You’ve seen the lists. The ones that rank the wealthiest people in Hollywood. Usually, you expect to see names like Jerry Seinfeld, Tyler Perry, or maybe a recent billionaire like Taylor Swift. But sitting right at the top—often with a net worth that doubles or triples the person in second place—is Jami Gertz.
It’s a bit of a head-scratcher for casual movie fans. If you grew up in the 80s, you definitely know her face. She was the girl in The Lost Boys. She was the "can’t spare a square" girlfriend on Seinfeld. She was the slightly high-strung Dr. Melissa Reeves in Twister. But $8 billion? $12 billion? That’s not "sitcom money." That’s "I own the stadium" money.
And honestly, that’s exactly what it is.
The Breadwinner Narrative Most People Get Wrong
There’s this persistent idea that Jami Gertz just "married well" and disappeared into a life of leisure. It’s a lazy take. It also happens to be factually backwards. When she met her husband, Tony Ressler, in 1987, she wasn't some struggling starlet looking for a payday. She was a working actress with a solid resume. Tony? He was just a guy in finance.
"Everyone thinks I married a rich guy," she told The Hollywood Reporter a few years back. "But I made more money—way more money—than Tony when I met him."
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She actually paid for their first house. She paid for their first vacation. While Tony was busy co-founding Apollo Global Management in 1990 and later Ares Management, Jami was the one with the steady income from films like Less Than Zero and Solarbabies. They built that empire as a team. Today, Ares Management has somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 billion in assets under management. You don't get to those numbers by accident, and you certainly don't maintain that kind of wealth without being a savvy operator yourself.
From The Lost Boys to the NBA Boardroom
Most actors treat their "side businesses" like hobbies. They launch a tequila brand or a skincare line. Jami Gertz went a different route. She went into sports.
In 2015, Gertz and Ressler led an investment group that bought the Atlanta Hawks for $850 million. If you follow the NBA, you’ve probably seen her. She’s not just a silent partner sitting in a luxury box; she is the face of the franchise's ownership. She represents the team at the NBA Draft Lottery. She’s deep in the community work in Atlanta.
Why the Hawks Investment Changed Everything
The value of NBA franchises has absolutely exploded in the last decade. That $850 million purchase? It’s worth billions now. It's the kind of ROI that makes a movie salary look like pocket change.
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But it’s not just the Hawks. The couple also holds a minority stake in the Milwaukee Brewers. They’ve diversified into real estate across Beverly Hills and Malibu. They’ve basically turned the "celebrity lifestyle" into a massive, multi-industry conglomerate.
The Acting Career You Probably Forgot
If we're being real, Jami’s acting career is actually pretty fascinating on its own. She didn't have that one "megastar" moment where she was the highest-paid person in the world, but she was everywhere.
- Square Pegs: She started out as Muffy Tepperman.
- The Lost Boys: She played Star, the half-vampire caught between Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland.
- Less Than Zero: This was her "serious" turn, playing Blair alongside a young Robert Downey Jr. in a movie that still feels incredibly bleak and stylish.
- Twister: This is the one everyone remembers. She played the "other woman"—the therapist fiancée who spends the whole movie on a cell phone while cows fly past the window.
She even famously turned down the role of Rachel Green on Friends. Think about that for a second. Most people would regret that for the rest of their lives. For Jami Gertz, it was just a choice she made because she wanted to focus on other things, like her family and her growing interest in business.
Philanthropy Isn't Just a Tax Write-Off Here
One thing that doesn't get enough play in the tabloids is the sheer scale of the Ressler-Gertz Foundation. We aren't talking about a few thousand dollars here and there. This foundation has consistently been ranked as one of the most generous in the world.
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They give away millions. They support the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Cedars-Sinai, and various Jewish organizations. During the 2020 pandemic and the subsequent years, their foundation was a massive donor to food banks and education initiatives.
It’s a different kind of fame. Instead of chasing the next Marvel cameo, she’s spent the last two decades becoming one of the most powerful women in the room in both the NBA and the philanthropic world.
Why Jami Gertz Still Matters in 2026
The reason people keep searching for Jami Gertz isn't just because they’re curious about her bank account. It’s because she represents a blueprint that most celebrities fail to follow. She didn't burn out. She didn't blow her money on a private island and end up in a reality show reboot.
She took her Hollywood earnings, bet on herself and her partner, and pivoted.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you're looking at Jami Gertz and wondering how to apply her "vibe" to your own life, here are a few takeaways:
- Don't ignore the "boring" stuff. She understood finance and sports long before they were "cool" things for actors to care about.
- Breadwinner dynamics shift. Marrying someone for where they're going, not where they are, is a power move.
- Ownership is king. You can get a high salary, but equity (like a sports team) is what creates generational wealth.
Next time you see a "Richest Actors" list and see her name at the top, remember it's not a glitch in the system. It’s the result of about 40 years of playing the long game while everyone else was looking for the next red carpet.