Jerry Seinfeld has been named the highest-paid comedian in the world.
The 63-year-old comic dropped to second place on Forbes’ annual rankings last year, but regained the top-spot with earnings of a staggering $69 million, largely thanks to a deal with Netflix for two $20 million comedy specials – one of which he has been paid for to date – something which second-placed Chris Rock also negotiated, helping him to make $57 million in the last year.
Louis C.K. took third place with $52 million, while Dave Chappelle was in fourth with $47 million, and both comics saw their earnings from June 2016 to June 2017 swell because of deals with the streaming service.
Paul Verna, the principal video analyst at eMarketer, told Forbes: "If [comedy specials] were drivers for subscriptions on cable, they would be the same for the streaming world."
Amy Schumer, the only woman in the top 10, took fifth place with $37.5 million.
Last year’s list was topped by Kevin Hart, whose income was $87.5 million but this year he dropped to number six with earnings of $32.5 million, having cut down his touring schedule to focus on his movie work and his streaming platform Laugh Out Loud, which is due to launch next week.
Jim Gaffigan was ranked seventh, having made $30.5 million.
Former ‘America’s Got Talent’ winner Terry Fator took eighth place on the list with $18.5 million, having played 225 gigs over the time period, most of which were part of his Las Vegas residency, while Jeff Dunham and newcomer Sebastian Maniscalco – who were ninth and tenth – each played over 100 shows.
Sebastian said: "Whatever work would come my way, I’d say, ‘Just book me.’ Let me go out there – whatever the gig is, whatever the pay is."
Forbes’ Highest-Earning Comedians 2017:
1. Jerry Seinfeld, $69 million
2. Chris Rock, $57 million
3. Louis C.K., $52 million
4. Dave Chappelle, $47 million
5. Amy Schumer, $37.5 million
6. Kevin Hart, $32.5 million
7. Jim Gaffigan, $30.5 million
8. Terry Fator, $18.5 million
9. Jeff Dunham, $15.5 million
10. Sebastian Maniscalco, $15 million