David Choe Net Worth

How much is David Choe worth?

About David Choe

David Choe is an American actor, artist, graphic novelist, muralist, and novelist, whose work appears in entertainment contexts and urban culture. He has written and illustrated for magazines such as Hustler, Vice, and Ray Gun, and, apart from his work as an artist, he has a relationship with Giant Robot, one of the leading magazines in the Asian pop culture.

David Choe started to become famous when he appeared on the CNBC episode of The Filthy Rich Guide, in which he displayed his artworks. David was born on April 21, 1976, in Los Angeles, California. He is the first of two children to Jimmy and Jana Choe. He has a younger sister named Erica (Garza). He’s of Korean descent through his parents, Korean immigrants (and born-again Christians) that moved to the United States right after World War II had ended.

Growing up, Choe spent most of his upbringing in the Koreatown borough of Los Angeles. He developed a passion for art when he was ten years old and quickly began spray-painting the streets alongside his friends and fellow students. He dropped out of high school when he was sixteen and decided to pursue a career in painting. Influenced by his parents, he signed up for the California College of Arts and Crafts, however, he dropped out almost immediately. During his early twenties, he spent a year in prison for graffiti.

In 1996, when he was just twenty years old, he self-published his own novel titled Slow Jams. He made only 200 copies and gave them away at Comic-Con in 1998. A year later, he submitting his novel for the publisher Xeric Grant.

The following year, an expanded edition of 1,000 copies was released with a cover price of $5. His first book eventually inspired the creation of a documentary from 2008 titled Dirty Hands: The Art and The Crimes of David Choe.

Perhaps the main reason why David Choe is so wealthy and popular is his work for Facebook and affiliation with its creator Mark Zuckerberg. In 2005, he was allegedly asked by Sean Parker, an internet entrepreneur and longtime fan of Choe, to paint graphic sexual murals on the first Silicon Valley office of Facebook.

Zuckerberg then contacted Choe himself and commissioned him to paint tamer murals for Facebook’s next office. Choe was paid in shares. On the eve of Facebook’s 2012 IPO (initial public offering), the artist’s stock was valued at approximately $200 million.

After his work for the founders of Facebook and the largest social media platform of all time, Choe received offers from many Hollywood celebrities and public figures.

Around the time his documentary premiered, he held his very first New York solo exhibit titled The Gardens of Eden at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in Chelsea. From 1999 to 2010, he has published four renowned books – Slow Jams, Bruised Fruit, Cursiv, and David Choe.

Apart from his own documentary, David Choe has made sporadic appearances on radio and television over the past two decades. First, he appeared in the documentaries The Vice Guide To Travel, Abraham Obama, and Anthon Bourdain: Parts Unknown and then made his acting debut in the 2014 series Vice.

As for himself, he has been a guest on many realities and talk shows like The Joe Rogan Experience, Ugly Delicious, LA Originals, Violent Blue, and The Reagents. His latest acting roles were in the acclaimed series Better Things and The Mandalorian.

Summing-Up

There are many painters in the world but not all of them are able to triumph in just one decade. David Choe is one of the artists that quickly left his mark with his imaginative and captivating artworks. Among some of his most notable works are Untitled, Toxic LA Sunsets and The Dirty Moon, Driving Home Alone, and Dobeki to name a few.

Ever since he left school and began his career in the early 2000s, thanks to his affiliation with Facebook, his stints as an actor and author, and most notably his world-renowned works, Choe was able to earn hundreds of millions.