Forbes Reports Producer Cameron Mackintosh is Theater's First Official Billionaire

"Only after LES MISERABLES did people realize that you could make more money in musicals than in movies," says famed stage producer Cameron Mackintosh, in a new article published in Forbes. According to the magazine, the 69-year-old is the first billionaire to make a fortune from theater.

Mackintosh is the producer of such blockbusters as LES MISERABLES, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, MARY POPPINS, OLIVER!, MISS SAIGON and CATS. He still maintains STAKES in CATS and 'PHANTOM' and wholly owns rights to LES MISERABLES and MISS SAIGON, which means he makes money whenever a professional theater stages the shows. In addition, he owns eight West End theaters and 75% of Music Theater International, the largest licensor of Broadway shows to amateur productions.

In the 2011 Sunday Times Rich List, Mackintosh was estimated to be worth $1.1 billion, making him the third richest person in the British music industry at that time.

"You never know when money is going to come, when it's going to go," says Mackintosh. "I'm more surprised than anyone."

Next up for the theater mogul, a West End staging of the mega hit musical HAMILTON.

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