Top 10 Richest Comedians in the World 2023
Comedians spend their entire life entertaining others. But do you know how much they earn out of it? A successful comedian can earn in millions by just making people laugh. Below is the list of Top 10 Richest Comedians in the World.
Top 10 Richest Comedians in the World:
10. Jay Leno
Net worth: $ 350 million
James Douglas Muir Leno, popularly known as Jay Leno, is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, as well as a television host.
He started a comedy club in 1973 at Emerson College and made his first appearance on The Tonight Show on March 2, 1977, performing a comedy routine.
After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which also aired on NBC.
A quote by Jay Leno,
“You can’t stay mad at somebody who makes you laugh.”
9. David Letterman
Net worth: $ 400 million
David Michael Letterman is also an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer.
In total, he has hosted 6,080 episodes of Late Night Talk Shows, surpassing his friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late-night talk show host in the history of American television.
Moreover, in 1991, he started his own production company known as Worldwide Pants Incorporated, which produced his show and several others. It also founded its own record label, Clear Entertainment.
A quote by David Letterman,
“If what you’ve done is stupid, but it works, then it really isn’t all that stupid.”
8. Byron Allen
Net worth: $ 400 million
Byron Allen started his career in comedy at the age of 14 by putting together his first stand-up routine and began appearing on an amateur night at comedy clubs throughout Los Angeles.
Comedian Jimmie Walker saw Allen’s stand-up act and invited him to join his comedy writing team alongside other promising young comedians. At age 18, he made his television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Byron Allen Folks is an American businessman, comedian, television producer, philanthropist, and the head of the U.S. entertainment company Allen Media Group.
He once quoted that,
“When you start punishing and censoring comedians, that’s a real bad sign of us as Americans losing our First Amendment rights.”
7. Bill Cosby
Net worth: $ 400 million
William Henry Cosby Jr., popularly known as Bill Cosby, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, author.
He began his career as a stand-up comic at the Hungry in San Francisco during the 1960s. Beginning in the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in the television sitcom The Cosby Show.
However, his reputation was blemished during the mid-2010s when more than 60 women made sexual assault accusations against him, all of which he has denied, but was later found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault and sentenced to three to ten years in prison in September 2018.
His last known standup comedy performance before his conviction was held at the LaRose Jazz Club in Philadelphia on January 23, 2018.
6. Larry David
Net worth: $ 400 million
Lawrence Gene David is an American comedian, writer, actor, director, and television producer. While he was working as a stand-up comedian, Larry David also worked as a store clerk, limousine driver, and historian.
He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television series Seinfeld, of which David was the head writer and executive producer for the first seven seasons.
Further, he gained recognition for the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, which he created and stars in as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. Apart from these, Larry David has also been involved in many other films and television series.
A famous quote by Larry David,
“If you tell the truth about how you’re feeling, it becomes funny.”
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5. Ellen DeGeneres
Net worth: $ 450 million
Currently being criticized for her off-screen behavior, Ellen DeGeneres is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer.
Her stand-up career started in the early 1980s and has also starred in many films as an actress. Moreover, in 2010, she was a judge on American Idol for its ninth season.
She has hosted many award shows, has authored four books, and started her own record company, Eleveneleven, as well as a production company, A Very Good Production. She has won 30 Emmys, 20 People’s Choice Awards (highest till now), and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts.
A famous quote by Ellen DeGeneres,
“Sometimes you can’t see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others.”
4. Matt Stone
Net worth: $ 500 million
Matthew Richard Stone, known by his stage name as Matt Stone, is an American actor, voice actor, animator, writer, producer, and composer.
He is renowned for co-creating South Park and co-developing The Book of Mormon with his creative partner Trey Parker, whom he met during high school, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Matt Stone has been awarded several awards over the course of his career, including five Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on South Park, as well as three Tony Awards and one Grammy Award for The Book of Mormon.
He once quoted about religion as,
“Does it matter if it’s true if it makes you happy?”
3. Trey Parker
Net worth: $ 500 million
Randolph Severn Parker III often referred to as Trey Parker, is an American actor, voice actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and composer.
Parker has described his younger self as “the typical big-dream kid” who envisioned a career in film and music. He became interested in pursuing music at 17, but only comedy-centered songs.
As mentioned earlier, he is the creative partner of Matt Stone and is known for co-creating South Park and co-developing The Book of Mormon with him and they have received many awards for their work.
One of the famous Trey Parker’s quote,
“Sometimes what’s right isn’t as important as what’s profitable.”
2. Matt Groening
Net worth: $ 500 million
The creator of the longest-running U.S. primetime-television series in history and the longest-running U.S. animated series and sitcom, The Simpsons, Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator.
Along with this, he is also the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell, Futurama, and Disenchantment. In 1977, at the age of 23, he moved to Los Angeles to become a writer.
He is the recipient of several prestigious awards including Emmy Awards and a British Comedy Award for his outstanding contribution to comedy.
One of his famous quotes is,
“You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.”
1. Jerry Seinfield
Net worth: $ 950 million
Known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom Seinfeld, which he created and wrote with Larry David, Jerome Allen Seinfeld is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director.
Popularly known as Jerry Seinfeld, he specializes in observational comedy. Moreover, in 2004, Comedy Central named him the 12th-greatest stand-up comedian of all time.
Seinfeld developed an interest in stand-up comedy after brief stints in college productions. His first one-hour special Stand-Up Confidential aired live on HBO on 5 September 1987.
He once quoted that,
“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking”
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