When Ghostbusters landed in 1984, it rewrote the rules of cinema. A trailblazing hybrid of spooky scares, sci-fi gadgets, action spectacle and deadpan wit, the movie became the highest-grossing comedy of its time.

From proton packs and the Marshmallow Man to "Who ya gonna call?", Ghostbusters built a pop-culture empire. Led by Saturday Night Live alumni and major comedy performers, the series has spawned three direct sequels, an all-female reboot, animated spin-offs, and more.

But which of the main stars have amassed the biggest fortunes? 

Click or scroll on for the ranking, based on estimates from Celebrity Net Worth.

All dollar amounts in US dollars

Several newer and supporting franchise names lack credible public wealth estimates. These include Celeste O'Connor (pictured) and Logan Kim, who joined the series as Phoebe and Trevor's friends Lucky Domingo and Podcast in Ghostbusters: Afterlife before returning for Frozen Empire.

Also missing dependable figures are Neil Casey, James Acaster and Emily Alyn Lind, whose Ghostbusters roles range from reboot villain to later-era supporting players.

Mckenna Grace joined the franchise as Phoebe Spengler, Egon's science-loving granddaughter, in 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife, before reprising the role in Frozen Empire, bagging a reported $320,000 (£239k) for the 2024 movie.

Grace was already a prolific child star before strapping on a proton pack, with credits including Gifted, I, Tonya, Captain Marvel and Annabelle Comes Home. On TV, she has appeared in Designated Survivor, Young Sheldon and The Handmaid's Tale, earning an Emmy nomination for the latter.

Finn Wolfhard shot to fame as Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things, pulling in an estimated $2 million (£1.5m) per season from the third season onwards. The Canadian actor also became a big-screen name through the It movies, The Goldfinch and The Turning before joining the Ghostbusters universe as Trevor Spengler in Afterlife.

Wolfhard returned for Frozen Empire, reportedly pocketing $450,000 (£336k) for the movie. He has also voiced parts in Pinocchio and The Addams Family and played in the bands Calpurnia and The Aubreys.

A franchise fixture, Ernie Hudson plays Winston Zeddemore, the everyman Ghostbuster who joins the team after answering a job ad. One of only four actors to appear in all five movies, Hudson reportedly scored a $250,000 (£188k) payday for the most recent, Frozen Empire.

Incidentally, the Winston role was turned down by Eddie Murphy, proving a lucky break for Hudson. Away from Ghostbusters, the super-versatile actor has appeared in everything from Oz and The Crow to The Basketball Diaries and Miss Congeniality.

In Ghostbusters II, Peter MacNicol plays Janosz Poha, Dana Barrett's eccentric museum boss who falls under Vigo the Carpathian's spell. The Dallas-born star had already appeared in Dragonslayer and Sophie's Choice before joining the supernatural sequel.

He went on to become a familiar TV face, winning an Emmy for playing oddball lawyer John Cage in Ally McBeal. His later work has included turns on 24, Grey's Anatomy and Veep, along with voice work as comic book villains including Doctor Octopus and Man-Bat.

Few Ghostbusters villains are more memorably obnoxious than Walter Peck, the EPA inspector who shuts down the team's containment unit in the original movie. William Atherton returned to the role 40 years later in Frozen Empire, with Peck reintroduced as New York's mayor.

Outside of the franchise, he is also known for playing another classic 1980s irritant, journalist Richard Thornburg, in the Die Hard films. His wider CV includes The Sugarland Express, The Day of the Locust and The Pelican Brief.

Carrie Coon plays Callie Spengler, Egon's daughter and the mother of Phoebe and Trevor, in Afterlife and Frozen Empire. She reportedly earned $600,000 (£448k) for the latter, while Celebrity Net Worth puts her fortune at $6 million (£4.5m), a combined estimate with her husband, Pulitzer-winning playwright and actor Tracy Letts.

After breaking out with The Leftovers and the movie Gone Girl during the 2010s, Coon has since built one of the sharpest prestige-drama CVs with acclaimed roles in Fargo, The Gilded Age and The White Lotus. She also earned a Tony nomination for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The most controversial Ghostbusters movie gave Leslie Jones her biggest film role. She played Patty Tolan, the street-smart MTA worker who joins the all-female team in the 2016 reboot, released amid a noisy backlash over its gender-swapped cast.

The movie was a commercial disappointment, and Jones was subjected to racist and sexist abuse online. But she has had the last laugh, with a $7 million (£5.2m) fortune and the kind of success the trolls could only dream of. Her wider career has spanned SNL, stand-up specials, Supermarket Sweep, Coming 2 America and major voice roles.

Frozen Empire brought Kumail Nanjiani into the franchise as Nadeem Razmaadi, a sneaker reseller whose family heirloom helps unleash the movie's ancient threat.

With a background in comedy, Nanjiani is best known for Silicon Valley and the Oscar-nominated indie hit The Big Sick, which he co-wrote with wife Emily V Gordon. His other work includes Eternals, The Lovebirds, Men in Black: International and voice work, with his stand-up and podcasts helping to build the career that took him from cult comedy favourite to Marvel star.

