Wealth: The Highest Paid Comedian 2016

Kevin Hart Dethrones Jerry Seinfeld As Cash King Of Comedy With $87.5 Million Payday.

Since 2006, Jerry Seinfeld has seemed the insurmountable King of Comedy. His combined pretax earnings over the last 10 years top $900 million, and year after year he has claimed the top spot on our list of the world’s highest-paid comedians.

No longer: For the first time since FORBES started delving into the money of the funny business, someone other than Seinfeld has taken the title of the top-earning joker. Between June 2015 and June 2016, Kevin Hart made $87.5 million—over $30 million more than Seinfeld’s $43.5 million. That haul also earned Hart sixth place on the Celebrity 100, FORBES’ annual list of celebrity money-makers.

Combined, the world’s 10 highest-paid comedians made $233.5 million over our scoring period, prior to taxes and management fees. Their earnings came from touring, endorsements, films, DVD sales, TV specials and paid appearances. FORBES’ earnings estimates are based on data from Pollstar, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with agents, managers, lawyers and industry insiders

The reason for Hart’s dominance is simple: He tours like no other comedian. In the 12-month period, Hart played over 100 shows with an average gross of over $1 million at each stop. And these shows aren’t at dingy comedy clubs; Hart played stadiums and arenas, including Madison Square Garden and the Staples Center. Because the stand-up comedian’s set requires little more than a stool, water bottle and microphone, he takes home a larger cut of that gross than most rock stars would.