Here's How Rich The Billionaires Are In ‘Mountainhead'

Warning: Contains spoilers for Mountainhead!
The four tech bro billionaires in the new HBO satirical movie Mountainhead are very rich—just ask them. Venis Parish (played by Cory Michael Smith), said to be the world's wealthiest person (net worth: $220 billion), is 'the king of cash, the marquis of Moolah, the North Star of net worth.' Randall Garrett (Steve Carell) is 'the Grand Old Duke of dough,' with $63 billion. The 'young buck making the big bucks,' Jeff Abredazi (Rami Youssef), has $59 billion. Even Hugo Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman), the 'host without the most' and the 'poor relation who still gets an invitation,' is worth a 'not-too-shabby' $521 million. This is all according to one mountaintop scene, during which the moguls inscribe their fortunes on their chests in (surely expensive) red lipstick.
Mountainhead was written and directed by Jesse Armstrong, a British screenwriter who's best known for creating the hit HBO series Succession, which examined the fraught family dynamics of a billionaire media mogul not too dissimilar to Rupert Murdoch. Armstrong's new movie takes place during a winter getaway to Van Yalk's ultra-luxurious, mountaintop Utah home.
As the quartet's poker night devolves into bickering and plotting both a world takeover and a murder, alliances—and net worths—shift. At least two of the characters in the movie are likely much richer come morning.
Here's a look at how wealthy the four members of the 'Brewster' crew in Mountainhead are, and how they would actually stack up against the real-life billionaire overlords, according to Forbes ' Real-Time Billionaires list, which tracks the fortunes of all 3,000-plus billionaires around the globe.
Venis Parish
Net worth: $220 billion
Worldwide rank: 4 (as of June 10)
Approx. as rich as: Larry Ellison ($218 billion)
Ven sets off worldwide chaos when his social media giant Traam unleashes deepfake AI tools that run amok. But the richest person on the planet in the movie is actually far too poor to claim that title in real life. The 'North Star of net worth' doesn't burn quite as bright as Elon Musk, who is worth $411 billion as of June 10, despite his feud with President Trump —nearly twice as rich as Ven. In reality, Ven would rank fourth worldwide, behind Musk and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg ($242 billion)— both seemingly inspirations for the character —and Amazon's Jeff Bezos ($232 billion). He's just a hair wealthier than yet another tech tycoon, Oracle's Larry Ellison ($218 billion), though he does have tens of billions on folks like Warren Buffett ($153 billion) and Bill Gates ($116 billion), and with Jeff's AI division in his control, he'll soon be operating at 'full tilt.'
Jeff Abredazi
Net worth: $86 billion
Worldwide rank: 22
Approx. as rich as: L'Oréal heir Francoise Bettencourt Meyers ($90.5 billion)
Jeff rides a wealth rollercoaster in Mountainhead. First worth $38 billion—'59, actually,' he's quick to correct—he soon overtakes Garrett with a 'very chunky number' that the movie never specifies, based on the skyrocketing stock of his AI 'guardrail' company. It's unclear how rich he ends up after agreeing to sell his AI division to Parish's Traam for $45 billion, but HBO has promoted the movie as being about 'Four friends. $371 billion net worth. Zero culpability.' After factoring in Hugo's glow up (see below), Forbes is attributing the rest of the additional wealth to Jeff—giving him a lot of copay cash for some much needed therapy.
Randall Garrett
Net worth: $63 billion
Worldwide rank: 28
Approx. as rich as: TikTok founder Zhang Yiming ($65.5 billion)
The investor and technologist 'Papa bear' is clearly rankled when Jeff surpasses him in wealth. He's also peeved that he hasn't been able to buy a cure for cancer. But he's still about as rich as another shadowy billionaire, controversial crypto kingpin CZ ($66 billion). And when it comes to government connections, he's brags he's 'pretty deeply embedded in terms of hardware, software, payment rails, wages.' How can you put a price on the ability to control Belgium's electric grid?
Hugo 'Souper' Van Yalk
Net worth: $2.1 billion
Worldwide rank: 1,746
Approx. as rich as: Fashion mogul Tom Ford ($2.2 billion)
'The poorest relation,' Hugo is nicknamed 'Souper'—as in, soup kitchen—for being the least rich of the bunch. 'I can't go unicorn,' he laments in one scene. 'I cannot make my billion.' But, by the end of the film, the group's 'petroleum insurance policy' pays off big and Souper's 'lifestyle super-app' gets 'bought out at 2 bil.' Assuming he swapped his shares for Traam stock—or avoided taxes if he fully cashed out, as billionaires often find ways to do —he's now got a couple billion. That, plus 'Mountainhead'—the Utah mansion where the movie is set, worth north of $50 million —pushes his net worth to at least $2.1 billion. 'Congrats, Souper,' Randall tells him, 'your centi-millionaireship is over.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Forbes

