Robert Rodriguez made a name for himself with his maverick approach to filmmaking - here's the director's estimated net worth. Robert Rodriguez has one of the most inspiring journeys to becoming a filmmaker, where he took some money raised from submitting himself for medical testing and went to Mexico to shoot cult classic El Mariachi. The movie follows a luckless mariachi who is mistaken for a criminal by hitmen. Rodriguez was only 23 when he made the movie, which was shot for a mere $7,000, and originally intended to sell it as a straight to video feature.
Instead, El Mariachi attracted some heat due to its incredible making-of story, and Columbia Pictures picked it up and gave Rodriguez more money for post-production. The movie spawned a bigger budget sequel in Desperado, where Antonio Bandaras played the vengeful mariachi, and he rounded out the trilogy with 2003's Once Upon A Time In Mexico. Rodriguez has become famous for his ability to produce movies that are shot fast and cheap but look much bigger in scope, such as Sin City. He's something of a one-man band when it comes to filmmaking and can also write, edit, and compose his own music.
Robert Rodriguez has been prolific since the moment his career took off, with his most recent project being the well-received blockbuster Alita: Battle Angel. He's a busy producer too and founded his own cable channel dubbed El Rey Network in 2013, which produced original shows like From Dusk To Dawn: The Series. No doubt due to his enterprising approach to his career, Celebrity Net Worth reports Robert Rodriguez is worth an estimated $50 million.
Rodriguez is also great friends with fellow auteur Quentin Tarantino, and the pair have collaborated on movies like the 1995 anthology Four Rooms, Sin City and their most famous experiment Grindhouse. This project was an homage to the low-budget genre fare of the 1970s, with Tarantino directing Death Proof while Rodriguez helmed Planet Terror. The movie also featured fake trailers directed by the likes of Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie, and two of these false previews - Hobo With A Shotgun and Machete - eventually being made into solo feature films.
Rodriguez quite literally returned to his roots with next project Red 11, which was produced for $7,000. The concept is even based on his time in the research hospital to fund El Mariachi, with the title referring to the number and shirt he was assigned. He also directed the ultimate forthcoming movie 100 Years starring John Malkovich, which was sealed in a time-locked safe that won't open until 2115. Robert Rodriguez is also rumored to be directing the remake of John Carpenter's Escape From New York, though there's currently no word on when the movie will go into production.