Uh, Wow, Ken Jeong’s Net Worth Is No Joke
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I don’t know what’s more impressive: making it in Hollywood or making it through med school. Ken Jeong did both. The Masked Singer judge has amassed a substantial amount of dough throughout his impressive career as an award-winning actor, writer, producer, and—yep—doctor. He hasn’t yet reached Mr. Chow levels of wealth (the international drug lord he played in the Hangover franchise, remember?), but from the looks of it, Ken’s bank account is inching closer and closer with each passing day.
So let’s take a closer look at how Ken Jeong has made his fortune, from his comedic roles in hugely successful films like Knocked Up and recurring TV gigs in shows like Bob’s Burgers and Fresh Off the Boat to his work as a judge on The Masked Singer, a job that requires him to look entertained while watching “celebrities” parade about in costumes with haunting names like Grandpa Monster in between getting dragged by Nick Cannon.
Yes, Ken Made Actual Money as a Doctor Before He Became a Hollywood Star
After graduating high school at age 16 (he’s smart), Ken attended Duke University, where he majored in premed. During his sophomore year, he took an acting class just for fun and discovered he loved it. Med school was really when his double life began: By day, he was a student; by night, a rising star in the Raleigh-Durham improv circuit.
Ken was finishing his residency in New Orleans when he won the Big Easy Laff-Off in 1995. NBC president Brandon Tartikoff and The Improv founder Budd Friedman, who judged the competition, urged Ken to move to Los Angeles, so in 1998, Dr. Ken took both of his practices west.
Out in California, Ken worked as a physician of internal medicine at Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills. Not many doctors need a side hustle, considering the average annual salary for an internist is more than $200K, but comedy was his passion. He finally landed his breakout role in Judd Apatow’s 2007 movie, Knocked Up, which grossed $219,922,417 worldwide—a whopping success.
We don’t know the specifics about how much Ken took home for this movie…but hopefully a decent amount! Especially because he officially quit practicing medicine in 2006, the year before Knocked Up came out.
Let’s Discuss Ken’s Hangover Era
As the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time with $467 million in earnings worldwide, The Hangover franchise made Ken a nice sum of money. How much? Well, he was paid a base salary of $5 million for his role in The Hangover Part III—and that was just his base! For one movie!
He’s Also Had Many TV Roles
Let’s see here…Ken had a starring role in Community, which ran for six seasons, and then in 2015, he wrote the pilot for Dr. Ken, a medical comedy that was based on his real-life experience as a doctor. The show, in which Ken not only starred but also served as executive producer, was picked up by ABC and ran for two seasons.
Oh, and I almost forgot to discuss “Kensday”! Ken hosts another singing competition show on FOX called I Can See Your Voice, which launched in the fall of 2020 and airs directly after Masked Singer. (Get it? Instead of Wednesday, it’s officially ~Kensday~ on FOX. Bye.)
I couldn’t track down any specific details about his contracts or salaries for these projects (rude, Hollywood), but it’s television, so it was likely not a bad gig!
What He Earns as a Judge on The Masked Singer
The execs at FOX refuse to share any dirty deets with the internet (again, why!?) but considering that Ken was one of the first judges to sign on, he’s probably being compensated pretty well! And as much as we like to joke about The Masked Singer, the show is a HUGE success. Not only did it literally get nominated for an Emmy (for costume design), but it consistently tops the ratings chart each week. In conclusion, Ken is definitely taking home a sweet paycheck thanks to Masked Singer.
Cool, so What’s Ken’s Total Net Worth?
If Ken Jeong continued his career in medicine, he’d still be a rich man. But his foray into the entertainment industry took him to the next level. His net worth clocks in at $14 million, according to the experts over at Celebrity Net Worth. So, yeah, this is me, pretty much:
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