World's highest-paid comedian made $81 million, had no box office hit but out-earned Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman, Brad Pitt

The world's highest-paid comedian made $81 million in 2024 and replaced Jerry Seinfeld from the throne after several years.

Updated on: Mar 17, 2025, 16:54:46 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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Earlier this month, when Forbes magazine released its annual list of highest-paid actors, Dwayne Johnson topped it quite unsurprisingly. The wrestler-turned-actor had a bumper year with two big releases - Moana 2 and Red One. Most of the other stars in the top 10 had big releases behind them, barring Jerry Seinfeld, who maintained his top 10 spot courtesy of royalties from his iconic show. Yet, the comedy veteran lost his spot as the world's highest-paid comedian to a junior - who himself had little success at the box office, and yet earned $81 million in 2024. (Also read: World's highest-paid actress is 57 years old, made $41 million to beat Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Scarlett Johansson, Gal)

The world's highest-paid comedian

Kevin Hart earned $81 million net ($108 million gross) to end up as the highest-paid comedian in 2024. In the overall list of all actors, Hart stood at number 3, behind only Dwayne Johnson ($88 million) and Ryan Reynolds ($83 million). Surprisingly, he was ahead of Jerry Seinfeld in number 4, who earned $60 million, largely on the back of Seinfeld and Unfrosted.

Kevin Hart jokes with Shaq's OGs head coach Shaquille O'Neal at the NBA All-Star basketball game in San Francisco, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP) (AP)

Kevin Hart's most successful year (monetarily) earned him more money than even Hollywood icons and superstars like Tom Cruise ($15 million), Hugh Jackman ($50 million), Brad Pitt ($32 million), and George Clooney ($31 million).

How did Kevin Hart make his millions

Hart relied on diversity, the hallmark of any good investment portfolio. In his citation, Forbes noted that 'nobody had a more diversified entertainment slate in 2024 than Hart'. In 2024, he "starred in a theatrical release (Borderlands), a Netflix film (Lift), an Amazon Prime movie (Die Hart 2: Die Harter), a series on The Roku Channel (Die Hart season three), a series on Peacock (Fight Night), the roast of Tom Brady on Netflix, a weekly podcast for Spotify (Gold Minds), not to mention 90 stand-up comedy shows."

The comedian also earned through endorsements, in addition to these $81 million earnings from just entertainment work. As Forbes succinctly put it: "you basically can't turn on any screen without seeing the 45-year-old comedian."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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