Jeff Dunham Net Worth 2024

What is Jeff Dunham’s net worth and wage?

Jeff Dunham is an American ventriloquist and comedian who has a net worth of $140 million. Jeff Dunham is constantly one of many highest-paid comedians on the earth, raking in wherever from $15 – 30 million per 12 months. Dunham has appeared on quite a lot of tv reveals together with “Late Show with David Letterman,” “Comedy Central Presents,” “The Tonight Show,” “Sonny With a Chance,” and his personal, “The Jeff Dunham Show.” Dunham is constantly one of many top-grossing standup acts in North America. Dunham has largely revived the artwork of ventriloquism. He’s carried out extra to advertise the artwork kind than anybody since Edgar Bergen.

Early Life

Jeff Dunham was born in Dallas, Texas on April 18, 1962. He was adopted at three months outdated by Howard and Joyce Dunham. He was raised in a devoutly Presbyterian residence. He began experimenting with ventriloquism in 1970, when he was eight years outdated and acquired a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas. The subsequent day, Dunham checked a how-to e book on ventriloquism out of the library and the remaining is historical past. By the time he was within the fourth grade, Dunham needed to not solely be knowledgeable ventriloquist, he needed to be the most effective one ever. He practiced in entrance of the mirror for hours, studied the routines of ventriloquist Edgar Bergan, and poured over a how-to file on the topic.

In sixth grade, Dunham started attending the annual worldwide ventriloquists’ conference in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky known as the Vent Haven ConVENTion.  Since that point, Dunham has solely missed one ConVENTion, in 1977. Dunham started performing in entrance of audiences as a teen in school, church, and at his job on the amusement park Six Flags. He made his tv debut in 1976. Dunham did commercials for automotive dealerships in Dallas whereas nonetheless in highschool. He graduated from highschool in 1980 and was voted Most Likely to Succeed. He set a purpose of reserving an look on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” inside 10 years.

Dunham enrolled at Baylor University to review communications. At the identical time, he was flying across the nation on weekends doing 100 personal reveals a 12 months. By his junior 12 months in college in 1983-84, he was making $70,000 a 12 months.

Career

In 1985 he landed a component in a Broadway selection present that featured Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller. This present would show to be a giant break for the younger comedian. In the late Nineteen Eighties, he moved to Los Angeles. In 1988 he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, attaining a lifelong purpose. Throughout the 90s, Jeff was a reasonably profitable touring comedian. It was his 2003 Comedy Central particular that turned Jeff right into a celebrity. He went on to seem in tv reveals reminiscent of Blue Collar TV, Good Morning America, Hollywood Squares and others, together with his personal one-hour specials, Jeff Dunham: Arguing With Myself, (2006) Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity (2007) and Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special (2008). His Christmas particular introduced within the highest scores within the historical past of Comedy Central.

In 2009, Dunham lower a cope with Comedy Central, giving him an opportunity to air his fourth particular, do a tour of sixty cities, achieve a partnership in client merchandise, and an order for the “Jeff Dunham Show” tv sequence (which premiered on October 22, 2009), in addition to DVDs. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central historical past, and better common scores than different reveals on that community initially, “The Jeff Dunham” present was canceled after just one season on account of poor opinions, low scores, and better manufacturing prices than different Comedy Central reveals.

His fourth particular, “Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos,” premiered on Comedy Central on September 25, 2011. His fifth particular, “Minding the Monsters” premiered on October 7, 2012. “Achmed Saved America,” an animated movie, premiered in March 2014 on CMT.  His sixth particular, “All Over the Map,” premiered on November 16, 2014 on Comedy Central. For his seventh particular, “Unhinged in Hollywood,” Dunham moved from Comedy Central to NBC. It premiered on September 17, 2015. Since, he has launched the specials “Relative Disaster” (2017), “Beside Himself” (2019), “Completely Unrehearsed Last-Minute Pandemic Holiday Special” (2020), and “Me The People” (2022). Also in 2022, Dunham competed in season eight of “The Masked Singer” as Pi-Rat and was eradicated on “Vegas Night.”

Dunham’s characters embrace Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalapeno on a stick, Bubba J, Sweet Daddy Dee, Melvin the Superhero Guy, Little Jeff, Achmed Junior, Diane, and Seamus.

Dunham has written two books. “Dear Walter” got here out in 2003 and was written with Walter Cummings. His autobiography, “All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me,” was printed in 2010.

Personal Life

Dunham met his first spouse, Paige Brown, on the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach in 1992. They obtained married in 1994 and he adopted Paige’s one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Bree. They went on to have two daughters Ashlyn (1995) and Kenna (1997). Dunham was on the highway performing continuously and this put a pressure on their marriage. In November 2008, he filed for divorce.

In mid-2009, Dunham started courting Audrey Murdick, a nutritionist, private coach, and bodybuilding competitor. They obtained engaged on Christmas Day 2011 and married on October 12, 2012. In October 2015, she gave delivery to their twin sons, James Jeffrey and Jack Steven.

In addition to performing with one on stage, Dunham restores vintage ones in his spare time. He additionally has an curiosity in helicopters that has carried over from childhood, and he builds and flies his personal kits.

Salary Highlights

In 2011 he earned $20 million. In 2012 he introduced in $22 million. In 2013, he earned $19 million.  Between June 2017 and June 2018, Jeff earned $17 million. He has offered over 10 million DVDs and has earned tens of tens of millions of {dollars} from merchandise gross sales.

Real Estate

Dunham offered his Mediterranean type Encino, California, residence for $4.1 million in December 2017. The residence has 5 bedrooms, six-and-a-half bogs and is 6,522 sq. feet. He initially listed it in 2015 for $5.199 million. He purchased the house in 2009 for $4.25 million.

Dunham additionally offered a Del Mar, California, seaside view residence in 2017. Built-in 2007, the three-story, 6,423-square-foot Mediterranean type residence has 5 bedrooms, six bogs, and two half baths. He listed the property in 2011 for $8.75 million. It lastly offered in 2017 for $5.5 million.