Austin Hearst is a television and film producer with an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion as of March 2013 according to Forbes. He was ranked 250th in the “Forbes 400” list of the richest Americans. His most recent project was The Vow, a romance starring Rachel McAdams. It was released in February 2012. Other works include the television cartoon versions of the comic strips Popeye & Sons, and Beetle Bailey.

Austin is the grandson of media baron William Randolph Hearst and the younger brother of former venture capitalist William Randolph Hearst III. He has been running Hearst Corporation, a media giant that involves newspapers, magazines and television and radio stations. It also owns some stakes in cable networks ESPN, Lifetime, and A&E which are doing well. The firm’s stake in ESPN is worth more than $11 billion. It is owned by a trust whose beneficiaries are the heirs of William Randolph Hearst and it makes annual cash distributions. He is also the Vice President of Special Projects and the Director of Hearst Entertainment.

The Hearst family is the owner of Hearst Castle, a 90-000 square foot property in San Simeon, California. The family was also paid $95 million by the state in 2005 in order to preserve the property.