Dallas built a TV empire out of oil, betrayal and JR Ewing. Launched in 1978, the Texan soap became America's number-one show by its fourth season. It made Southfork Ranch and Ewing Oil household names, turning boardroom plotting, sibling rivalry and family scandal into ratings gold.
The "Who shot JR?" cliffhanger became a global cultural event, while Bobby Ewing's shower return infamously wrote off an entire season as a dream. The original series ended in 1991, after spawning Knots Landing, before a continuation arrived in 2012.
But which Dallas stars boast fortunes rivalling the Ewings? You won't believe how much the richest is worth. Read on for the ranking, based on estimates from Celebrity Net Worth.
All dollar values in US dollars
Credible public fortune estimates are lacking for a number of Southfork names. They include the late Howard Keel (pictured). As Clayton Farlow, he brought old-school Hollywood and Broadway pedigree to the show. Dack Rambo, who played Jack Ewing, is another notable omission.
Several later and revival-era stars are also missing reliable figures, including Cathy Podewell, Kimberly Foster, Julie Gonzalo and Juan Pablo Di Pace. Rather than guess, we're leaving them out of the main ranking.
Several familiar Dallas faces sit at the lower end of the ranking.
Ken Kercheval, unforgettable as JR's long-suffering rival Cliff Barnes, had a purported fortune of $800,000 (£597k) when he died in 2019.
Charlene Tilton (pictured), who played key cast member Lucy Ewing, is estimated to be worth $2 million (£1.5m).
Other stars in this bracket include Steve Kanaly, aka ranch hand Ray Krebbs, at $3 million (£2.2m), and the late Barbara Bel Geddes, the original Miss Ellie, who was reportedly worth $4 million (£3m) at her death in 2005.
Meanwhile, Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), George Kennedy (Carter McKay), Sheree J Wilson (April Ewing) and Susan Howard (Donna Culver) are valued at $5 million (£3.7m) apiece.
Brenda Strong joined the 2012 Dallas continuation as Ann Ewing, Bobby's third wife. She had actually appeared in the original series years earlier too, in a small role as one of Cliff Barnes' flings.
Strong is best known for another glossy TV phenomenon: Desperate Housewives, where she played Mary Alice Young, the dead narrator whose voice framed the entire show. Her long screen career also includes Seinfeld, Starship Troopers, Supergirl and 13 Reasons Why.
First appearing in the original Dallas as Gary Ewing, JR and Bobby's troubled middle brother, Ted Shackelford became far more closely associated with spin-off Knots Landing. He starred on the show from 1979 to 1993, making Gary one of the wider universe's most enduring characters.
Away from Southfork, Shackelford has appeared in Space Precinct, Wonder Woman, The Division and daytime soap The Young and the Restless.
Like Brenda Strong, Jesse Metcalfe is best known for Desperate Housewives. He played John Rowland, the teenage gardener whose affair with Eva Longoria's Gabrielle Solis helped make the show an early noughties sensation.
Metcalfe later joined the 2012 Dallas continuation as Christopher Ewing, Bobby and Pam's adopted son, putting him at the centre of the next-generation Southfork drama until the show ended in 2014 after three seasons. His other credits include Passions, John Tucker Must Die, Chesapeake Shores, Hallmark movies and Dancing with the Stars.
Mexican actor Kuno Becker entered the Ewing orbit as Andres "Drew" Ramos, Elena Ramos' brother and one of the key new-generation figures in the 2012 Dallas revival. The part added another high-profile credit to a career already stretching across Mexican and US TV and cinema.
Becker first made his name in telenovelas including Soñadoras, before gaining international recognition as footballer Santiago Muñez in the Goal! film trilogy. His resumé also includes CSI: Miami, From Mexico with Love and Espacio Interior.
Donna Reed briefly played Miss Ellie Ewing after replacing Barbara Bel Geddes in 1984, but her Dallas stint ended bitterly when Bel Geddes returned and Reed was fired. She sued the production company for breach of contract and later settled out of court for over a million dollars, more than $3 million (£2.2m) today.
