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Jerry Seinfeld became a household name when NBC premiered the infamous show about nothing, Seinfeld. Since then, he has built an illustrious career and a bank account to match it. Between syndication rights, his television deals, and a lucrative standup career, his bank account is in no danger of an overdraft fee. According to several sources, Jerry Seinfeld isn’t yet a billionaire, but he’s deliciously close to joining the 2,640 billionaires in the world. So, how exactly has he made so much money? 

‘Seinfeld’ remains Jerry Seinfeld’s biggest moneymaker 

In 1989, Jerry Seinfeld was already a seasoned standup but wasn’t a television star. In fact, NBC took a chance on his show by ordering five episodes for the show’s first season. To see how audiences reacted to the series, NBC parted with $20,000 per episode. In total, he made about $100,000 for season 1. By the time season 9, the show’s final season, aired, he earned $1 million per episode. 

When the series aired its finale, Seinfeld wasn’t done getting paid. According to several sources, Seinfeld and Larry David penned a lucrative syndication deal, which ensured they received a percentage of all syndication. According to Cosmopolitan, those syndication rights have netted Seinfeld around $50 million a year, and the checks probably recently got larger. Netflix purchased the rights to stream the infamous comedy for $500 million. While we don’t know how much Seinfeld earned in the deal, it’s safe to speculate that around $50 million went to the legendary comedian. 

Seinfeld isn’t Jerry Seinfeld’s only source of income 

While the famed standup comedian certainly takes home a nice chunk of change through passive income for Seinfeld, it is far from his only paycheck. Since the end of the series in 1998, he has worked on several other large projects and hit the road for mostly sold-out standup shows. There has been a lucrative talk show, too. 

Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer, Jason Alexander as George Costanza, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes, Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld in a promotional photo for 'Seinfeld'
The cast of ‘Seinfeld’ | Andrew Eccles/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
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Forbes estimates that Seinfeld likely penned a separate deal with Netflix for Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and three standup specials worth at least $60 million. The publication also theorizes that Seinfeld is receiving additional compensation from Netflix for his past Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee catalog. While the deal didn’t make Jerry Seinfeld a billionaire, it brought him closer to the milestone. 

Seinfeld has also made money from endorsements, sponsorships, and ad campaigns. There is his massive car collection, an asset worth millions, and real estate holdings. Jerry Seinfeld is reportedly worth $950 million, so he’s not quite a billionaire, but he’s getting there. We’ll be sure to update you when he hits the major milestone. 

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