Seinfeld Tops List Of World’s Richest Comedians

Jerry Seinfeld is still the world’s richest comedian according to Forbes’ list of the industry’s highest earning comedians. Despite Seinfeld being off the air for more than 15 years, Jerry Seinfeld still took in $32 million dollars from June 2012 through June 2013. This is the third year in a row that Jerry Seinfeld topped the list.

Forbes used concert ticket sales and industry insider information in order to compile the list. According to Forbes, Seinfeld earned an estimated $27 million from more than 70 concerts between June 2012 and June 2013, which, combined with royalties from reruns of Seinfeld, got him past the $32 million dollar mark.

In addition to Seinfeld, the top ten on the list were ventriloquist Terry Fator ($24 million), Russell Peters ($21 million), Jeff Dunham ($19 million), Louis C.K. ($16 million), Kevin Hart ($14 million), Daniel Lawrence Whitney (AKA Larry the Cable Guy $13 million), George Lopez ($12 million), and Daniel Tosh and Gabriel Iglesias who tied with each earning $11 million.

Seinfeld, the comedy show starring Jerry Seinfeld aired from 1989 through 1998. It was, by far, one of the most watched comedy series in history. A critical favorite, commercial blockbuster and cultural phenomenon, the show led the Nielsen ratings in its sixth and ninth seasons and finished among the top two every year from 1994 to 1998. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named Seinfeld the #2 Best Written TV Series of All Time (second to the Sopranos). That same year, Entertainment Weekly named it the 3rd best TV series of all time.

Seinfeld continues to be watched in almost every major media market throughout the world, earning Jerry Seinfeld royalties every year.

See below what Jerry Seinfeld and the cast had to say about the show 13 years later.