Ellen DeGeneres and Chris Rock (Image: GETTY)
The world’s top comedians are not only laugh-out-loud funny, they’re loaded too.
Selling out arenas, signing deals with for ‘specials’, and starring in sit-coms can earn the very best jesters a pretty penny.
Plus, the emergence of podcasts and social media has allowed comedians to latch on to the commercial opportunities presented by the latest technologies.
But who’s the planet’s richest comic? Express.co.uk goes through the big-hitters.
Jerry Seinfeld performing at the 18th Annual Stand Up For Heroes Benefit night (Image: Getty)
Jerry Seinfeld, the creator of the legendary sit-com Seinfeld, is the richest funny-man on earth, according to outlet Augustman.
The comedian is reportedly worth a mind-blowing £770 million, and is said to have sold the streaming rights of his hit show to for a staggering £405 million in 2019.
“People don’t turn down money—it’s what separates us from the animals”, Seinfeld’s character said in 1991. Go figure.
Next up is Byron Allen. Allen is now a well-established media mogul, but he started life as a comic. He rose to prominence after appearing on the Tonight Show.
Now worth an eye-watering £648 million as head of Allen Media Group, Allen is the second-richest comedian in history.
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Byron Allen earned his stripes as a comedian before becoming a media mogul (Image: Getty)
The richest female comic in the list is talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen started life in the 1980s as a stand-up, before transitioning into hosting.
The presenter is worth a vast £405 million, and with her partner, Portia de Rossi, working in real estate, they’re both worth a few quid.
Chris Rock meanwhile, considered one of the comedy icons of his generation, is worth £129 million.
Although that’s not exactly an amount of money to be sniffed at, the stand-up comes in beneath Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, Adam Sandler, and Larry David, amongst others.