Trevor Noah is a South African comedian, actor, television host, and radio DJ who has a net worth of $100 million. He’s an Emmy award winner, Grammy host, one of the top-earning comedians in the world and probably one of the busiest people in Hollywood. After making a name for himself on the international stand-up comedy circuit, Noah made his big break in America when he was hired to replace Jon Stewart as the host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
Noah got his start as a contributor on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” in 2014. He received his big break when he was hired to replace Stewart as the host of “The Daily Show” in 2015. Although Stewart had earned upward of $25 million per year in host’s seat, Noah’s salary was a “mere” $5 to $8 million, according to Cosmopolitan.
That all changed in September 2017, when Noah signed a contract extension with Viacom, which owns Comedy Central, for a reported $16 million annual salary. His current net worth is estimated to be $100 million.
Before Noah came to the US, he was famous in his home country for his stand-up comedy (and caused his fair share of controversies, too). And although he was unknown by American audiences at first, he soon achieved fame in his new home too: according to Billboard’s Boxscore, he made more than US$14 million from 2013 to 2018, and US$5 million from touring in 2018 alone.
Noah’s bestselling memoir, Born a Crime, was released in 2016 – and quickly caught the eye of filmmakers. He signed a deal with Paramount Players, with actress Lupita Nyong’o being cast to play the role of his mother, Patricia. Variety reported that the book alone was a seven-figure deal. The memoir tells the story of how Noah, whose mum is black and dad is Swiss-German, grew up during South Africa’s apartheid. His parents’ romance was considered a crime under a former law that forbade mixed-race relationships.
Noah continued to bring home the big bucks after he signed a deal with Netflix to air his Afraid of the Dark comedy special. According to Variety, the streaming service went on a comedy shopping spree to bolster its entertainment efforts, and artists could earn between US$10 million to US$20 million for the rights to their shows. One such recipient was Noah, and after the success of Afraid of the Dark, the comedian added Trevor Noah: The Son of Patricia to his Netflix cash cow.
Noah added “podcaster” to his already impressive resume with the release of On Second Thought, a podcast under the subscription service Luminary that features other big name hosts like Lena Dunham and Russell Brand.
Trevor also owns his own production company, Day Zero Productions, which recently partnered with Viacom and has several projects in the works, including a film adaptation “Born a Crime,” starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o. The production company is also set to create a film with Paramount Animation with script writers Jonathan Groff of ABC’s comedy TV series “Black-ish” and Jon Pollack of “Modern Family,” according to Variety.
