What started off as an unlikely underdog story turned into a phenomenon that changed the world.

While Hollywood expected "Star Wars" to be a huge flop in 1977, it ended up, as we know, one of the most financially successful films of all time, and kicked off a franchise that can't be killed.

"The Force Awakens," the seventh film in the "Star Wars" saga, will be released on December 18, 2015. Expectations are incredibly high. No less a Hollywood mythmaker than Steven Spielberg thinks it could be "the biggest movie ever."

While George Lucas gave up control of the franchise in 2012, he still made a tremendous profit off of it. That is not just because he created the original story. Lucas gained control of licensing and merchandising rights before "A New Hope" was even released. This smart move ultimately turned him into one of the most successful people in the entertainment industry.

This is the path that George Lucas took that turned him into a billionaire.