“Even if I could just make enough to buy a loaf of bread and not starve to death, [being a comedian] would be the greatest adventure that I could ever go on,” he told Parade in 2007. “That was my decision. I said, ‘I don’t give a damn what happens to me; I’m doing this.’ That’s the only way to really do it. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was just like, as the poker players like to say, ‘all in.’ My parents thought, ‘Well, he’ll get a job; it’s just like something he’s investigating.’” While that “investigating” led to becoming a fixture of the entertainment industry, Seinfeld kept his focus on comedy over cash. During a 2021 press conference, the star recalled a taxi driver asking him why he stopped making Seinfeld. “I was at a point [where] we had done it for nine years and I realized I could go off the air right now and the show could be a legend,” he replied, per Esquire. “I could be a legend of the sitcom world or I could make some more money." Despite his decision to cap the show at nine seasons, it’s safe to say he’s done both. Keep reading for everything we know about Jerry Seinfeld’s net worth—including how much he made per episode on his eponymous sitcom.
How did Jerry Seinfeld get famous?
Seinfeld, who grew up in suburban New York, did his first stand-up gig at the aptly-named Catch a Rising Star comedy club in New York City. He previously told Parade that his entry into the comedy world made him a “wreck” and “close to vomit.” Thanks to a little liquid courage, however, he made it through his first set. “One [of my friends] was a big Humphrey Bogart fan, and he said that Bogey would have a shot of whiskey before he would do something like that,” he recalled. “So we went to a bar next door and I had a shot of whiskey. I don’t really love drinking, so it was horrible.” He later got his big break when he was asked to appear on the Johnny Carson-hosted Tonight Show in 1981, although it would still be years before his own show made its way to screens. Seinfeld, which he wrote alongside Larry David, premiered in 1989.
What is Jerry Seinfeld’s net worth?
Jerry Seinfeld’s net worth is $950 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
How much did Jerry Seinfeld make per episode?
Seinfeld started off making about $20,000 per Seinfeld episode, according to Celebrity Net Worth, a number which reportedly doubled by seasons 3 and 4. As the show’s popularity climbed, he got another pay bump for seasons 4, 5 and 6, earning $100,000 an episode. His salary was up to $500,000 an episode for seasons 7 and 8, a figure that was once again doubled by season 9, when Seinfeld was the number one show on primetime. Accordingly, Seinfeld himself became the first actor to score a $1 million-an-episode deal.
How much did Jerry Seinfeld make for Seinfeld?
Just as fans’ love of Seinfeld has continued, so too have Jerry Seinfeld’s paychecks. In addition to his high salary, Seinfeld has continued to make money off the show’s syndication following its 1998 finale. He and David both make $400 million each off each syndication cycle, as New York Magazine reported. In addition to syndication, Seinfeld has also profited greatly off of streaming. As part of a deal reportedly between $130 and $180 million, all nine seasons of the show were once available to stream on Hulu. However, once the contract ended, Netflix—fresh off of losing The Office to Peacock and Friends to HBO Max—swooped in to pick up the show While Seinfeld once said on the sitcom that “people don’t turn down money—it’s what separates us from the animals,” he did just that when he turned down the possibility of a 10th season, which would have meant a $110 million payday, per Celebrity Net Worth. “The most important word in art is ‘proportion,’" he told the New York Times of his decision to end Seinfeld. “How much? How long is this joke going to be? How many words? How many minutes? And getting that right is what makes it art or what makes it mediocre.”
How much did Jerry Seinfeld make from the Bee Movie?
Seinfeld took on a buzzy (pun intended) new role in the Bee Movie in 2007. It’s not publicly known how much he made from the film, which he also co-wrote and co-produced. He’s since apologized for the apparent undertones of the animated film. “I apologize for what seems to be a certain uncomfortable subtle sexual aspect of the Bee Movie,” he said on The Tonight Show 14 years after the film’s release. “[It] really was not intentional, but after it came out, I realized this is really not appropriate for children, is it? Because the bee seemed to have a thing for the girl. And we don’t really want to pursue that as an idea in children’s entertainment.”
How much did Jerry Seinfeld make from Netflix?
Netflix reportedly paid more than $500 million to secure the streaming rights to Seinfeld, but that’s not the only place you can see Seinfeld himself on the streaming service. In 2017, he inked a deal with the company for an estimated $100 million, which included two stand-up specials and moving his series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee from Crackle to Netflix. While it’s unclear how much he earned from each component of the deal, it’s likely he got a huge pay raise from his reported $500,000 an episode salary at Crackle.
How much did Jerry Seinfeld make from Microsoft?
It pays to star in ads beside billionaires. In 2008, Seinfeld appeared in advertisements for Microsoft alongside its co-founder Bill Gates. He was reportedly paid $10 million to star in the $300 million campaign. Next, Jerry Seinfeld reflects on his early standup routines, favorite Seinfeld episodes and the future of standup comedy.
