We reveal jaw-dropping wealth of top-earning comedians from Ricky Gervais to Peter Kay, Jimmy Carr and Miranda Hart
Top funny men make more money than the majority of popstars
COMEDIANS are laughing all the way to the bank.
Peter Kay’s two companies amassed £28million in the year to March, figures showed this week. A source said: “He easily makes more than the vast majority of pop stars.” Here we reveal the estimated fortunes of our top-earning comics – and shares jokes that helped them get rich.
Ricky Gervais
£55m
THE Office was sold to more than 80 countries and he gets big bucks for Hollywood films. But not all the show stars wasn’t are so lucky as Ricky as we revealed this month, co-star Ewen Mackintosh declared himself bankrupt.
Home: Last year Ricky, 55, bought a £10.5million mansion in Hampstead, North London. Also has home in Marlow, Bucks, and two New York flats.
Where there’s a will there’s a relative
Peter Kay
£45m
HIS 2010-11 tour is the most successful by a stand-up ever, playing to 1.2million Brits. Peter Kay has sold more than 10million DVDs.
Home: The 43-year-old still lives in hometown Bolton. When on his huge tour he splurged on a helicopter to get him back there each night.
A sandwich walks into a bar. The barman says, ‘Sorry, we don’t serve food in here’
Michael McIntyre
£21m
HIS 2008 DVD is fastest-selling debut stand-up DVD. Tours are sell-outs. Michael, 40, reportedly earned £21million for a ten-night stint in London in 2012, although this was heavily taxed.
Home: A £2.5million house in Wilts, above, and a £3.2million pad in Hampstead, London.
A good book is called a page turner. Surely that’s the minimum you expect from a book
Jimmy Carr
£12m
MORE than 1.5million Brits have seen Jimmy Carr on tour and he hosts hit TV shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats. In 2012 it was revealed Jimmy, 44, had £3.3million in a Jersey tax avoidance scheme.
Home: Bought Edwardian pad in Primrose Hill, North London, above, for £10million in 2010.
Scientists have shown cigarettes can harm your kids. Fair enough. Use an ash tray
John Bishop
£6.3m
MADE his fortune with sold-out stadium tours. His 2014 autobiography was a best-seller.
Home: John, 50, above with the Duchess of Cambridge, has a £2.25million, ten-bed mansion in rural Cheshire which is surrounded by 24 acres of landscaped lawns.
Being an England fan is like being the over-optimistic parents of the fat kid on sports day
Jack Dee
£5.2m
A REGULAR on TV and radio, Jack, 55, also has a production company making shows including Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and Alan Carr: Chatty Man.
Home: A £4.25million house in Wandsworth, South West London, above, and a seaside retreat in West Sussex.
The film industry is like Anne Robinson. Always on the lookout for a new face
Miranda Hart
£5m
ON top of three series of her own sitcom, Miranda Hart also starred in Call The Midwife. She has had a sell-out tour, two top-selling memoirs and made her Hollywood debut last year in movie Spy.
Home: The 43-year-old lives in a £1.85million house in Hammersmith, West London.
Manicures: Basically just holding hands with a stranger for 45 minutes whilst listening to Enya
Kevin Bridges
£4.2m
SOLD 45,000 tickets in one day to tour dates in his home town Glasgow in 2012. His bank balance has been boosted by strong DVD sales.
Home: Kevin, 30, sold his seven-bedroom townhouse in Glasgow, above, for £1.2million earlier this year – making a £230,000 profit.
‘Give me £1, or you’re getting stabbed.’ I thought, ‘Quite reasonable’
Russell Howard
£4m
SELL-OUT tours, DVD sales and BBC2’s Russell Howard’s Good News, regularly iPlayer’s most-viewed show.
This week signed a two-year deal to write and star in a new 14-part entertainment series for Sky1.
Home: Russell, 36, lives in London with his medic girlfriend.
When you’re three, you’re into custard and jumping.
Jack Whitehall
£1.3m
POSH 28-year-old’s hit TV shows include Fresh Meat, Bad Education, Backchat and Sky1 smash hit A League of Their Own.
Home: Jack, above with girlfriend Gemma Chan, bought a £2.6million apartment in Westbourne Grove, West London, in 2012.
I enjoy staring intensely at strangers whilst I eat bananas