How much is Bill Maher worth?
| Net Worth: | $125 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional TV Host |
| Date of Birth: | January 20, 1956 (age 67) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
About Bill Maher
William Maher was born on January 20, 1956 and is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host with a net worth estimated to be $125 million. Maher has earned income equal to an estimated salary of $14 million dollars per year, since 2019.
Maher rose to fame in the 70s first establishing himself on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and David Letterman’s Late Show, here he perfected his iconic sarcastic stand up routine.
The too-hot-for-TV talk show host is known for being massively outspoken when it comes to religion, politics, war, and every other hot topic under the sun. He was the host of the controversial late night show, Politically Incorrect, and then moved to HBO to host Real Time with Bill Maher, which has now been on the air for 17 years. Outside of entertainment, Maher is also a minority stake holder in the New York Mets.
In the late 70s, the comedian started touring comedy clubs and making a name for himself. He did well as audiences loved his dry humor and sarcastic ramblings on politics, and he earned loads of spots on late night TV. But his break out role arrived when he impressed networks so much that he landed his own late night show, Politically Incorrect.
The show aired for eight years on Comedy Central and ABC, and it wasn’t for lack of success that the show was cancelled. Maher made a humorless joke about the September 11 terrorist attacks, which caused petitions for him to step down from the show, and it was replaced with Jimmy Kimmel Live.
But Maher landed on his feet, and it’s likely that he didn’t want the show anyway if the network tried to sensor him. HBO jumped at the chance to work with Maher and gave him his own show.
Very shortly after Politically Incorrect came to an end he hosted the HBO original, Real Time with Bill Maher, which has a similar aesthetic to his previous show, but is much more heavily routed in politics with a serious edge. The show has lasted for 17 years and has just wrapped up its 18th season with over 500 episodes under its belt.
When Real Time with Bill Maher began, it seemed clear that he had learnt something after getting cancelled on ABC. That was until he got up to his old tricks by antagonizing every demographic possible. It was noted that in one of the episodes in 2017, the comedian used the N word’ in one of his jokes, and though viewers called for his resignation, HBO stood by Maher.
They know that stirring the pot is part of Maher’s appeal and if he didn’t cause so much controversy, he probably wouldn’t be as popular as he is.
Though the late show host has used the N word, made fun of 9/11, and criticized the existence of virtually every religion, his most famous controversy may come as a surprise and seem oddly insignificant compared to other statements he has said. Following the death of Stan Lee, the comic book king and creator of almost every Marvel superhero known to man, Maher criticized the masses of people who were mourning the writer across the world.
The comedian said that, “the guy who created Spider-Man and the Hulk has died, and America is in mourning. Deep, deep mourning for a man who inspired millions to, I don’t know, watch a movie. They pretended comic books were actually sophisticated literature.”
The comment caused him to literally get death threats from fans who were out for Maher’s blood.
After having hosted late night TV in one shape or another for the past 27 years, Maher has racked up quite a pension. Most of his wealth comes from hosting over 500 episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher, as his yearly salary for the show is estimated to be $10 million. Considering that he has hosted the show since 2003, it’s possible that the comedian could have earned up to $170 million in that time.
His earnings for Politically Incorrect wouldn’t have been quite as much, but as it ran for eight years and was increasingly popular year on year, the salary would surely have been one of the highest for a talk show host at the time.
But it isn’t just from hosting TV shows that Maher has earned his massive wealth. The host is also a successful businessman, as he has a minority stake in the New York Mets. He purchased what is rumored to be a 4% stake in 2012, and as the mets are currently worth around $2 billion, Maher’s investment could be worth up to $80 million.
On top of that, he has made a few ingenious real estate decisions. Most notably, the comedian owns a 3.2-acre mansion in Beverly Hills, which was sold to him by none other that Ben Affleck. As this happened back in 2003, the mansion is now reported to be worth an estimated $20 million.
Maher has a savage approach to stand up comedy, as his jokes have punchlines that are hard to swallow, especially for more conservative audiences, but they are well crafted and completely unique to him.
His TV shows have done so well because it includes the same kind of humor that fans of the comedian are used to. Both of his main shows have followed a similar format and are extremely consistent, and though he may use foul language, that has helped him outlast dozens of other vanilla TV hosts.
The comedian tries his best to expose things that he sees wrong with the world, whether it’s the current president of the United States, Mormonism, Scientology, or gun control.
And though Maher’s content can be highly controversial, it is still quality content, as he has been nominated for an Emmy Award an outstanding 22 times (and holds the record for being nominated the most times without winning one), was rated one of the top 50 comedians of all time by Comedy Central, and received a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.
Summing-Up
Very few people can make a living out of speaking their minds, especially those whose minds don’t conform to what people expect. But against all odds, Bill Maher has done exactly that. The comedian has literally spent 30 years in the public eye almost every day talking about things he doesn’t like and he makes millions of dollars every year. He has accrued an incredible estimated net worth. As of 2023, Bill Maher’s net worth is estimated to be $125 million.
That figure will continue to rise as HBO have renewed Real Time with Bill Maher up to 2022, and they’ll probably renew it again and again after that.
