Rapid urbanization and the need to build better cities have resulted in a new class of the world’s richest architects.
Surprisingly, most of them have founded design firms, allowing additional great designers to join the rich club.
An architect creates blueprints for museums, office buildings, bridges, hospitals, furniture, apartments, and homes.
Architects must be skilled in both sketching and arithmetic.
Furthermore, when entering a place or structure, architecture can make you naturally turn left or right. Millions of dollars are invested in the minds behind the stunning designs.
The 15 richest architects are listed below, along with their net worth.
1. Norman Foster: Estimated Net Worth $240 Million
Norman Foster is the richest architect in history. His net worth stems primarily from high-profile projects in Europe and the United States.
In 1999, Norman Robert Foster received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, honoring his contributions to the industry and the brilliance of his designs.
Additionally, The Gherkin, located at 30 St Mary Axe in London, and the HSBC Building, located in Hong Kong, are architecturally avant-garde structures.
Apple Park, Apple Inc.’s headquarters, opened to employees in 2017, is a relatively recent work. Norman Foster has earned over 470 accolades for architecture and design during his remarkable career.
The Pritzker Prize for Architecture is comparable to the Nobel Prize for Physics.
2. Zaha Hadid: Estimated Net Worth $215 Million
On October 31, 1950, Zaha Hadid studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut before transferring to the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.
She is one of the wealthiest architects of all time. She studied under renowned and famous architects such as Rem Koolhaas, who referred to her as “a planet in her orbit.”
Furthermore, This Iraqi-British architect, known for her curving forms, was the first female architect at the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004.
In 2010 and 2011, Zaha Hadid was awarded the renowned Stirling Prize, and in 2012, Queen Elizabeth II appointed her a Dame.
In addition, their flowing curves and unconventional geometry, Hadid’s structures are feminine.
This renowned architect was a sought-after architect for residential and commercial projects, from the London Aquatics Centre to the Galaxy SOHO complex in Beijing.
3. Frank Gehry: Estimated Net Worth $100 Million
Gehry, whose real name is Frank Owen Goldberg, was born on February 28, 1929, and studied architecture at Southern California before founding Gehry Partners LLP. Frank is one of the richest Architects of all time,
The architectural style of Frank Gehry is believed to defy description. His works can appear unfinished at times, leading to speculation that they are deconstructivist.
Furthermore, The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, opened in 1997 and is likely the best example of Gehry’s style in many of his projects, including the Disney Hall in Los Angeles and MIT’s Strata Center Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Gehry is also recognized for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, the Louis Vuitton Foundation building in Paris, the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, and the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
4. Moshe Safdie: Estimated Net Worth $100 Million
On July 14, 1938, Safdie studied architecture at McGill University, and his master’s thesis, Habitat 67, became the design that launched his international career.
In addition, Habitat 67, Moshe Safdie’s most famous structure, was completed in 1967. Habitat 67, a model community and housing complex in Montreal, Canada, is the company’s first project.
The apartments are layered on top of one another and are composed of precast concrete.
Furthermore, The National Gallery of Canada, Yad Vashem, and the Alrov Mamilla Quarter in Jerusalem are credited to Safdie.
Moshe Safdie, who worked for Safdie Architects, designed notable municipal structures such as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.
5. Santiago Calatrava: Estimated Net Worth $100 Million
Calatrava is an architect, structural engineer, sculptor, and painter born in Valencia, Spain, in 1951.
Calatrava acquired his diploma in architecture from the Higher School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Valencia.
And the second degree in civil engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. After finishing his thesis on “The Pliability of three-dimensional s” in 1981. He was awarded a doctorate in the department of architecture.
Additionally, Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish architect, is known for creating structures that resemble living organisms.
The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and the Milwaukee Art Museum are well-known examples of “living organisms” or dinosaur rib cages.
Although it is widely acknowledged that his bridges are his distinctive architectural expression, his projects have attracted worldwide notice.
They have made him one of the most renowned working architects today.
6. Frank Lloyd Wright: Estimated Net Worth $25 Million
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in June 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin, and died in April 1959. And also on the list of the richest architect in the world.
He planned almost 1,000 structures during his lifetime, with more than half of them being finished.
Besides, Organic architecture was his concept, which involved constructing structures in a way that was in harmony with the environment and humanity.
The Fallingwater house, completed in 1935, is one of his most well-known masterpieces. In Broadacre City, he helped lead the Prairie School movement and designed the Usonian housing concept.
Houses, churches, offices, schools, hotels, tallest buildings, and skyscrapers were all created by Wright.
Moreover, His high-profile romances with Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Olga Lazovich Hinzenburg were both well-known. Frank Lloyd Wright died on April 9, 1959, at the age of 91.
7. Renzo Piano: Estimated Net Worth $25 Million
His second employment shapes piano’s architectural perspective as an accountant. He was born in 1937 to a family of construction workers in Italy.
He began assisting his father on construction sites at a young age, instilling in him the value of hands-on experience.
Furthermore, Richard Rogers and I collaborated on early projects. The Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris was one of their most noteworthy undertakings.
The project, according to famous-architects.org, “turned the architectural world on its head.”
Tokyo’s Hermes Maison In addition to Morgan Library in New York City, he worked at the NEMO museum in Amsterdam.
8. Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe: Estimated Net Worth $16 Million
Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe’s ideology is founded on his interpretation of ideas created by Architectural theorists and critics who believed that traditional design forms were on the decline at the time.
Mies used the concepts of “efficient” sculptural assemblage of modern industrial elements as his aesthetic credos.
As a matter of fact, Mies liked the idea of extending space around and beyond internal walls by using simple rectilinear and planar forms, clear lines, and pure color.
Furthermore, For Mies, being able to reflect the spirit of the contemporary era was crucial.
Industrial steel and plate glass were frequently used in his projects, as seen in the Barcelona Pavilion, Crown Hall, Lakeshore Drive, Villa Tugendhat, and the Seagram Building.
He cooperated with Philip Johnson.
9. Kongjian Yu: Estimated Net worth $15 Million
Kongilan is a Chinese architect and 9th richest architect in the world Turenscape, one of China’s most notable architectural firms, is founded and led by Kongjian Yu.
The ecological urbanist has transformed China’s urban planning in the previous two decades.
Furthermore, Kongjian Yu is a Chinese landscape architect who graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Design with a doctorate in design.
Kongjian founded his company, Turenscape, in 1998. The company employed over 600 people in 2012.
He won the World Architectural Festival Landscape Awards in 2010.
furthermore, Constructed Wetlands and Sustainable Development, Regional Ecological Security Patterns, Sponge City: Theory and Practice, and other books are his many accomplishments.
10. Bjarke Ingels: Estimated Net worth $14 Million
Bjarke Ingels was born on October 2, 1974, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
He is one of the richest architects in 2021. furthermore, Architect bjarke Ingels is from Denmark.
Ingels is the founder and director of Bjarke Ingels Group’s architectural firm, which he started in 2005. He co-founded the design firm KiBiSi in 2009.
Additionally, many of his buildings violate specific architectural rules and measurements and are often incredibly picturesque, ranging from representations of mountains to snowflakes. He is known for his inventive and ambitious designs and projects.
Furthermore, He frequently includes sustainable development ideas and sociological concerns into his designs, yet he strives to balance whimsical and practical architectural techniques.
In addition, Slanted lines and procedures that are molded to fit their surroundings are among his trademarks.
He designed the Snowflake Psychiatric Hospital in Helsingor, which he styled like a snowflake.
11. Kara Mann: Estimated Net Worth $14 million
Kara Mann founded three national architecture firms in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. And she is the 11th richest architect in the world.
Her name is connected with a maverick in the architecture world. Furthermore, Mann has drawn clients from the art, fashion, finance, music, and entertainment industries with formal design components blended with unexpected subjectivity, architectural design, and quirky.
In addition, Mann’s firm was chosen by Gwenyth Paltrow to develop a facility for Goop in Chicago. Another of Mann’s most well-known works,
The Chicago Lake House was featured in Architectural Digest. Mann describes her client’s taste as reminiscent of lovely European settings. The lake house, when finished, will be a dramatic reimagining with modern overtones.
12. Maya Lin: Estimated Net Worth $12 million
Maya Lin was born in Ohio on October 5, 1959. At 21, he constructed the Vietnam Battle Memorial in Washington, DC, as an architectural designer and artist.
Maya Lin is a Sculptor member. Daniel Wolf, a painter and footage collector, married her, and they had a daughter.
Typically, she is a sculptor and panorama artist who is fluent in both Chinese and English.
Lin Huiyin, her aunt, is thought to be China’s first female architect. Lin is a Yale School of Management graduate.
13. Sir David Adjaye: Estimated Net Worth $10 Million
David Adjaye is a Ghanaian-British architect who has made a name for himself through multicultural architectural aspects.
Since he was already a world traveler in adolescence, his youth exposed him to various cultures and design influences.
However, He was a well-known architect who received the RIBA Bronze Medal and the MIT McDermott prizes.
His clients are the National African American History and Culture Museum in Washington, DC, and the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo.
His physically disabled brother heavily influences his work. Sir Adjave explains these thoughts in a piece for Stirworld; architecture serves as a platform for these feelings.
14. Yansong Ma: Estimated Net Worth $10 Million
Yansong Ma has established himself as a significant voice among some of America’s new generation of architects.
He is also one of the most influential architects. He is the first Chinese architect to be tasked with designing a landmark structure outside of China.
However, He is the founder and principal of MAD Architects, and his goal is to bring society, the city, and the environment back into harmony.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Chicago, designed by Ma, is the first Chinese architect to obtain a commission outside China.
In 2010, he was awarded a fellowship by the Royal Institute of British Architects, marking another first.
15. Emilio Tunon: Estimated Net worth $ 8 Million
Emilio Tuón is a Spanish professor and architect. The ETSAM School of Architecture graduate has completed many projects.
In 2005, Emilio’s most important project was the design of Pedro Barrie de la Maza.
However, His architectural firm in Madrid works on projects all over the world. Over two decades.
He has received numerous awards for his work on projects and competitions throughout Europe, North America, and Asia, including some of Europe’s most renowned architectural honors.
Besides, Tuón’s work mainly focuses on cultural projects and many of Spain’s most prestigious museums and organizations.
In conclusion, Architecture continues to be the most prominent profession, particularly when it comes to preserving human history.
