What Is Steve Tisch's Net Worth?
Steve Tisch is an American businessman and film producer who has a net worth of $1.6 billion. Steve Tisch is probably best known for being the co-owner and executive vice president of the New York Giants football team. He began his professional career as a filmmaker while studying at Tufts University. He went on to work for Columbia Pictures, before branching out on his own, producing the films "Outlaw Blues" and "Risky Business." Steve has gone on to produce some of Hollywood's most successful film projects, including "Forrest Gump," "American History X," and "Snatch." He has also produced such television movies as "Something So Right," "Out on the Edge," "The People Next Door," and the Emmy-winning "The Burning Bed." He holds the distinction of being the only person who has ever won an Academy Award and a Super Bowl Ring.
Early Years
Steven Elliot Tisch was born on February 14, 1949, in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. His father was Preston Robert Tisch, a television and motion picture executive who co-owned the New York Giants football team with his brother Laurence Tisch. His mother was American philanthropist Joan Hyman.
Steve attended Tufts University, a private research university in Massachusetts, where he studied filmmaking.
Film
Tisch produced "Outlaw Blues," his first feature film, in 1977. Starring Peter Fonda and Susan Saint James, the film concerned a songwriter and former convict attempting to break into the music industry. In 1983, Steve produced the film "Risky Business," an American coming-of-age comedy starring Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. The film, which was Cruise's first as a leading character, documents the exploits of a teenage boy while his parents are out of town.
In 1986, Tisch founded his own production company, The Steve Tisch Company, which specialized in made-for-television movies but also produced successful motion pictures, such as the 1994 American comedy-drama "Forrest Gump," which won six Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award and became one of the highest-grossing domestic box office films in motion picture history.
Steve later merged his production company with the production company Black & Blu to create the Escape Artists company. In 2005, Escape Artists released the dark comedy "The Weather Man," starring Nicholas Cage as a Chicago weatherman undergoing a mid-life crisis. Other projects produced by Escape Artists included the 2006 Will Smith American biographical drama "The Pursuit of Happyness" and the 2009 American action thriller "The Taking of Pelham 123," starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta.
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Television
In 1984, Tisch produced the made-for-television movie "The Burning Bed," starring Farrah Fawcett. Based on a 1950 book by Faith McNulty, the movie follows the trial of a battered housewife who kills her husband. The movie was nominated for eleven Emmy Awards.
Acting
Steve has appeared on film in four projects. In 1971, he filled the uncredited role of a man running from a motel in "Cry Uncle!" In 1996, he portrayed "neighbor with dog" in the comedy "Dear God."
In 2010, Tisch played the character of Steve in the comedy "Brother's Justice." In 2015, he played an unnamed board member in the comedy "Entourage."
Steve has also appeared in two television shows: he played a man in a café in a 1995 episode of the sitcom "Seinfeld" and portrayed himself in the American drama series "Billions."
The New York Giants
Tisch co-owns the National Football League team the New York Giants with other members of his family. In 2005, he became chairman and executive vice president of the New York Giants, which won the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2007 and 2011.
A professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area, the team was founded by Timothy James Mara in 1925 with a $500 investment. The Giants joined the National Football League that year and are the only one of the original five NFL teams still existing.
In 1991, Tim Mara, the grandson and heir of the team's founder, was suffering from cancer when he sold half of the team to Steve's father, Preston Tisch.
Accolades
Along with numerous prominent awards for movies he's produced, Tisch was presented with the P.T. Barnum Award from Tuft's University in 2007 for his work in the entertainment field. He has also won a BAFTA Award for Best Film, a CabelACE Award for Best Movie or Miniseries, a Christopher Award for Best Television Film, a GLAAD Media Award, a Gotham Award for Beat Feature, a PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, and a Walk of Fame Award for Best Motion Picture as well as nominations for two Black Reel Awards and a Chicago Indie Critics Award.
In 2016, Steve was awarded an honorary degree from Tel Aviv University in honor of his contributions to the arts.
Golden Raspberry Awards
Awarding trophies popularly known as "Razzies," the Golden Raspberry Awards is a parody award show honoring what are voted to be cinematic failures. Tisch has been nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Picture on two occasions, in 1998 for the post-apocalyptic film "The Postman" and in 1989 for the comedy film "Hot to Trot" about a stockbroker who gets market tips from his talking horse.
Philanthropy
In 2019, Steve gifted UCLA with $10 million to establish the Steve Tisch Academic Excellence Fund. The scholarship program assists undergraduate students from middle-income families with college funds up to $10,000 per year.
Personal Life
Tisch had two children with his first wife, Patsy. In 1996, he married American businesswoman Jamie Leigh Alexander, and they welcomed three children, Elizabeth, Holden, and Zachary, before divorcing.
In August 2020, Steve's 36-year-old daughter Hilary died by suicide. Tisch said in a statement, "Hilary was a kind, caring and beautiful person. Her mother, sisters, brothers and I are devastated by her passing. It leaves a hole in our hearts and our lives. She, like so many others, bravely fought the disease of depression for as long as she could. We love and will miss her dearly. Our family is utterly heartbroken and is mourning its tragic loss. We ask for privacy during this very difficult time."
