Spielberg never made a penny from his biggest movie, Schindler’s List

Being an Orthodox Jew by birth, Steven's involvement in Schindler's List was a great box office success, grossing $322 million against a $22 million budget, but Spielberg never received a dime. Spielberg has stated that he is happy Schindler's List exists and that he believes viewers will take something positive away from it. Instead of making money, he directed the movie to tell a story and encourage tolerance.

Spielberg gave the Shoah Foundation, which preserves testimonials from Holocaust survivors, all of the money owed to him. Additionally, Spielberg still won't sign any memorabilia related to Schindler's List, preventing anyone from making money off of it. Before beginning work on Schindler's List, he intended to donate his money.

"As I told my mentor, Sid Sheinberg, I could not accept any payment from 'Schindler's List', even if it generated any revenue". In an interview, Spielberg said, It was blood money and ought to go back into the Jewish community. The Righteous Persons Foundation, which Spielberg assisted in founding, received funding from Spielberg. His objective is to have a larger impact on contemporary Jewish lives. The group provides funding for creative strategies to promote social justice advocacy.