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Famed for her spot-on and hilarious impersonations during her Emmy-winning SNL run, Kate McKinnon has become one of US comedy's most recognisable faces.

In the Ghostbusters reboot, McKinnon plays Dr Jillian Holtzmann, the chaotic scientist behind the team's proton packs and gadgets. Away from sketch comedy, McKinnon has shone in an array of Hollywood movies, includes Finding Dory, The Spy Who Dumped Me and Barbie, playing the scene-stealing Weird Barbie.

Annie Potts has been part of Ghostbusters from the start, making Janine Melnitz instantly memorable in the 1984 original before returning for Ghostbusters II, the 2016 reboot, Afterlife and Frozen Empire. Her latest franchise outing reportedly earned her $120,000 (£90k).

Away from the firehouse, she became a household name as Mary Jo Shively in Designing Women, voiced Bo Peep in the Toy Story films and later found a new sitcom audience as Meemaw in Young Sheldon.

As Dr Hubert Wartzki, Patton Oswalt nailed it as the excitable New York Public Library researcher. He had already joined the wider Ghostbusters world as the voice of Mooglie in the VR game Now Hiring.

The comedian, actor and voice artist is best known for playing Spence Olchin in The King of Queens and voicing Remy in Pixar's Ratatouille. He's also won plaudits for his comic turns in Parks and Recreation, Veep and other top-rated shows.

Rick Moranis gave Ghostbusters one of its most endearing comic oddballs in Louis Tully, Dana Barrett's awkward accountant neighbour who becomes the Keymaster after being possessed by Vinz Clortho. He returned in Ghostbusters II as the team's accountant, lawyer and unlikely reserve Ghostbuster.

Moranis became one of the defining comedy faces of the 1980s and early 1990s thanks to smash hits like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Spaceballs. He later stepped back from live-action roles to raise his children after the death of his wife.

From SNL favourite to Hollywood comedy powerhouse, Kristen Wiig became a major Hollywood name courtesy of 2011 blockbuster Bridesmaids, which she co-wrote as well as starred in, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

In the Ghostbusters reboot, Wiig portrays Dr Erin Gilbert, a former Columbia physicist. Her career has also included The Martian, Palm Royale and the Despicable Me franchise.

Arguably the most accomplished serious actor in the Ghostbusters franchise, Sigourney Weaver brought real dramatic weight to Dana Barrett, the cellist whose apartment becomes a gateway for Gozer in the 1984 original. She returned for Ghostbusters II and later made a brief appearance in Afterlife.

Weaver's career was transformed by Alien, while Aliens brought an Oscar nomination and turned Ellen Ripley into one of cinema's defining action heroines. She has also earned major acclaim for Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl.

Paul Rudd has been blessed with a long and fruitful career on the back of movies including Clueless, Anchorman and Marvel's Ant-Man series.

In the Ghostbusters universe, Rudd plays Gary Grooberson, the seismologist and former summer school teacher who becomes part of the new team after Afterlife. For Frozen Empire, he reportedly secured a salary of $10 million (£7.5m), making him the movie's highest-paid star by a huge margin.

Harold Ramis was more than Egon Spengler, the deadpan scientist who helped define Ghostbusters on screen. He also co-wrote the 1984 original with Dan Aykroyd, giving him a creative stake in one of the most successful comedy franchises of all time.

Needless to say, his death in 2014 was a major loss. At the time, Ramis was worth an estimated $90 million (£67.2m). Beyond Ghostbusters, he helped shape modern screen comedy as a writer and director, with Animal House, Caddyshack and Groundhog Day among his finest work.

The 2016 reboot put Melissa McCarthy at the centre of the franchise as Dr Abby Yates, the paranormal researcher who becomes one of the new team's four Ghostbusters.

McCarthy's rise began with Gilmore Girls and Mike & Molly before Bridesmaids made her an A-list comedy name. She has also proved her dramatic range, earning an Oscar nomination for Can You Ever Forgive Me? in 2019.

Cynical, sarcastic and darkly funny, but with a surprisingly soft core, Bill Murray's Peter Venkman was at the heart of the 1984 original. Murray has appeared in every Ghostbusters movie but ended up playing a different character, debunker Dr Martin Heiss, in the 2016 reboot.

The first two films were especially lucrative for him, reportedly earning Murray around $125 million (£93.9m) before inflation. And Ghostbusters has hardly been his only money-spinner.

From Scrooged and Groundhog Day to Lost in Translation, the SNL alumnus starred in a string of now-classic movies that have made him both hugely respected and very wealthy.

The richest Ghostbusters cast member is also one of the franchise's key architects. Dan Aykroyd co-wrote the 1984 original and has appeared in four of the five movies as Ray Stantz, the paranormal true believer whose childhood memory famously gives Gozer its marshmallow form. In the 2016 reboot, he had a fleeting cameo as cab driver.

Ghostbusters made Aykroyd a fortune, with his earnings for the first two films matching Murray's at $125 million (£93.9m) before inflation. But aside from acting and writing, Aykroyd's immense wealth also comes from producing credits and business ventures, including the House of Blues chain and Crystal Head Vodka.

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