How much is David Spade worth?
| Net Worth: | $60 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | July 22, 1964 (age 58) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m) |
About David Spade
David Spade was born in Birmingham, Michigan but his family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when he was four years old. He was raised there with his two brothers by his mother. Spade, the youngest of his family, remembers being beaten up by the other kids in elementary school a few times a week. Spade’s brother, Andy Spade, is the co-founder of the high-fashion handbag company, Kate Spade. Andy’s wife, Kate Spade, tragically committed suicide in 2018.
Though he was raised in relative poverty, he has climbed the ranks in his acting and comedy career. At the peak of his career, David Spade earned income equal to a salary of $8 million dollars per year. For his role as Russell Dunbar “Rusty” in Rules of Engagement, Spade earned $150,000 per episode. His salary from the show peaked in season 5 (2011), with 24 episodes that season he earned $3.6 million dollars.
For his role as Dennis Finch on the NBC sitcom, Just Shoot Me!, David Spade had peak earnings of $300,000 per episode. For season 7 (1997) which had a total of 24 episodes, Spade’s earnings were $7.2 million dollars.
David Spade financial success has been achieved through his acting career. Spade is well known for his hilarious starring role in Joe Dirt (2001). Not only did Spade star in Joe Dirt, but he also co-wrote the movie with Fred Wolf which earned him even more money from the movie. In September 2003, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
After receiving a Bachelors Degree in business from Arizona State College, David Spade often performed stand up comedy in bars, theaters, clubs and at colleges. One night while performing in Los Angeles, he was noticed by an agent who then cast him in his first movie role, Police Academy 4.
Spade spent his entire pay from Police Academy 4, about $6,000, to buy a Honda Accord. In the 1990s, David Spade wrote sketches for Saturday Night Live and also acted as a cast member, though in his first season, 1975, he only appeared three times. To date, he has had at least 70 roles on SNL and he has portrayed others such as Joan Rivers, Kurt Cobain, Tom Petty, Michael J. Fox and Brad Pitt. He is well known for many skits such as the sarcastic “Hollywood Minute” reporter.
Though Saturday Night Live gave Spade a big start into his career, he left SNL in 1996. He found success acting along side Chris Farley in movies such as, Tommy Boy and Black Sheep. Spade was devastated at the news of Farley’s death in 1997 and did not attend his funeral. Though some speculated he did not attend due to a dispute, Spade insisted that he could not emotionally handle attending the funeral.
Spade has also added to his net worth through appearances in Lost and Found, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, The Benchwarmers, Grown Ups, The Do-Over and Father of the Year. He is even more well respected for his TV work.
From 1997-2003, David Spade played Dennis Finch on the sitcom Just Shoot Me! which is many ways is credited for his initial fame. For his role, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. For the last three seasons of the show, he earned $20.4 million dollars. In total, it is estimated that David Spade earned around $27.5 million dollars from the show.
In addition to his role in the long-running sitcom, Just Shoot Me!, Spade also acted in the sitcoms Rules of Engagement, and Eight Simple Rules. David Spade’s voice work in animation includes Beavis and Butthead, The Rugrats Movie, The Emperor’s New Groove and Griffin the Invisible Man in the Hotel Transylvania series (2012-2018).
David Spade has maintained a good relationship with Adam Sandler since their friendship working on Saturday Night Live together. Spade has acted alongside Sandler and he has also been given roles in movies that he has produced. They have worked together on more than a dozen movies and Spade has earned revenues of over $20 million dollars in his relationship with him.
Beginning in 2005, David Spade hosted a show on Comedy Central called, The Showbiz Show With David Spade. Off the screen, David Spade has found financial success with real estate. He has owned properties in Beverly Hills, Malibu and West Hollywood, California. In 2013 he sold a house in Malibu to Ted Sardanos of Netflix for an estimated $10.3 Million.
Spade’s Total Net Worth
David Spade is estimated to have had career earnings of $95 million dollars. That is, between his appearances in TV series and in film, together with his work as a writer and a producer, but not including his other investments, including real estate.
After moving from Birmingham, Michigan to Scottsdale, Arizona, when he was 4 years old, David finally settled in Los Angeles, California. While the tax rates are far higher in California than in Arizona, the opportunities vastly outweigh the extra costs. In fact, David was spotted by a talent agent while performing at The Improv in Los Angeles, which is how he was cast in the 1987 film Police Academy 4.
While tax rates have fluttered around during David Spade’s career, both in California and more so federally. It is likely that he has paid an overall effective tax rate of around 48% considering the years that he earned the majority of his money and the associated tax rates. As a self-employed individual, he will have been able to deduct his business costs first.
Of his $95 million dollars income, $7-8 million is expected to have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $87.5 million, will have become $49.4 million dollars, having paid $45.6 million dollars in taxes.
While Spade has never been married, he does have a daughter, Harper, with former Playboy Playmate, Jillian Grace. In his personal life, events have been of an even tempo and Spade has kept himself fiscally clear and out of trouble. He has made some donations including $100,000 to the Phoenix Police Department, $200,000 for the Oklahoma tornado relief program and $100,000 to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
In terms of his investments, David Spade has made some well known real estate investments. He is estimated to own some $35 million dollars in real estate, maybe more. He listed a property that he originally purchased for $4 million dollars in 2001 (after renovation) for $19.95 million, in January 2022. He also picked up a $2.3 million dollar property in West Hollywood, California, in 2020. A year later in 2021, he purchased a property in the Hollywood Hills for $13.85 million.
It is also estimated that Spade has invested some of his career earnings into securities, from which he will have likely seen a return. However it seems that a major section of his career earnings he has invested in real estate, given the size of his holdings, it is of course possible that he has not invested in securities at all.
In his personal life David has likely spent $3-4 million dollars of his career earnings, including his donations, but also probably possesses assets valued at around $1-2 million, not including investment assets. In his investments, he may have earned investment returns of $12-14 million dollars. Therefore, it is estimated that David Spade has a net worth of around $60 million dollars.
David Spade once said, “You can either look at things in a brutal, truthful way that’s depressing, or you can screw around and have fun.” Perhaps it was this mindset focusing on positivity that has caused David Spade to have such a successful funny-man career. His success is especially inspiring when you consider the hardships that he has been forced to endure in his life.
As the child of divorced parents, Spade spent much of his time unsupervised while his mom worked many hours to support their family. He and his brothers allegedly owned firearms as children and he remembers spending time playing in the desert and shooting them. Spade’s father left the family and allegedly rarely paid child support. His step-father who helped raise him and his brothers eventually committed suicide.
His hardships did not end as his career took off. In 2000, David Spade’s personal assistant, David Warren “Skippy” Malloy attacked him with a stun gun and tried to rob him while he was sleeping. Malloy was said to be on cocaine at the time of the attack. In line with his positive demeanor, Spade later said that Malloy was a good person in spite of the attack. Though the courts convicted Malloy for his crimes, Spade wished him well and continued on with his comedy work.
What made David Spade so successful is a combination of talent, determination and perseverance. If David Spade had experienced a more comfortable childhood, would he have worked so hard to make a change and find such great success in his life? If he had not been forced to endure such obstacles as a young person, perhaps Spade would not be the comic that we all know his as today.
Summing-Up
David Spade’s quick-witted, sarcastic sense of humor has become a staple of the comedy world and he has maintained a prominent name for decades. His story is a true “rags to riches” story, as he started life with very little and currently is worth an estimated $60 million.
His love of stand-up comedy started when he was very young and when his childhood got rough and his stepdad killed himself, he used it as a means of escapism and forged a career. The good fortune he experienced when he was discovered for SNL and later for his roles in movies and television; was fueled by his talent for making people smile, and enjoy humor in their lives.
