Larry David, one of America’s most successful comedians, is the type of guy you would want to win arguments on your behalf. The notoriously particular New Yorker has no shortage of quips, comebacks, and concerns surrounding everyday life.
Here he is doing just that during a skit on Late Night with Seth Meyers that poses the question, “What If Everyone Had Their Own Larry David?”
At this point, David is a television institution. The Curb Your Enthusiasm mastermind and co-creator of Seinfeld has shown no signs of stopping over the course of his 45-year career. Spending that much time in the entertainment industry is a rarity, though, and with that kind of longevity, another question must be asked: how much is Larry David worth?
As of July 2021 the actor, writer, and stand-comedian is worth around $500 million. That’s “prett-ay-prett-ay-prett-ay” good for the seemingly ageless entertainer.
Seriously, the guy doesn’t age. Take this short quiz and find out for yourself.
Looking at where his fortune comes from, a large chunk is drawn from comedy, specifically his television ventures surrounding Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld.
When Seinfeld first aired, Larry and Jerry (Seinfeld) held about 7.5% of the show’s back end points. If you don’t know what that means, you’re not alone. Check out this quick article from The Hollywood Reporter explaining everything you need to know about how television shows make money.
In the mid-90s, the pair renegotiated their ownership deal to about 15%, and that was only the beginning.
Essentially, royalties are dulled out to the people connected with a show when it airs as a rerun, appears on video/streaming, or is sold into syndication, which is where the big money is at. If a show becomes syndicated, it runs on television networks outside of the one it originally aired on and starts printing money like it’s going out of style.
When Seinfeld was syndicated in 1998 for $1.7 billion dollars⏤yes, billion with a “B”⏤Larry and Jerry made around $250 million each in that year alone.
Recently, even more revenue has been generated for Seinfeld’s stars because of streaming services buying the rights to stream the “show about nothing” on their platforms for hundreds of millions of dollars. People can’t seem to get enough of it.
In 2015, Hulu bought the rights to stream Seinfeld for $180 million dollars, with David pocketing around $80 million off of that purchase alone. Now Netflix has procured the show for a whopping $500 million dollars. It’s set to premiere on October 1st, and you can watch the trailer here:
If nothing else, Larry David is a model for comedic success in Hollywood. He’s stayed true to his own quirks and personality and used them as a way to stand out from the crowd. To that we can do nothing but tip our hats and hope that he continues to make us laugh for years to come.