American Writer David Benioff Net Worth and Income Sources

This guide will look at American Writer David Benioff net worth and the sources of income that contribute to his wealth. 

David Benioff is an accomplished writer and producer known for his work on the critically acclaimed series “Game of Thrones” on HBO. The writer started his career with his first-ever novel “The 25th Hour” in 2001 [1]. 

He later worked on a screenplay for a film adaptation of the novel in 2002. 

David Benioff’s net worth is believed to start at $100 million and could be as high as $200 million. It is hard to put an exact number for his actual wealth because David Benioff has not publicized his financial data. 

In this guide, we’ll look at the major sources of income for David Benioff. 

David Benioff’s Net Worth: $100m to $200m

David Benioff Income Sources

David Benioff Net Worth : David Benioff smiling for the camera. Credit: Instagram@d_benioff1965 (unofficial account)
David Benioff smiling for the camera. Credit: Instagram@d_benioff1965 (unofficial account)

David Benioff is a writer who has worked on a wide range of movies including Troy, the 25th Hour, Stay, The Kite Runner, and others. He was reportedly paid $2.5 million for his work on Troy by Warner Bros. Pictures. 

His sources of income can be summarized as follows:

  • Screenplays for movies 
  • Screenplays for TV series 
  • Book sales 

Income Source 1: Screenplays for movies 

David Benioff is a commercially successful screenplay writer who’s worked on  Troy, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Origin, among other movies..

His high-profile writing career allows him to draw huge salaries from production companies. He reportedly got paid $2.5 million for his work on Troy. 

Income Source 2: Screenplays for TV Series 

David Benioff worked on HBO’s television series “Game of Thrones”. He has worked on 45 episodes for the series and also directed the episodes “The Iron Throne” and “Walk of Punishment”. 

Benioff continued to work on commercially successful TV series including “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, “Leslie Jones: Time Machine”, and “The Chair”. He often works as a director and co-producer for some of the TV series, including “Game of Thrones” and “The Three-Body Problem”. 

Income Source 3: Book Sales

David Benioff published his debut novel called “The 25th Hour” in 2001 to critical acclaim. Other books that he has published include “When the Nines Roll Over and Other Stories” and “City of Thieves”. The books do commercially well across major platforms such as Amazon and Thrift Books. 

David Benioff Personal Life 

David Benioff was born in New York City in a well-to-do family. His father is Stephen Friedman, who worked at Goldman Sachs and Barbara Benioff. He has two older sisters named Suzy and Caroline. Benioff was raised in Peter Cooper Village, Manhattan and 86th Street where he spent the majority of his childhood before moving near the UN headquarters at the age of 16. 

He attended Collegiate School and Dartmouth College, where he was a member of Sphinx Senior Society and Phi Delta Alpha Fraternity. After pursuing a number of odd jobs, such as a teacher and wrestling coach, the writer went to Trinity College Dublin in 1995 to study Irish literature. 

This is also where he met D.B Weiss, who later collaborated with him on Games of Thrones. He is married to actress Amanda Preet and has three children with her. 

David Benioff Net Worth : David Benioff with his wife and dog. Credit: Instagram@pawworks
David Benioff with his wife and dog. Credit: Instagram@pawworks

David Benioff’s Career 

Like most graduates straight out of college, Benioff’s career trajectory wasn’t pre-determined. After graduating in 1992 from Dartmouth College, the writer pursued various careers, working as a teacher, wrestling coach, and even a club bouncer in San Francisco.

It wasn’t until he met D.B Weiss at Trinity College Dublin that he discovered his passion for writing. He pursued the creative writing program at the University of California and received a Master of Fine Arts degree. This would provide him with the knowledge to publish his first book which would later have its own film adaptation.

The young writer soon made it to America’s Top 50 Most Eligible Bachelors in 2001. Like most aspiring writers, he chose the pen name Jacqueline Benioff to publish his first novel. Benioff is his mother’s maiden name [2]. This was done to prevent any mixups with other writers who are also named David. It is worth mentioning that, starting in 2010, his copyright filings list him as “David Benioff Friedman”.

Benioff’s contribution to Troy is even more notable because it landed him a handsome $2.5 million from Warner Bros. Pictures. His career continued to gain even more momentum and wrote a script for “Stay”, a psychological thriller in 2005.  Benioff worked on “The Kite Runner” in 2007 with Marc Forster.

Benioff was also one of the writers for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. His story was based on Barry Windsor-Smith’s Weapon X and Chris Claremont. Hugh Jackman reportedly collaborated with Benioff on the story. However, Fox later hired another writer to revise Benioff’s script because it was too ‘dark and brutal’. Fox was aiming for a more family-friendly tone and didn’t want the commercial ramifications that came with an R-rating.

Meanwhile, Benioff continued to work on his novel and published “City of Thieves” in 2008.

David Benioff Controversy 

David Benioff has always dabbled in gritty, dark aspects of screenwriting – which can push producers away. For example, the HBO series called “Confederate” – announced as a ‘slavery drama’ – was canceled when it was met with widespread criticism. 

The slavery-themed storyline got negative media attention, especially on Twitter where the hashtag #NoConfederate began to trend. This controversy was bad enough for Benioff to step down from working on the next Star Wars film after signing a deal with Netflix [3]. 


His popular video is Deliverance, with 16M views:


David Benioff Quotes

“Truth might be stranger than fiction, but it needs a better editor.”


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David Benioff Biography

Legal NameDavid Friedman
Net Worth$100m to $200m
Source of WealthBook sales and screenplays
Date of BirthSeptember 25, 1970
Place of BirthNew York City, United States
GenderMale 
Height6’ 2” / 188 cm
Weight180 lbs. / 82 kg
ReligionJewish
Straight Marital StatusMarried 
PartnerAmanda Peet
Children3
Names of ChildrenMolly June Benioff, Henry Peet Friedman, Frances Pen Benioff
NationalityAmerican

Frequently Asked Questions David Benioff 

How Many Books has David Benioff Published? 

Benioff has three books to his credit, including the critically acclaimed City of Thieves (2008). 

Why Did Benioff Change his Name?

David Benioff was worried that his name would be confused with other writers of a similar name. He chose his mother’s maiden name to differentiate his career. 

How Tall is David Benioff? 

David Benioff is 6’ 2” or 1.88m.

Who is David Benioff Dating Now? 

David Benioff is married to Amanda Peet. 

References

[1] https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/david-benioff.html – Davids books. 

[2] https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-jewish-legacy-behind-game-of-thrones/ – Reasons for changing his name. 

[3] https://www.nme.com/news/tv/game-of-thrones-creators-controversial-slavery-drama-confederate-cancelled-by-hbo-2598470 – A little controversy. 


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Shane
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