Hayao Miyazaki was born on 5 January 1941, in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, and is a manga artist, film director, screenwriter, author, animator, and producer, probably best known for co-founding the film animation company Studio Ghibli. He’s worked on numerous anime feature films with the company in a career that now spans five decades. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Hayao Miyazaki? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $50 million, mostly earned through a successful career in animation. He’s worked for big companies, and has been responsible for creating some of the most successful animations from Japan. He’s also won numerous awards, and all of these efforts have ensured the position of his wealth.
Hayao Miyazaki Net Worth $50 million
As a child, Miyazaki experienced a bit of World War II as his father created airplane parts for Japanese war planes. They had to flee his hometown to live outside targeted war zones, and because of their business the family could live comfortably. He attended Omiya Junior High, but even before that had already aspired to create manga – he actually destroyed a lot of his early work because he believed that copying other artists was hindering his own development. He then attended Toyotama High School, and became interested in animation after viewing “The Tale of the White Serpent”, and learned how to become a better animator and manga artist. After matriculating, he attended Gakushuin University, graduating with a degree in political science and economics during 1963.
Hayao soon found work at Toei Animation as an in-between artist; he worked on “Watchdog Bow Wow” but really found recognition after helping create “Gulliver’s Travels Beyond the Moon”. He then became the chief animator for “Hols: Prince of the Sun”, and later helped create “Puss in Boots”; the character, with Miyazaki’s help would eventually become the studio mascot. He would then have a hand in creating “Flying Phantom Ship”, “Animal Treasure Island”, and “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”, all of which helped his net worth to rise.
In 1971, he left Toei and went to A Pro, co-directing the first “Lupin III” series. He then created “Panda! Go, Panda!” shorts along with Isao Takahata, then the two would move to Zuiyo Eizo and would work on various projects including “Future Boy Conan” and “The Incredible Tide”.
After leaving Nippon Animation in 1979, he directed his first feature anime film entitled “The Castle of Cagliostro” which was a “Lupin III” film. After creating “Sherlock Hound”, he would then work on “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” which also had a manga series of the same name. Miyazaki would start to explore more concepts and themes including human interaction, then in 1985, he along with a few others would found Studio Ghibli and create the first film entitled “Laputa: Castle in the Sky”. He then helped create the hit “My Neighbor Totoro” which is a story about two girls and their interaction with forest spirits. He subsequently worked on “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “Porco Rosso” which was released in 1992, which marked a different style from what people had known from Miyazaki. In 1995, he worked on “Princess Mononoke” and would later create the company’s biggest success entitled “Spirited Away”, a film about a girl who is forced to live in a spirit world; it is considered the most successful and highest grossing Japanese animated film, and earned numerous awards including an Academy Award.
In 2004, Miyazaki came out of retirement to complete “Howl’s Moving Castle”. He would get several lifetime achievement awards while working on animation projects such as “Shuna no Tabi”, but he continued making numerous films for Studio Ghibli including “Gake no ue no Ponyo”, “The Secret World of Arrietty” and “The Wind Rises”. Eventually in 2013, it was reported that Miyazaki was retiring from making full length animated films, but he is still involved with the company.
For his personal life, it is known that Miyazaki married Akemi Ota in 1965 and they have two sons. One of his sons would become an animator as well, and the two have collaborated on several projects.
