Forbes came out with its annual rankings of the wealthiest comedians by how much they earned in the fiscal year ending in June. And until we get a look at their tax returns, or someone else comes up with a better calculation, this is the list to which everyone will continue to refer.
How Forbes adds it all up? Mostly a combination of three things: 1) ticket sales from touring as a stand-up (perhaps the easiest to find), 2) endorsement deals (ad campaigns can be tracked, if not always disclosed with dollar figures) and 3) deals for a comedy special that came out on screens big or small, or for a book about being a comedian. Forbes generally doesn’t count money made from acting in movies or TV, or hosting a talk show — compiling separate lists for entertainers there. Just so you know.
The mag also includes this actual disclaimer: “All earnings estimates are from June 1, 2018, through June 1, 2019. Figures are pretax; fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted. Earnings estimates are based on data from Pollstar Pro as well as interviews with industry insiders.”
Now that you know that, here are the rankings:
- Kevin Hart: $59 million
- Jerry Seinfeld: $41 million
- Jim Gaffigan: $30 million
- Trevor Noah: $28 million
- Sebastian Maniscalco: $26 million
- Gabriel Iglesias: $22 million
- Amy Schumer: $21 million
- Terry Fator: $17 million
- Jeff Dunham: $15 million
- Aziz Ansari: $13 million