Chris Rock Net Worth, Career, Biography, Facts, Age, Life Story

Chris Rock is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer and director who has a net worth of $60 million. His net worth could be much higher but he lost tens of millions of dollars (reportedly as much as $40 million) in a divorce settlement with his wife of 20 years, Malaak Compton. They divorced in 2016 after 20 years of marriage.

Chris first gained a wide following thanks to “Saturday Night Live” in the early 1990s, but he is also widely-recognized for his talent as an actor in notable films such as “The Longest Yard” (2005), the “Madagascar” film series (2005-2012) and “Grown Ups” (2010). He also created and produced the semi-autobiographical sitcom “Everybody Hates Chris” which aired 88 episodes between 2005 and 2009. He was voted as the fifth-greatest stand-up comedian by a Comedy Central poll.

Earnings

When he is touring, Chris is consistently one of the highest-paid comedians in the world. For example, between June 2016 and June 2017, Chris Rock earned approximately $60 million. Between June 2017 and June 2018 Chris earned $30 million.

Early Life and Career

Christopher Julius Rock was born in Andrews, South Carolina on February 7, 1965. Rock and his parents moved shortly after to Brooklyn, New York, finally settling in Bedford-Stuyvesant after a second move. He was bused to schools in mostly white neighborhoods in Brooklyn growing up, where he had to endure bullying and harassment from white students. As the bullying got worse, he dropped out of high school and earned his GED while working at fast-food restaurants.

Rock first ventured into stand-up comedy in 1984 at the club Catch a Rising Star in New York City. As he performed, he slowly gained recognition, even getting a few roles such as in the TV series “Miami Vice”. These early years are also when Eddie Murphy saw Rock performing at a nightclub and befriended him, mentoring him and even giving Rock his first film role in “Beverly Hills Cop II” (1987).

Saturday Night Live and Comedy Success

Rock joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1990. Along with fellow new cast members Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade, they became known as the Bad Boys of SNL. His first comedy album, “Born Suspect”, was released in 1991. The same year he received praise for his portrayal of an addict in the film “New Jack City”.

Two years later, Rock left SNL and appeared instead on its prime time rival, the predominantly African-American sketch show “In Living Color”. However, he was only in six episodes as the show was cancelled a month after he joined. Subsequently, Rock wrote and starred in the comedy “CB4”, which only cost $6 million to make but made $18 million.

Rock premiered his first HBO special, “Big Ass Jokes”, in 1994, but it was the 1996 follow-up “Bring the Pain” that earned him two Emmy Awards and a reputation as one of the best comedians in America. He gained further popularity as commentator for “Politically Incorrect” on Comedy Central during the 1996 United States Presidential Elections, a role for which he earned another Emmy nomination.

His HBO comedy specials “Bigger & Blacker” (1999) and “Never Scared” (2004) had Time and Entertainment Weekly singing his praises as “the funniest man in America”. HBO also aired his own talk show, “The Chris Rock Show”, where he interviewed celebrities and politicians, and won an Emmy for writing. Other award-winning projects of his from this time period include the comedy albums “Roll with the New”, “Bigger & Blacker” and “Never Scared”, which all won Grammy Awards. Rock’s fifth HBO special “Kill the Messenger” was released in September 2008, winning him another Emmy for outstanding writing for a variety or music program.

Netflix Special Payday

Rock’s success with comedy specials continued into the new decade. On October 30, 2016, Netflix announced the release of two new stand-up specials from Rock, for which he was reportedly paid $40 million ($20 million per special). The first one, “Chris Rock: Tamborine”, was released on February 14, 2018, his first concert special in ten years.

Film Career

With the recognition from his comedy career, Rock was able to secure leading roles in films such as “Down to Earth” (2001), “Bad Company” (2002), “The Longest Yard” (2005), “Death at a Funeral” (2010), “Grown Ups” (2010) and “2 Days in New York” (2012). He also provided the voice for Marty the zebra in three films in the “Madagascar” animated film franchise.

In addition to acting in front of the camera, Rock has also taken on the role of writer and director. He wrote, directed and starred in the films “Head of State” (2003), “I Think I Love My Wife” (2007), and the critically-acclaimed film “Top Five” (2014). He also released a documentary about the perceptions and history of American American women’s hairstyles in 2009 titled “Good Hair”.

Other Projects and Ventures

Not only has Rock written and directed films, he also has experience as a television producer. He was the executive producer and narrator of the comedy series “Everybody Hates Chris”, which began airing on UPN in 2005. The show later switched to The CW, where it wrapped up its final season in 2009. The contents of the show were largely based on Rock’s own experiences as a teenager, and was nominated for a 2006 Golden Globe for Best TV Series (Musical or Comedy), 2006 People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Television Comedy, and two 2006 Emmy Awards for costuming and cinematography. Rock also produced the series “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell” (2012).

Drawing on his years of comedy performance experience, Rock hosted not only the 77th Academy Awards in 2005, but also the 88th Academy Awards in 2016. Known to be “a dedicated cannabis consumer”, Rock invested in Lowell Herb Co., a cannabis brand in California, in August 2019.

Personal Life

Rock married Malaak Compton-Rock on November 23, 1996, and the couple lived in New Jersey with their two daughters (born in 2002 and 2004). In December 2014, Rock announced that he was filing for divorce, admitting to infidelity as well as a porn addiction. Their divorce was finalized in 2016. Chris reportedly had to pay his ex-wife around $40 million worth of real estate and liquid assets.

Real Estate

In 1994 while working on SNL, Chris bought a home in Brooklyn New York. He lived there for two years before moving to the suburbs with his new wife Malaak. He proceeded to rent the Brooklyn property for $8,000 per month until 2017 when he put the home on the market for $3.25 million. After the divorce, Malaak continued living in the family’s 13,000 square-foot mansion in Alpine, New Jersey which they bought in 2001 for $3 million.