrested Development." Individually, the Russo brothers went on to direct several further "Arrested Development" episodes through 2005. Meanwhile, they directed many episodes of the short-lived NBC series "LAX." In 2006, the Russo brothers directed the pilot episode of ABC's "What About Brian," and from 2007 to 2008 they directed various episodes of the sitcom "Carpoolers" for the same network.
From 2009 to 2014, the Russo brothers directed numerous episodes of the NBC sitcom "Community," starting with the pilot episode. They directed episodes of many other shows during that time, including the pilots of "Running Wilde," "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret," "Happy Endings," and "Animal Practice." The duo continued directing for the latter two shows after the pilot episodes. Joe Russo also directed some episodes of the NBC sitcom "Up All Night." Since then, the Russo brothers have served as executive producers on various shows, including "Deadly Class," "From," and "Citadel."
Personal Life & Real Estate
With his wife Pooja Raj, whom he married in 2011, Russo has two daughters named Ava and Lia.
In January 2023, Joe paid $21 million for a home in LA's Pacific Palisades enclave. He listed this home for sale in October 2024 for $25 million. Here's a video tour from 2022:
