Comedians have a special place in the entertainment world. First, they can talk about some of the most intimate topics in the world on stage. Then, through sitcoms, they can enter our living room every week, becoming almost like family. Of course, these lucrative gigs often come with great paychecks. Let’s take a look at who the richest comedians are…
5. Larry David
Larry David earns the number five spot on the list of richest comedians. And while he might not crack the top four, his $400 million net worth is nothing to look down at! David got his start as a stand-up comedian in New York, before becoming a writer for Saturday Night Live. Afterward, he created Seinfeld in 1996 along with one of the other richest comedians, Jerry Seinfeld. Now, he works on his incredibly successful solo show, Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO. David has also re-appeared on SNL lately, impersonating presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.
4. Ellen DeGeneres
Being an icon of our generation, its no surprise Ellen DeGeneres makes it onto the list of richest comedians. Without a doubt, she’s most famous for her daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which she’s hosted since 2003. However, she had plenty of time in front of audiences beforehand, thanks to an acclaimed stand-up career and her 90s sitcom, Ellen. DeGeneres also managed to endear herself to children, something not many comedians can do, because of her role as Dory in the Disney films Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. So, it’s no surprise that DeGeneres enjoys a net worth of $490 million!
3. Trey Parker & Matt Stone
We’re placing Trey Parker and Matt Stone together, because they have nearly identical net worths. After all, they almost always work together! As the co-creators of South Park, Stone and Parker now each have a net worth of a whopping $500 million! But South Park is only the beginning of these two creators resume together: they’ve also created the South Park movie, the stop-motion animated film Team America: World Police, and the Tony-award winning musical Book of Mormon. And, as they show no signs of slowing down, expect to see Stone and Parker’s incredible wealth keep rising.
2. Matt Groening
As you might guess, thanks to the photo above, comedian Matt Groening created The Simpsons in 1989. Today, the show is still going strong and now airing in multiple languages across the world. Now, with a net worth of $600 million, Groening can essentially do whatever he wants. His career also includes other hit projects like Futurama and his newest show, Disenchantment, a fantasy comedy that airs on Netflix. Yet, the creator wasn’t always about drawing! Groning started as a stand-up comedian and writer, writing for The Los Angeles Reader.
1. Jerry Seinfeld
This probably doesn’t come as a surprise, but Jerry Seinfeld remains the richest comedian for another year. It’s hard to wrap our head around Seinfeld’s staggering $950 million net worth. Of course, most come from his days on Seinfeld and its continual re-runs. In fact, most of the core Seinfeld cast remains incredibly wealthy. However, the titular comedian seems to turn everything he touches into gold. From his Netflix shows Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and Jerry Before Seinfeld to his rare, always sold-out stand up gigs, Jerry Seinfeld is, without a doubt, the most famous comedian in the world.
Other top-earning comedians on the list are David Letterman, Jay Leno, Seth MacFarlane, and Kevin Hart. Who knows, maybe one of them will jump into the top five spots next year!
Sources: Finance101, Forbes.