What was Sam Simon's net worth?
Sam Simon was an American director, television producer, and writer who had a net worth of $100 million at the time of his death. And that was after giving away and spending tens of millions of dollars of his fortune during his lifetime for philanthropic causes.
Sam Simon was a highly influential television writer, producer, and philanthropist, best known as one of the co-creators of "The Simpsons" alongside Matt Groening and James L. Brooks. He began his career writing for shows like "Taxi" and "Cheers" in the early 1980s, quickly establishing himself as a talented television writer. Simon's most significant contribution to television came when he helped develop "The Simpsons" from a series of animated shorts on "The Tracey Ullman Show" into a full-length series in 1989. He assembled and led the original writing team and is credited with establishing much of the show's tone, sensibility, and visual style. Though he left the series in 1993, he retained an executive producer title and continued to receive royalties from the show. Beyond "The Simpsons," Simon was also a successful poker player, competing in the World Series of Poker multiple times, and worked as a boxing manager. He was known for his sharp wit, creative genius, and sometimes difficult personality in professional settings.
In his later years, Simon became increasingly focused on philanthropy. He established the Sam Simon Foundation, which focused on animal welfare and feeding the hungry. He was particularly passionate about animal rights, funding numerous rescue operations and campaigns against animal cruelty. He donated much of his substantial fortune to charitable causes, particularly after being diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer. Simon passed away in 2015, leaving behind a legacy as both an entertainment innovator and a generous humanitarian.
Early Life
Simon was born on June 6, 1955. He grew up in Beverly Hills, California, where his neighbors were Groucho Marx and Elvis Presley. He attended Beverly Hills High School and then Stanford University. He was recruited to Stanford to play football but quit the team after his first practice. Sam then became the cartoonist for the college newspaper. While still attending Stanford, Sam was hired as the sports cartoonist for The San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner newspapers. When he finally graduated, Sam landed a job as a storyboard artist for Filmation Studios, where he would go on to work on cartoons like Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.
Simon's big break came in 1981 when he submitted a spec script (unsolicited) to the hit show Taxi. The show ended up being accepted and produced later that year. Simon was also hired as a writer on the show and eventually became Taxi's showrunner for the show's final season. He was just 30 years old which made him the youngest showrunner ever on a major network show, up to that point. After Taxi, Simon was hired as a writer for the first three seasons of Cheers.
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The Simpsons
While working on Taxi, Simon befriended the prolific producer James L. Brooks. In 1987, Brooks was working on The Tracey Ullman Show, a comedy sketch/variety show that eventually ran four seasons on the nascent Fox network. During the second season, Brooks decided to add animated cartoon shorts before and after the commercial breaks. At the time, Brooks was a fan of Matt Groening's syndicated newspaper comic strip "Life in Hell." On April 19, 1987, the first incarnation of "The Simpsons" appeared on The Tracey Ullman show. Two years later, Groening teamed up with Sam Simon and James L. Brooks to develop "The Simpsons" into its own full half-hour series.
The Simpsons premiered on December 17, 1989, and as we all know, would eventually go on to become one of the most successful shows in the history of television. Sam Simon served as creative supervisor for the first four seasons and hired the first writing team. Even though Simon only worked on the show for four out of 24 seasons, he is widely considered the creative force behind the show today. Simon helped design the fictional world of Springfield and conceived of many characters, including Mr. Burns, Chief Wiggum, Lou, Eddie, Bleeding Gums Murphy, and Dr. Hibbert.
After four seasons, Simon had grown tired of the grind of a weekly television show. He had also begun frequently clashing with his co-executive producers Matt Groening and James L. Brooks. In 1993, when Sam Simon officially left The Simpsons, he negotiated a deal that would allow him to keep his points (back-end equity) and his credit as executive producer for the rest of the show's run. He also negotiated a percentage of a little-known thing called home video rights. Today, between points, executive producer credits, and home video rights, Sam Simon's estate earns $20-30 million per year off a show that he hasn't worked on since 1993.
Philanthropy
Simon was a passionate animal rights activist and has spent the last 20 years of his life dedicated to various animal causes. The Sam Simon Foundation built and manages a six-acre luxury dog rescue shelter in Malibu, California, dedicated to saving dogs that were set to be euthanized. The Sam Simon Foundation also provides vegan meals for more than 200 hungry families in Los Angeles EVERY DAY. Furthermore, he has donated millions upon millions of dollars to PETA and the Sea Shepherd Organization (anti-whaling). The PETA organization named their Virginia headquarters after him, and the Sea Shepard Organization named one of their anti-whaling boats the SSS Sam Simon:
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Personal Life
Simon was also an avid poker player and amateur boxer. He was married to actress Jennifer Tilly from 1984-1991. He was then married to Playboy Playmate Jami Ferrell for just three short weeks. In 2012, Sam was diagnosed with cancer and given 3-6 months to live. Simon lived beyond his six-month mark but ultimately passed away in Pacific Palisades on March 8, 2015.
Jennifer Tilly Divorce Settlement
Legal documents following his death revealed that Jennifer Tilly was left 30% of his Simpsons royalties in their 1993 divorce settlement. That amounts to around $6-10 million per year. This arrangement had long been rumored but was officially confirmed following his death when Tilly and Simon's estate agreed to a new payment method for her share of the royalties. When Sam was alive, Jennifer received her royalties from Sam's company, Coconino Inc. The new arrangement allowed for Jennifer to receive her cut directly from Fox going forward. From the legal filings:
"Because of Sam's death, it was no longer practical for Jennifer, Sam and Coconino to follow the procedure that Jennifer had been following with Sam and Coconino from 1993 until Sam's death. [The new agreement is] "intended to place Jennifer in substantially the same economic position that she would be in if she had received her percentage of the Fox Payments directly from Fox and had reported income on her income tax returns and paid tax thereon."
Pacific Palisades Mansion
In 1990, Sam paid $2.8 million for a mansion in LA's Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Set on 1.3 acres, the property features "the Stuart Bailey House," a house designed by architect Richard Neutra. The Bailey House was part of an Arts & Architecture home-building and design program from 1945 that encouraged experimental designs. In 2010, Sam built a 7,100-square-foot additional structure on the property, In October 2015, a few months after Sam's death, the property was listed for $18 million. The home sold in May 2016 for $12.5 million. Here is a video tour from when the property was listed in 2020 for $20 million:
