His Twitter bio reads:
“My name is Kevin Hart and I WORK HARD!!! That pretty much sums me up!!! Everybody Wants To Be Famous But Nobody Wants To Do The Work”
That hard work paid off for the actor in 2019 as he overtook Jerry Seinfeld and earned the top spot on Forbes’ list of highest earning stand-up comedians.
Despite negative publicity over past homophobic tweets and stepping down as host of the Oscars, Hart had a successful year.
When you add his sponsorships with Mountain Dew and Chase, a Netflix special and a global stadium tour, Hart earned $59 million from June 1, 2018 to June 1, 2019. This is the second time he has topped the list, the first being in 2016.
Yesterday, he posted a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #TheseAreTheMomentsThatMakeMeWorkHarderAndWantMore
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Seinfeld’s TV show might have been about nothing, but his stand-up shows are really something. Seinfeld finished in second place, earning $41 million. Forbes says that’s “a touch from last year $57.5 million, having not delivered a special for Netflix this year.”
The top 10 comics brought in $272 million, down $20 million from 2018. Forbes says part of that is because Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and other heavy hitters laid low this year.
New to the list is “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah, who comes in at No. 4 with $28 million. Normally, he would appear on different list, but Forbes states the bulk of Noah’s money came from his stand-up act, which made him eligible for this list.
All earnings estimates are from June 1, 2018, through June 1, 2019, Forbes said. Figures are pretax; fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted. Earnings estimates are based on data from Pollstar Pro as well as interviews with industry insiders.
Here are the highest-earning comedians:
10. Aziz Ansari
Earnings: $13 million
9. Jeff Dunham
Earnings: $15 million
8. Terry Fator
Earnings: $17 million
7. Amy Schumer
Earnings: $21 million
6. Gabriel Iglesias
Earnings: $22 million
5. Sebastian Maniscalco
Earnings: $26 million
4. Trevor Noah
Earnings: $28 million
3. Jim Gaffigan
Earnings: $30 million
2. Jerry Seinfeld
Earnings: $41 million
1. Kevin Hart
Earnings: $59 million