39 minutes ago

• Forbes

Bill Skarsgård's ‘Nosferatu' Gets Prime Video Streaming Date

"Nosferatu" partial poster featuring Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgård. Nosferatu — the 2024 horror hit starring Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult — is coming soon to Prime Video. Directed by Robert Eggers, Nosferatu opened on Dec. 25, 2024. The official logline for the movie reads, 'A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.' Skarsgård stars as the vampire Count Orlok in Nosferatu, while Depp plays Ellen Hutter, whom the vampire has been haunting in her dreams. Hoult plays Ellen's husband, Thomas Hutter, a real estate agent who is trying to thwart Orlok from preying on his wife. The film also stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Simon McBurney, Ralph Ineson and Willem Dafoe. Prime Video has announced that Nosferatu will join its streaming video on demand lineup on Friday, June 27. Viewers who don't have Prime Video can get the streaming service as one of the benefits of being an Amazon Prime subscriber for $14.99 or $139 per year. Prime Video-only subscriptions are also available for $8.99 per month. According to streaming tracker When to Stream, only the theatrical version of Nosferatu will be available on Prime Video when the film makes its SVOD debut on the platform on Friday. The extended cut of Nosferatu, which includes four minutes of additional footage is only available on the Peacock streaming service. Robert Eggers Contacted Bill Skarsgård About 'Nosferatu' After Seeing Him In 'IT: Chapter Two' Nosferatu director Robert Eggers said it was because of another horror role — Pennywise the Clown— that led him to pursue Bill Skarsgård to play Count Orlok. However, it wasn't Skarsgård's portrayal as the clown that inspired Eggers. 'It was [Bill's role] as Pennywise, but in IT: Chapter Two, when he played Pennywise as a middle-aged human man instead of a clown,' Eggers said in a Zoom conversation prior to the film's theatrical release. 'It just had a kind of darkness and depth that I really believed. 'So, that's when I emailed or texted Bill and said, 'Let's talk about Orlok.' I really wanted to work with Bill since I met him almost 10 years ago,' the filmmaker added. 'I cast him in The Northman in a supporting role but because of COVID, it didn't happen. He was always on my mind.' Nosferatu received awards season recognition for films released in 2024, largely in the technical categories. The film earned nominations for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design for the 97th Academy Awards; and received nominations in the same four categories and a Best Original Score nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards. Nosferatu begins streaming on Prime Video on Friday.

Yahoo

44 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Iconic '90s Actor Is Unrecognizable 35 Years After Co-Starring With Julia Roberts

Iconic '90s Actor Is Unrecognizable 35 Years After Co-Starring With Julia Roberts originally appeared on Parade. Oliver Platt is unrecognizable 35 years after starring in 1990's Flatliners alongside Julia Roberts. On Friday, June 20, the actor, 65, pictures obtained by the Daily Mail captured the actor during a rare public outing in Manhattan. Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 The Bicentennial Man and Lake Placid star looked nothing like he did during his '90s heyday. For the jaunt, Platt donned a gray, collared shirt, jean shorts, tall white socks and tennis shoes, sporting a thinner frame and grayer hair than fans are used to seeing. See the photos of Platt and what he looks like now! In 1990, Platt and Roberts, 57, starred in the sci-fi psychological horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Michael Douglas and Rick Bieber. Flatliners also starred Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin and K.K. Dodds, among others. Platt portrayed Randy Steckle, a medical student who takes part in near-death experiments alongside his peers in an attempt to learn what happens after death. Today, the actor is best known for portraying a very different kind of doctor—psychologist Dr. Daniel Charles in Chicago Med. Next: Iconic '90s Actress, 67, Flaunts Ageless Beauty While Leaving Nothing to the Imagination Iconic '90s Actor Is Unrecognizable 35 Years After Co-Starring With Julia Roberts first appeared on Parade on Jun 21, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.

Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

Today's Quordle Hints (and Answer) for Sunday, June 22, 2025

If you're looking for the Quordle answer for Sunday, June 22, 2025, read on—I'll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Beware, there are spoilers below for June 22, Quordle #1245! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today's Quordle game. (If you play Wordle, Connections, and Strands, check out our hints for those games, too.) How to play Quordle Quordle lives on the Merriam-Webster website. A new puzzle goes live every day. If you've never played, it's a twist on The New York Times' daily Wordle game, in which you have a limited number of attempts to guess a five-letter mystery word. In Quordle, though, you're simultaneously solving four Wordle-style puzzles, and each of your guesses gets applied to the four puzzles simultaneously. Due to the increased difficulty, Quordle grants you nine guesses (12 if you play on 'Chill' mode, or eight if you play on 'Extreme'), rather than Wordle's six. To start, guess a five-letter word. The letters of the word in each of the four quadrants will turn green if they're correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn't in that secret word at all. Ready for the hints? Let's go! Can you give me a hint for today's Quordle? Upper left: To take (control) Upper right: A sensation taking over the nation! Lower left: Relating to Vatican City Lower right: A former brand of Toyota Does today's Quordle have any double or repeated letters? Upper left: No. Upper right: No. Lower left: Yes, one repeated vowel. Lower right: No. What letters do today's Quordle words start with? Upper left: W Upper right: C Lower left: P Lower right: S What letters do today's Quordle words end with? Upper left: T Upper right: E Lower left: L Lower right: N What is the solution to today's Quordle? Upper left: WREST Upper right: CRAZE Lower left: PAPAL Lower right: SCION How I solved today's Quordle I start with SLATE and MOUND, then turn my attention to the upper right. I'll try GRAPE. Close. It could be CRAZE. Yep. The upper left might be TREES. Not quite. I think it has to be WREST. Yes. I think the bottom right might be SONIC. Nope! The O can't be in second position; that was silly. SCION's the only option. One guess left. I'll try APPLY. Dang, it was PAPAL. Oh well. The best starter words for Quordle What should you play for that first guess? We can look to Wordle for some general guidelines. The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that's still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn't a single 'best' starting word, but The New York Times's Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these: CRANE TRACE SLANT CRATE CARTE Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you'll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these: SALET REAST TRACE CRATE SLATE Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it's better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.