When Seinfeld concluded back in the 90s, there was no doubt that the show had been perhaps the most successful TV sitcoms of all time. However, it was expected that there would be more shows that would emerge just as successful, if not more. But, that has clearly not been the case. Even in 2019, audiences around the world can’t seem to forget the name, and hence, they also can’t seem to forget Jerry Seinfeld.
Extremely Successful
Even while it was still on the air, Jerry Seinfeld, who co-created the show as well as acted in it, was earning a lot of money through it, sometimes even higher than a million dollars for every episode that was made.
However, if you thought that this extremely lucrative income stream had ended for Jerry when the show ended, you clearly did not take into consideration all the earnings that were to come his way in the years to come, mostly from syndication rights and other extremely profitable streams.
Through Syndication
When a show is as popular as Seinfeld, it does not run just once on television. Other channels around the world also want to broadcast the show, which obviously comes at a price that is charged by the show’s creators. Even now, the show can most likely be seen on some channel in some part of the world, albeit possibly translated into the local language.
Through all of this, the show has reportedly managed to earn approximately $3.1 billion through the sale of syndication rights as of 2018, which includes the payments that have been made by cable channels amounting to somewhere around $379 million. At the peak of its demand for reruns, the show had charged a price of around $5 million for every episode.
How Much Does Jerry Get Out Of This Massive Fortune?
We’re not sure how much of those billions have gone into Jerry’s pockets, but we can certainly say for sure that, as co-creator of the show, he is getting a decent part of it. The latest estimates of his net worth have valued him at around $950 million dollars, which makes him richer than many other Hollywood celebrities.
And Jerry is becoming even richer with each passing day thanks to the ongoing demand for Seinfeld on streaming platforms. A deal signed with Hulu, which is a popular streaming service, has brought an additional $160 million to the show, and obviously, some of it has obviously gone into Jerry’s bank.
But perhaps a better analysis of how much Jerry is still taking home years after Seinfeld ended can be made by the fact that the comedian received a total of $36 million in payments in the year 2015 alone, which is just as much as the annual salary commanded by some of the top-paid players in basketball, baseball, or football around the world.
Considering the fact that he is earning all of this money without making any additional effort in the show is phenomenal, and allows him to focus on other creative projects without having to worry about his finances in the slightest.