How Much Does Jimmy Kimmel Make for Hosting the Oscars
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He went from "Win Ben Stein’s Money" to Oscars' host with most.
Jimmy Kimmel’s net worth and his journey to build it is the stuff dreams are made of. He started off as a comedian on cable before landing his own long-running late-night show on ABC. He now holds the distinction of being the longest-running current late-night talk show host, after Conan O’Brien retired in 2021.
The comedian is now headed to his third stint hosting the Oscars on March 12, 2023—a distinction few have reached. With all these accomplishments and Jimmy Kimmel Live! turning 20 this year, we need to know how much this funny guy makes!
Here is all you need to know about Jimmy Kimmel’s net worth.
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How did Jimmy Kimmel become famous?
Jimmy Kimmel worked incredibly hard to get where he is. He started off working in radio back in high school, hosting a Sunday night interview show at a local college station. By 1989, he had found his first paying radio job, as a morning drive co-host alongside Kent Voss of The Me and Him Show at KZOK-FM in Seattle, however, the pair were fired around 10 months later when several stunts they performed resulted in a loss of $8,000 worth of advertising.
The pair were fired again a year later from WRBQ-FM in Tampa. Kimmel found a gig hosting his own show at KCMJ in Palm Springs, California and actually recruited as an intern fellow future-prolific host Carson Daly, who was a family friend. He eventually landed a five year position as “Jimmy The Sports Guy” at KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, during which time he met and befriended fellow comedian and future collaborator Adam Carolla.
Despite initially having no interest in appearing on television, and turning down several offers to do so, in 1997 Kimmel took his first on-camera role as the comedic relief to Ben Stein’s straight man on the Comedy Central game show Win Ben Stein’s Money. This hosting gig put Kimmel on the map, even earning him an Emmy in 1999. That same year, he and Carolla launched Comedy Central’s The Man Show, which, while it did not age incredibly well, was successful enough to allow the two comedians along with Daniel Kellison to launch Jackhole Productions.
In January 2003, Kimmel had earned enough clout to leave The Man Show when he was offered the opportunity to host his own late-night talk show on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel Live! This hosting gig has since made Kimmel a household name and one of the biggest stars in late-night TV.
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What is Jimmy Kimmel's net worth in 2023?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, in 2023 Jimmy Kimmel has a net worth of $50 million. He has earned this money through his work as a comedian, television host/talk show host, actor/voice actor, screenwriter and film and TV producer. However, the majority of this money came from his long-time hosting gig on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
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How much does Jimmy Kimmel make?
It has been reported that Jimmy Kimmel makes $15 million annually as the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! which is reportedly the same that fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert makes at CBS and just under the $16 million salary Jimmy Fallon earns at NBC’s The Tonight Show.
When it comes to how much he makes for hosting the Oscars, Kimmel has been outspoken about the rate. When Wanda Sykes, who co-hosted the Oscars last year in 2022, appeared on Kimmel’s talk show, the two discussed the salary, with Sykes saying, “I was really excited about [hosting], but then I realized that out of all the jobs that I have, this one is actually gonna cost me money.” Kimmel responded with a follow-up question, “It is going to cost you money—will you say how much you get paid for this?”
With Sykes joking, “I don’t even know; it’s, like, scale probably”—referring to SAG-AFTRA scale pay, the minimum the union members can be paid. Kimmel then revealed his own salary for the gig. “It’s less than that. I got paid $15,000 to host the Oscars. And there’s one of me! You guys will probably have to split that.”
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How much does Jimmy Kimmel make per show?
With a salary of $15 million a year to host Jimmy Kimmel Live! and around 170 episodes airing in the average season, Jimmy Kimmel makes about $88,235.30 per show. Of course, this is before any bonuses, royalties and the like.
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How much does Jimmy Kimmel make per episode?
It has been reported that Jimmy Kimmel earns $15 million a year as the host of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! As the average season typically has around 170 episodes, this would come to around $88,235.30 per episode. However, this does not take into account any bonuses or royalties the talk show host may receive throughout the season.
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How much does Jimmy Kimmel make in a year?
It has been estimated that Jimmy Kimmel earns around $24 million per year. This number takes into account a $3 million bonus from ABC that Kimmel reportedly earns in addition to his $15 million salary for hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the network. As Kimmel likely earns additional income from other projects, this amount would make sense, though it may vary year to year depending on the number of projects he undertakes and their respective successes.
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How much did Jimmy Kimmel pay for a bowl game?
Jimmy Kimmel and SoFi stadium entered into a multi-year partnership in 2021 to appoint the talk show host as the official naming rights partner of the LA Bowl.
At the time, Kimmel had this to say about the feat, “There are few American traditions more exciting than a college football bowl game—the tradition, the pageantry and most significantly the sponsor names. There are so many memorable colorful names —the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl, the Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl, the LendingTree Bowl, the Cheez-It Bowl. The list goes on and on. And ever since I was 52, which was last year, I have dreamed of having a college football bowl game named after me. And tonight I am thrilled to announce that dream is finally coming true.”
It is not known how much the comedian paid to earn the honor. For reference, in 2018 Elk Grove Village in Illinois paid $300,000 to name the Bahamas Bowl the “Makers Wanted” Bahamas Bowl as that is the marketing slogan of the village. As a result, we can imagine Kimmel paid a similar amount or had a different type of deal negotiated to make this change.
