"Seinfeld" Co-Creators Are America's Wealthiest Comedians

NEW YORK, Aug. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, co-creators of the hit 1990s TV comedy "Seinfeld", are laughing their way to the bank as two of America's wealthiest comedians with personal fortunes of $900 million and $800 million respectively, according to data by Wealth-X, the world's leading ultra high net worth intelligence provider.

Both men significantly increased their fortunes through off-network syndication deals for repeats of the "show about nothing", giving each at least US$400 million in the fifth syndication agreement early this year. Since the show ended in 1998 after a nine-year run on the NBC network, it has netted US$3.1 billion in fees for re-runs on US television channels.

David went on to create and star in "Curb Your Enthusiasm", a critically acclaimed and commercially successful improvised comedy show on HBO, giving him sufficient additional income to pip Seinfeld and claim the top spot on the wealthiest comedians list.

Below are the top five wealthiest comedians in America:

The Wealth-X list includes ultra wealthy comedians who have appeared in movies, stand-up comedy acts, and TV talk shows such as long-running rivals "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on NBC. Letterman has a personal fortune of US$390 million, while Wealth-X estimates Leno's net worth to be US$250 million.

The list also reveals that Adam Sandler (star of films such as "Grown Ups" and the upcoming "Familymoon") is the youngest ultra wealthy funnyman at 46 years old, and Bill Cosby is the oldest at 76. Sandler was just 18 years old in 1984 when "The Cosby Show" first aired in 1984.

To view the complete top 10 list, visit http://www.wealthx.com/articles/2013/%E2%80%9Cseinfeld%E2%80%9D-co-creators-are-america%E2%80%99s-wealthiest-comedians/

About Wealth-X
Wealth-X provides detailed intelligence on ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals globally, defined as those with assets of US$30m and above. The firm's Wealth-X Professional solution is the standard for banking, marketing and not-for-profit professionals working with the ultra affluent. Headquartered in Singapore, Wealth-X has 12 offices around the world. (www.wealthx.com)

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SOURCE Wealth-X