Richard Samuel Attenborough was born on the 29th August 1923, in Cambridge, England, and was an award-winning English actor, director, producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and politician. In his sixty-years-long acting career, he showed his versatility both on stage and on screen. His notable roles include Roger Bartlett “Big X” in the World War II epic “The Great Escape” (1963) and John Hammond in “Jurassic Park” (1993).
Have you ever wondered how rich Richard Attenborough was at the time of his death? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Attenborough’s net worth was as high as $20 million, an amount earned through his successful career in acting and filmmaking.
Richard Attenborough Net Worth $20 Million
Richard Attenborough was born the eldest son of Frederick Levi Attenborough, who was a scholar and academic administrator, and Mary Attenborough (nee Clegg), a founding member of the Marriage Guidance Council. He has two younger brothers, John and David, the latter is a famous English naturalist and broadcaster. Richard received his education first at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester, and then at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He was a part of the RAF Film Unit during the WWII, and starred in 1943 propaganda film “Journey Together”. While he trained as a pilot, he sustained permanent ear damage, but nonetheless qualified.
Richard began his acting career on stage, at Little Theater in Leicester. He transferred to movies in 1942, only to be type-cast as a coward and petty criminal, based on his first film role in “In Which We Serve”. However, such typecasting also led him to his breakthrough role in the 1967 adaptation of Graham Green’s novel “Brighton Rock”. By this time, Attenborough had left his mark on stage, as a member of the original cast of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” (1952), which gained the status of the longest running stage production in the world. During the 1950s, he also starred in successful comedies, such as “Private’s Progress” (1956) and “I’m All Right Jack” (1959), which increased his net worth significantly.
In the 1960s, Attenborough appeared in several critically acclaimed films, such as “Guns at Batasi” (1964), for which he won the BAFTA Award, as well as “The Sand Pebbles” (1966) and “Doctor Dolittle” (1967), for which he won two consecutive Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor, although one of the rare Golden Globe recipients who had not been nominated for an Oscars for the same performance. The end of the ‘60s was marked by his directorial debut, in the musical “Oh! What a Lovely War” (1969), in which he directed such actors as Maggie Smith, Laurence Olivier, and Vanessa Redgrave.
In 1974, Attenborough starred in another Agatha Christie work, this time in the film adaptation of her most famous novel “And Then There Were None”, in the role of Judge Arthur Cannon. In 1982, Attenborough became one of only nine directors to win an Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Director’s Guild Award for the same film, achieving this honor with “Gandhi”, a biopic about the life of Mahatma Gandhi, starring Sir Ben Kingsley.
For his contribution to the cinema, Attenborough was made a life peer in 1993, receiving the title Baron Attenborough, of Richmond upon Thames. He decided to sit on the Labour party benches, since he leaned liberal in his political opinions. He was also a great patron of arts, and proponent of education, founding The Richard Attenborough Arts Centre in 1997, followed by Jane Holland Creative Centre for Learning at Waterford Kamhlaba, Swaziland, in memory of his late daughter.
In his personal life, Attenborough was married to actress Sheila Sim for sixty nine years, until his death. Together they had two daughters and a son. Their elder daughter, Jane, was killed by a tsunami in 2004, along with her mother-in-law and daughter. His younger daughter, Charlotte, is also an actress. Attenborough was a fan of Chelsea FC, serving as its director for thirteen years. He was also an avid collector of art, but he decided to sell a part of his extensive collection in 2009, generating more than $5 million dollars. He died in a nursing home in London on 24th August 2014, only five days before his 91st birthday, survived by his wife, two children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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