Comedian John Mulaney has had a lot on his mind recently–and he’s spilling all the details in his comedy shows. A former Comedy Central and Saturday Night Live staff writer, John Mulaney’s net worth and fame skyrocketed after the release of his first two Netflix specials: 2015’s The Comeback Kid and 2018’s Kid Gorgeous. He repeated that success with the release of his third Netflix special, John Mulaney: Baby J., in 2023.
John Mulaney was born on August 26, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois, and spent the majority of his youth perfecting his improv and joke-writing skills. Mulaney attended Georgetown where he majored in English before moving to New York City in 2004 to pursue a career in comedy. He spent much of his early career working for big-name comedy institutions like Comedy Central and Saturday Night Live; and found moderate success as a writer and comedian. But it wasn’t until he scored his first hour-long comedy special with Netflix in 2015 that John Mulaney became a household name. Curious how John Mulaney’s net worth compares to other comedy legends? Read to find out.
What is John Mulaney’s net worth?
What is John Mulaney’s net worth? John Mulaney’s net worth is estimated to be around $10 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Mulaney’s star began to rise after he joined the writing staff of Saturday Night Live in 2008, where he received several Emmy Award nominations and his first Emmy win for co-writing the Justin Timberlake monologue with Seth Meyers and Justin Timberlake. During his four season run on Saturday Night Live, Mulaney helped create iconic characters like Bill Hader’s recurring Weekend Update character “Stefon,” among others. According to Celebrity Net Worth, first-year cast members and writers earn around $7,000 per episode, which averages around $147,000 for a typical 21-episode season.
During his time working as a writer on Saturday Night Live, Mulaney released a stand-up comedy album called The Top Part and a stand-up comedy special titled New in Town, which premiered on Comedy Central in 2023 and is now streaming on Netflix. And he’s since returned to host Saturday Night Live five times, making him an official member of Saturday Night Live’s coveted Five Timers Club.
After leaving Saturday Night Live, Mulaney went on to write for a variety of television shows, including Important Things with Demetri Martin, Documentary Now! with Saturday Night Live alum Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers; Oh, Hello on Broadway with fellow comedian and Georgetown University alum Nick Kroll; and the Comedy Central Roast of James Franco. He acted in a few small roles on television shows like Crashing, Portlandia, and Difficult People; and went on to land a self-titled sitcom on FOX, which was canceled in 2015 after one season.
He continued his road to fame with the release of his first two Netflix comedy specials: 2015’s The Comeback Kid and 2018’s Kid Gorgeous; as well as his 2019 children’s musical comedy special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch. He’s also worked as a voice actor for animated projects like Disney’s reboot of Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which grossed $190.2 million in the United States. And his newest comedy special John Mulaney: Baby J. premiered on Netflix in 2023.
How much does John Mulaney make from his comedy shows?
How much money does John Mulaney make from his comedy shows? Like most popular comedians, a good deal of John Mulaney’s net worth can be attributed to the revenue he makes from his live comedy show tours. According to a 2021 report by Pollstar, John Mulaney makes an average of $119,645 per show while he’s on tour. And while most comedians are reported to earn anywhere from $3 million to 10 million per special from Netflix, according to a 2017 report by Variety, the financial details surrounding Mulaney’s multi-special deal with Netflix still remain a mystery.
Mulaney has had a long working relationship with Netflix, which is likely why the financial details of his deal with the streaming service are kept private. Although there’s not a lot of information about how much money Netflix had paid John Mulaney over the years; it’s likely that his work with Netflix is his most profitable partnership to date. “I’ve been very, very fortunate that doing specials and making albums has allowed me to do more and more stand-up,” Mulaney told The Ringer in 2019. “I did not think that was something you could do.”
Mulaney partnered with Netflix for Comeback Kid and Kid Gorgeous at Radio City, which won him his second Emmy for his comedy writing. Mulaney has worked as a voice actor on the Netflix animated series Big Mouth since 2017. He also worked with Netflix to create a children’s musical comedy special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (2019). His latest special John Mulaney: Baby J. is his first major Netflix special since leaving rehab in 2021.
How much was John Mulaney’s divorce settlement from Anna Marie Tendler?
How much did John Mulaney’s divorce from Anna Marie Tendler cost? Not much is known about how much John Mulaney’s divorce settlement cost or the details of the couple’s division of assets. The two were married in July 2014, and did not have any children together. It’s unclear whether the two had a prenup before Mulaney officially filed for divorce in July 2021. The pair kept the financial details of their separation out of the press. However, the details of their marital problems were made very public shortly after their separation.
Mulaney’s personal life first became the topic of conversation in December 2020, when he announced he was seeking treatment for alcoholism and cocaine addiction after a decade of sobriety. Following an intervention, Mulaney checked himself into a 60-day program at a rehab facility in Pennsylvania. After completing his out-patient program, Mulaney announced in May 2021 that he and his wife—artist Anna Marie Tendler—were separating after six years of marriage. It was just a few days later that rumors began to circulate that Mulaney and actress Olivia Munn were dating. In September of that year, Mulaney and Munn announced that the pair were expecting their first child together.
Upon the announcement of the divorce filing, Mulaney’s team released a statement stating: “John will not have any further comment as he continues to focus on his recovery and getting back to work.” In her own statement to Page Six, Tendler expressed her sadness and confusion over the split, “I am heartbroken that John has decided to end our marriage. I wish him support and success as he continues his recovery,”
In May 2021, Mulaney made his return to stand-up comedy with a limited number of small club performances in New York City with John Mulaney: From Scratch, where he discussed the details of his drug addiction, divorce, and life after rehab. And on September 7, 2021, just a few months after announcing his divorce, Mulaney shared that he and actress Olivia Munn were dating and expecting a child. The two welcomed their first child together, a son Malcolm Hiệp Mulaney, on November 24, 2021. In January 2022, Mulaney finalized his divorce from Tendler and has remained mostly out of the public eye since the birth of his son.