Andy Weir Net Worth $20 Million

What is Andy Weir’s net worth?

Andy Weir is an American novelist and computer programmer who has a net worth of $20 million. He is best known for his scientifically detailed novel “The Martian.”

He was born on June 16, 1972, in Davis, California, USA, as Andy Taylor Weir.

His father is a particle physicist and electrical engineer.

”He got electrons going really, really fast, then hit things with them to see what they’d do,” said Weir about his dad.

Andy studied computer science at UC San Diego.

Weir began working as a computer programmer for Sandia National Laboratories at the age of 15. ”I was around 9 years old when I wrote my first BASIC program on a school computer,” Andy said in an interview.

From 2006 to 2008, he worked for a fantasy webcomic called ”Cheshire Crossing.”

The Egg

On August 15, 2009, Weir published a short story called “The Egg” on his website Galactanet.

”The Egg” has been translated into more than 30 languages.

The Martian

In 2011, Andy published the science fiction novel ”The Martian.”

The story is about an astronaut, Mark Watney, who becomes stranded alone on Mars in 2035.

”I made the book a reasonable distance into the future, and I was deliberately vague on the exact dates so people couldn’t call me in 20 years and say, ”Haha, it didn’t happen!” he told Popular Mechanics.

Andy began writing the book in 2009. Initially, he made ”The Martian” available via his website as a free e-book. At some point, readers asked him to publish an e-book version on Amazon. It sold 35,000 copies in the first two weeks for 99 cents/copy. 

”Sharp, funny, and thrilling, with just the right amount of geekery,” Kirkus Reviews wrote about the book.

In March 2013, Crown Publishing, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, acquired the book’s rights for over $100,000.

He wrote a prequel short story to The Martian, called – “Diary of an AssCan” in 2015.

Weir won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer for The Martian at the 2016 Hugo Awards.

Film

In 2015, the science fiction film The Martian, inspired by Weir’s book, was released. Drew Goddard adapted the screenplay.

Matt Damon portrayed Mark Watney, a botanist who is part of the Ares III team.

”Matt Damon just completely nails the character of Watney,” said Weir. He added: ”He’s exactly the way I imagined him.” Damon received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for the film.

”The Martian” was filmed on location in Jordan and studios in Budapest at Korda Studios. It grossed more than $630 million worldwide.

”It is the first movie that attempts to be realistic, and that is actually about human beings grappling with the problems of exploring Mars,” wrote aerospace engineer Dr. Robert Zubrin for The Guardian.

”The Martian” also stars Sean Bean (Eddard “Ned” Stark in Game of Thrones) as Mitch Henderson, Jeff Daniels as director of NASA Theodore “Teddy” Sanders, Kristen Wiig as director of media relations for NASA Annie Montrose, and Jessica Chastain as Commander Melissa Lewis.

Artemis

In 2017, Weir released the science fiction novel ”Artemis.”

The plot is set in the late 2080s in the first city on the Moon. ”I wanted to write a book about mankind’s first city that wasn’t on Earth,” Andy said about the novel. 

”Artemis” was picked up by 20th Century Fox for a film. Movie writer Geneva Robertson-Dworet was chosen to adapt Weir’s “Artemis,” and Christopher Miller and Phil Lord are set to direct.

In May 2017, Sarah Andersen and Andy collaborated to remake Cheshire Crossing for the website Tapastic.

In May, Andy released Project Hail Mary.

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Project Hail Mary

”Project Hail Mary” is Weir’s latest novel that will be released by Random House in spring 2021.

”Project Hail Mary” is described as a solitary tale of an astronaut on a space ship who is entrusted with saving the planet.

The novel is in exclusive negotiations to be acquired by MGM in a 7-figure deal.

Wife

Andy Weir is married to Keri Kukral, the founder of Raw Science TV.

Trivia

He has stated that he is agnostic.

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Net Worth 2024

So, how much is Andy Weir worth? Weir earned most of his wealth from selling over three million copies of his novel, The Martian. ”I was very surprised in The Martian finding such a broad audience,” Andy commended for Writers Digest. He went on to say: ”I thought I was writing it for just a very small percentage of people. I had no idea it would get so popular.” Therefore, American novelist Andy Weir has an estimated net worth of $20 million.

Andy received money from the movie (The Martian) rights. According to reports, Weir obtained a percentage of the $630 million the film made at the box office.

His next novel, ”Artemis,” was picked up by 20th Century Fox for a film.

Moreover, Weir worked as a computer programmer for a few software companies, including Blizzard, MobileIron, Palm, and AOL.

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