Ken Burns Net Worth – Success of Iconic Filmmaker

Ken Burns is an American director and producer famous for his multiple documentaries and series on a wide range of historical topics. He gained this reputation by producing both high-quality and high-volume work. He has been in the business since the 1970s and doesn't appear to be slowing down.

With his films, Burns not only introduced millions of people to history, but he also offered a new viewpoint on shared history and identity. He has experienced both success and hardship in his actual life. He appears to have as much personal history as the historical material he incorporates into his films.

Let's study Ken Burns net worth, professional career, and documentaries he wrote in his life.

Ken Burns Net Worth

Ken Burns is one of the American directors known for his documentaries. His net worth is estimated to be $3.5 million. Although this would seem like a lot of money, Burns' buddies weren't convinced. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple and one of his best-known friends, believed Burns wasn't paid enough for his work.

Burns also brings in money for the restaurant business. In New Hampshire, he has been a co-owner of a French and American restaurant since the year 2000.

Personal Life of Ken Burns

Burns married Amy Stechler in 1982. The couple's two daughters are Lilly and Sarah. In 1993, their marriage resulted in divorce. Burns was living in Walpole, New Hampshire.

On October 18, 2003, he married Julie Deborah Brown, daughter of senior vice president of Smith Barney. Julie Deborah Brown established a non-profit organization called Room to Grow to help babies from low-income households. They have two daughters.

Burns has a passion for collecting quilts. From January 19 to May 13, 2018, approximately one-third of his collection's quilts were exhibited at the Quilt Study Museum.

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Ken Burns Early Life

On July 29, 1953, Ken Burns was born in New York City. His younger brother, Ric Burns, is also a documentary filmmaker. Throughout his childhood, Burns and his family travelled frequently because of his involvement in academics. Before relocating to Michigan, where his father was a professor at the University, he resided in San Véran, France. He lost his mother to breast cancer when he was eleven years old.

Burns was 17 when he got a film camera for his birthday and began filming a documentary about an Ann Arbour business. After his graduation, he attended Hampshire College, a private liberal arts institution located in Massachusetts. Burns was employed in a record store and paid his tuition. He received a degree in film studies and design from Hampshire in 1975.

Ken Burns Professional Career

At first, Burns worked as a cinematographer for the BBC, Italian television, and other companies. He completed a few short documentaries in 1977. He began writing David McCullough's book The Great Bridge, which is about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

After directing The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God, Burns received an Oscar nomination for The Statue of Liberty. Burns regularly works with historian and author Geoffrey C. Ward, most notably on documentaries like Jazz, Baseball, The Civil War, and television series The Vietnam War.

Burns had a lengthy and successful career as a producer and director of popular television documentaries. Burns signed a contract with PBS in 2007 to continue creating content for the network for the next ten years. Burns and his firm have chosen ideas for films that will be released by 2030.

Ken Burns Political Involvement

Burns has been a devoted Democrat, calling himself a “Yellow dog Democrat”. He donated about $40,000 in political contributions. Burns created a brief tribute video at Kennedy's funeral in August 2009. Burns compared Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln when he endorsed Obama for president of the United States in December 2007.

He claimed that he planned to contribute frequently to Current TV's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Ken Burns Brandeis speech criticized Donald Trump at Stanford University.

Best Ken Burns Documentaries

Books by Ken Burns:

• Jazz, Mark Twain - 2001
• Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip - 2003
• Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson - 2005
• The War - 2007
• The National Parks: America's Best Idea - 2009
• Prohibition - 2011
• The Dust Bowl, The Central Park Five - 2012
• Yosemite: A Gathering of Spirit - 2013
• The Address, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History - 2014
• Jackie Robinson, Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War - 2016
• The Vietnam War - 2017
• The Mayo Clinic: Faith – Hope – Science - 2018
• Country Music - 2019
• Hemingway, Muhammad Ali - 2021
• Benjamin Franklin, The U.S. and the Holocaust - 2022
• The American Buffalo - 2023

Short Films:

• William Segal - 1992
• Vezelay - 1996
• In the Marketplace - 2000

As an Actor:

• Gettysburg (film; 1993) – Hancock's staff officer
• Clifford's Puppy Days – Season 1, episode 24a ("Lights, Camera, Action"; 2005) – self
• The Simpsons:

Season 14, episode 10 ("Pray Anything"; 2003)

Season 22, episode 22 ("The Ned-liest Catch"; 2012)

Season 24, episode 1 ("Moonshine River"; 2012)

Season 30, episode 22 ("Woo-Hoo Dunnit?"; 2019)

Season 35, episode 4 ("Thirst Trap: A Corporate Love Story"; 2023)

• The Mindy Project – Season 3, episode 11 ("Christmas"; 2014)
• Difficult People – Season 2, episode 4 ("Blade Stallion"; 2016)

Ken Burns Awards and Honours

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does Ken Burns wear hair pieces?

A hairdresser trimmed most of Burns' long hair in 1975; he only ever goes to the same hairdresser. In recent TV appearances, Burns has switched from having close-cut fringe to glossy, flowing hair.

Q. Is Ken Burns Jewish?

He is not Jewish, but his wife is Jewish.

Q. What connection does Ken Burns have to Abraham Lincoln?

Ken Burns Revolutionary War surgeon grandfather, was a prominent supporter of modern medicine. Even better, Burns was a distant cousin of the president, Gerardus, who was linked to Ken's personal hero, Abraham Lincoln.