How much is Dave Chappelle worth?
| Net Worth: | $40 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Comedian |
| Date of Birth: | August 24, 1973 (age 49) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 6 ft (1.83 m) |
About Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle is an actor and comedian who rose to stardom after earning roles in movies such as The Nutty Professor and Con Air, and going on to write and star in Chappelle’s Show. The show was a highly controversial, sketch comedy series that was well received for it’s hilarious commentary on hard-hitting subject matter such as drugs and police brutality. Thanks to his unique brand of comedy, Chappelle has won five Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which is America’s highest honor in comedy.
One of the comedian’s first ever stand up gigs was at the Apollo Theater in New York, and surprisingly enough, he was booed off stage. It didn’t take long for Chappelle to find his footing and become a stand up success, however. After creating his unique brand of controversial humor, Chappelle started earning regular spots on TV such as on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Howard Stern Show, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Chappelle even made guest appearances in shows like Home Improvement and Saturday Night Live.
This led him to earn his earn highly successful TV show, Chappelle’s Show. Chappelle then successfully made the leap from television and into movies, starring not only in slapstick comedies like The Nutty Professor, but also in action movies such as Con Air, Blue Streak, and most recently in A Star Is Born.
After the comedian proved he had great acting chops in the 90s, he was even offered the role of Bubba in the Academy Award winning Tom Hanks led drama, Forest Gump, but turned it down because he thought the character was demeaning.
Between 2005 to 2013, Chappelle laid low and took a long hiatus from the entertainment industry, reportedly because he had contempt against the way black people were treated in the industry. He had a massive return in 2016 when the comedian was offered more money than any other comedian up to that point, by recording Netflix specials.
Chapelle signed a deal with Netflix that was completely unheard of up until then. Netflix paid the comedian an astounding $60 million in return for three hour-long specials, that’s $20 million per special. It didn’t end there, as after those three were delivered by Chappelle and they were met with universal acclaim from critics and praised by households all over North America, Chappelle put out two more specials for the streaming service, reportedly making $20 million for each of those as well.
His first special for the streaming service was The Age of Spin: Dave Chappelle Live at the Hollywood Palladium. It was followed up with not one, not two, but four more specials; Deep In The Heart Of Texas, Equanimity, The Bird Revelation, and Sticks & Stones. The comedian’s most recent collaboration with Netflix is available on YouTube for anybody to watch, not just households with a Netflix subscription. The title of the stand up special is 8:46, a reference to the length of time Derek Chauvin was kneeling on George Floyd’s neck.
This release is special for several reasons, firstly because it is the first ever recorded special that follows the rules of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the audience sit far apart and are all wearing masks. Secondly, the special is barely comedy as the show goes on for roughly 23 minutes and features Chappelle giving his own insight to the events that have unfolded in the news and the overwhelming response to Floyd’s murder. After just two weeks of being uploaded to the YouTube channel Netflix Is A Joke, the special received over 20 million views.
Half Baked was the first and so far only movie that Chappelle has written (along with his partner Neal Brennan). The movie is a staple of stoner comedy and not only did it make back double its budget at the worldwide box office, but it has also received a massive cult following, making millions in DVD sales and syndication sales.
As Chappelle also served as a producer on the movie, it’s no doubt that he sees a percentage of these sales on top of the salary he received for writing and starring in the movie. His success at the box office doesn’t end there. Though it’s unclear how much the actor made for his role in A Star Is Born, that movie went on to gross $436.2 million. The Bradley Cooper directed movie performed phenomenally considering its $36 million dollars budget.
Dave Chappelle has become one of the greatest comics of all time due to being massively outspoken and not holding back on his opinions. At the turn of the century in the year 2000, Chappelle finally recorded his first stand up special, Killin’ Them Softly, for HBO, which covered racism, police brutality, and drug use, setting the foundation for the future of Chappelle’s specials. The comedian is highly controversial, as on Chappelle’s Show there were many sketches that made light of the OJ Simpson Trial, the Rodney King Beatings, and the LA Riots.
Chappelle even went on to say that he wished North Korea would bomb Hartford as he was heckled there during a performance.
As well as being controversial he is known for his comedy discussing political and social events, even going on to win an Emmy Award in 2016 for guest hosting the episode of Saturday Night Live, which was on the weekend of Donald Trump winning the presidential election. The fifth installment of his deal with Netflix, Sticks & Stones, was highly controversial as he had made offensive jokes about the LGBT community and the victims of R. Kelly and Michael Jackson.
Sticks & Stones became infamous as it made the rounds for getting a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregate site that collects scores from critics, but that arguably drew more attention to the stand up special as people watched it just to see how bad it was. As of now however it has jumped up to 35%.
Summing-Up
Chappelle has reached rockstar status with his punk attitude towards stand up comedy. Chappelle even has his own official day in Washington D.C., being October 27th, the day the Mark Twain ceremony was held in which the comedian was honored by the likes of Jon Stewart, Tiffany Haddish, Aziz Ansari, John Legend, Eddie Murphy, and the head of SNL, Lorn Michaels, to name a few.
Thanks to his outlandish remarks, his ability to make light of catastrophic events, and negotiating unprecedented salaries in the world of comedy, Dave Chapelle now has an estimated net worth of $40 million.
