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Dave Chappelle is one of the biggest names in comedy and has been a prominent figure on the entertainment platform for decades. His comedic career began early on in his life when he studied Theatre Arts in high school. Innately knowing that this was his calling, Chappelle continued to build and develop his comedic content and opted against attending college so that he could pursue his dream in standup comedy. The Sun reports that immediately upon making his film debut in 1993 with Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Chappelle knew the spotlight is where he belonged, and he continued to develop his brand of unique, uninhibited comedy, laughing his way all the way to an astounding net worth of $50 million.
A Passion For Making People Laugh
With a genuine passion for making people laugh and the true desire to do so at every opportunity, Chappelle launched his very own standup show on Comedy Central in 2003 and appropriately called it Chappelle's Show. His signature pattern for the show involved a standup routine that was peppered with some sketch comedy and then ended with a bang with a highlighting musical performance.
He quickly became known for his ability to single-handedly craft and deliver comedic performances that captivated his audiences, and he maintained their attention by tethering on the edge of very controversial material.
Following His Heart
Dave Chappelle is credited for always following his heart and for realizing not just when to dive into projects but also knowing the right time to bail out of them, too.
After penning a $55 million deal with Viacom, he abruptly decided to abandon The Chappelle Show, citing that his heart wasn't in it, as his true love was hinged on being on the standup comedy stage. Distractify reports that he was working 20 hours days and the high ratings and huge popularity of the show made him a slave to his job, which is not how he wanted to conduct the pace of his life.
His abrupt departure was a huge financial hit to his family, but Chappelle was in search of a work/life balance, and that meant more to him than money in the bank. Following his heart proved to be one of the best career decisions he had ever made.
Clinching The Big Deals
Proving that he commanded his own career path and still had what it took to generate millions with his comedic contributions, Chappelle clinched a massive deal with Netflix that would see him earning major dollars. In an effort to see his dreams through and keep a grip on his schedule, Chappelle penned a deal that included six standup specials that would be curated for Netflix and wound up earning $60 million from the first three that were released in 2017.
The Age of Spin, Deep In the Heart of Texas, Equanimit, The Bird Revelation, Sticks & Stones, and The Closer have each earned Chappelle $20 million apiece and have quickly become the largest contributions to Chappelle's overall net worth.
Choosing A Variety Of Projects
As his career progressed, Dave Chappelle proved to be as cunning as he is comedic, and he brilliantly learned the art of diversification. Opting not to put all his eggs into his standup comedy basket, the star made sure to maintain a wide variety of income streams that continued generating money for him in different ways.
He stepped in as the host of Saturday Night Live and even went on to win an Emmy award for his performance.
Chappelle also boasts a number of other television credits, including Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee and appearances in 14 episodes of Buddies. He has also released a series of comedy albums which have generated impressive revenue for Chappelle.
He has also appeared opposite Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born and has both produced and acted in Half Baked, adding even more earnings to his already huge fortune and 'actor' to his resume.
Making Waves And Staying On Top Of His Game
The most recent earnings from his Netflix special The Closer have come with a whole lot of drama and controversy. Chappelle has admitted numerous times that part of his role as a successful comedian stems from his ability to drudge up some unpleasant, controversial topics and make light of them in admittedly inappropriate ways.
His no-nonsense, sometimes crass approach to trigger topics that are hot in the mainstream culture has gotten Chappelle into a whole lot of hot water, yet he never seems to get burned.
During his latest release, Chappelle touched on some conversations surrounding the trans-gender community, and they were not at all well received by that group. His words were offensive to many, and as a form of retaliation for what has been deemed as his 'tone deaf' and 'hurtful' messaging, fans called for Chappelle's cancelation, drawing on the power of cancel culture to silence his 'offensive' views.
Instead of showing fear, Chappelle has laughed in the face of cancel culture, thanking his haters and trolls for keeping his name trending and earning. The attention he received over his comedic material has taken him to the top of the headlines again, and love him or hate him, Chappelle continues to find ways to stay current, stay trending, and of course... to stay earning more millions, as well.
Sources: The Sun, Distractify, The Success Bug
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