Reed was already a classic Hollywood name, famed for It's a Wonderful Life, From Here to Eternity and The Donna Reed Show. While her fortune was estimated at $10 million (£7.5m) when she died in 1986, that figure is equivalent to around $30 million (£22.4m) today.
Valene Ewing began as a Dallas character, but Joan Van Ark made her a full-blown soap institution on Knots Landing. As Gary Ewing's wife, then ex-wife, then on-off soulmate, Valene anchored the spin-off for 13 of its 14 seasons.
Van Ark later returned for the original Dallas finale and made a guest appearance in the 2012 continuation. Her wider career encompasses Broadway, The Young and the Restless, voice work, TV movies and guest roles.
Arriving late in the original Dallas run, Lesley-Anne Down briefly portrayed Stephanie Rogers, Cliff Barnes' PR representative, in season 13. Down was reportedly paid a cool quarter of a million dollars, around $640,000 (£478k) today, for just 10 weeks' work.
The London-born actress first broke through as Georgina Worsley in Upstairs, Downstairs, before roles in The Pink Panther Strikes Again, A Little Night Music, The First Great Train Robbery and North and South. She later became a soap fixture again in Sunset Beach and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Priscilla Presley played Jenna Wade on Dallas from 1983 to 1988, taking over a role previously played by other actresses. As Bobby Ewing's former love and the mother of his son Lucas, Jenna became a major complication in the Bobby-Pam love story.
Presley reportedly lost out on becoming a Bond Girl due to her commitments on Dallas but later found big-screen success as Jane Spencer in The Naked Gun films. She's also a businesswoman and author, having helped transform Graceland into a major tourist attraction and chaired Elvis Presley Enterprises.
As Sue Ellen Ewing, JR's wife, Linda Gray gave Dallas one of its defining performances. Her mix of glamour, vulnerability and barely contained fury earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, while Sue Ellen's battles with alcoholism and JR's cruelty made her one of Southfork's most sympathetic figures.
By 1986, Gray was reportedly earning $65,000 (£49k) per episode, roughly $200,000 (£149k) today and on a par with Dynasty stars Joan Collins and Linda Evans. She later returned for the 2012 continuation, and has also worked across film and theatre.
Bobby Ewing was Dallas' moral centre, and Patrick Duffy became so vital to the show that even death could not keep him away. After leaving in 1985, he reappeared the following year in the famous shower scene, revealing that an entire season had been Pam's dream.
His comeback came with a major pay rise. Duffy reportedly earned $75,000 (£56k) for the season finale, around $230,000 (£171k) today, plus a million-dollar signing bonus, worth over $3 million (£2.2m) now, to stay with the show. He later fronted sitcom Step by Step and returned for the 2012 Dallas revival.
The 2012 Dallas continuation put Jordana Brewster at the heart of its younger generation as Elena Ramos, whose tangled history with Christopher and John Ross helped drive the new Southfork power games. She remained with the series until its 2014 cancellation.
Brewster's biggest success, though, came far from Texas. She's best known as Mia Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise, appearing opposite Vin Diesel and Paul Walker across multiple blockbuster instalments. Her wider credits include The Faculty, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, American Crime Story and Lethal Weapon.
Nobody had more leverage at Southfork than Larry Hagman. As scheming oil baron JR Ewing, he became the face of Dallas, especially after the "Who shot JR?" cliffhanger turned the show into a worldwide obsession.
Hagman used that power brilliantly. By 1986, he was reportedly earning $125,000 (£94k) per episode plus a share of profits, making more than $3.8 million (£2.8m) across season nine alone, almost $12 million (£9m) today. His pay later peaked at a reported $250,000 (£187k) per episode. Hagman reprised JR in the 2012 continuation, making one final return to the role before his death later that year.
Pamela Barnes Ewing made Victoria Principal one of Dallas' original breakout stars. As Bobby's wife and Cliff's sister, she sat right on the fault line between the Ewings and the Barnes family, giving the show one of its most important emotional anchors. But Principal's vast fortune was built after Southfork.
She launched the skincare line Principal Secret in 1989, turning it into a beauty empire that reportedly generated more than $1.5 billion (£1.1bn) in sales before she sold the business in 2019. The savvy businesswoman has also written bestselling wellness books and owns a sizeable property portfolio.
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