By  Published Nov 16, 2019, 11:30 AM EST Padraig is a Senior Features Writer and has been part of Screen Rant since 2017. Padraig is a writer, editor and retired Game of Thrones extra who has been writing about movies and TV online for over a decade. He has also written for The Irish Times, Den Of Geek, Little White Lies and many more. It's pronounced Paw-rick, BTW. follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

He's the legendary producer behind the long-running franchise, but what is Dick Wolf's estimated net worth? Dick Wolf would begin his career working as a writer for famed cop shows like Hill Street Blues and , and during the 1980's he also wrote a couple of big-screen thrillers. First up was No Man's Land, a 1987 star vehicle for Charlie Sheen, and Masquerade starring Meg Tilly and Rob Lowe. After producing TV crimes dramas like Christine Cromwell and Gideon Oliver, Wolf's iconic debuted in 1990. The New York City set series took a two-part structure to each episode, with police detectives investigating a crime and capturing the suspect, and the second half would follow the prosecution by the District Attorney's office. The show was also largely inspired by real-life cases.

Law & Order would run for 20 seasons and over 400 episodes in total, and featured a sprawling cast of characters, which included actors like Jerry Orbach, Jill Hennessy, Michael Moriarty, and Sam Waterston. The success of the show would lead to an entire television franchise, covering spinoffs - which at 21 seasons so far has surpassed the original show - Law & Order: Criminal Intent and the short-lived Law & Order: LA. The franchise even spawned some video games like Law & Order: Legacies and Law & Order: Dead on the Money.

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thirty-year reign doesn't show any signs of slowing down any time soon. The franchise is one reason Dick Wolf's personal net worth is estimated to be in the region of $550 million, according to . Of course, Law & Order isn't Wolf's only major franchise, with his Chicago series kicking off with in 2012. The series covers the lives of firefighters in the Chicago Fire Department and stars Jesse Spencer () and Monica Raymund.

The success of Chicago Fire has led to numerous spinoffs, including , and the short-lived Chicago Justice. Dick Wolf is behind other shows like Cold Justice, a true-crime series where investigators look into cold cases; the show has led to eighteen convictions thus far. This show later produced a spinoff with Cold Justice: Sex Crimes.

While some of Wolf's shows have failed to take off, like 2006's Conviction or his 2003 remake of Dragnet starring Ed O'Neill, his talent for producing compelling dramas is truly remarkable, as the continued survival of Law & Order proves. He may have a new franchise with too, which is receiving a spinoff dubbed FBI: Most Wanted.

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