Bill Cosby Net Worth, Age and full Biography.
| Net Worth | $400 Million |
| Known for | American Dad |
| Position | Comedian, TV Personality |
| Country | United States of America |
| Age | 83 |
| Last Updated | 2024 |
William Henry Cosby Jr. or Bill Cosby, is the entertainer of the silver screen.
Before being chided for his sexual offenses, he’d won the hearts of many. Starting his career in the 1960s, he got renowned as the ‘American Dad’ post his success in numerous sitcoms and TV shows.
Currently, he is serving his sentence in prison, for his controversial offenses, which eroded almost all of his success much faster than he’d acquired it.
The Cosby Show gave him accolades, love, and recognition all across the US.
WIthout further ado, let us delve deeper into the life of Bill Cosby, and unravel the stories about his steep success, and the great plummet of the American Dad.
As of 2024, the net worth of Bill Cosby is $400 Million.
Early Childhood and Education
Bill Cosby was born on July 12, 1937 in Philadelphia in a household where he was the eldest of the four brothers. When he was born, his family was well off, but due to the growing dependence on alcohol, his father lost most of his earnings before getting into the military.
Cosby soon became the leader of the household, looking after his three siblings and his mother. Unfortunately, Cosby lost the second older brother, at the tender age of 8, which gave his life a deep shock.
Cosby’s mother had a great influence on his life. While the shortage of income always played a major role in his life, he started to take up errands like shining shoes in the supermarket. But, his mother always stated the importance of education and learning. Reading him and his brothers books, tales by Twain, and the Bible, she ensured that Cosby did not lose out on knowledge.
Eventually, Cosby realized that humor is the key ingredient to success. Using humor, Cosby could forge new friendships and relationships, which would help him gain what he was looking for.
Academically, Cosby was pretty bright, but he lacked motivation. Mimicry was his skill, his art, and he was chiseling to master it eventually. Being on the list of the students with very high IQ, Cosby failed to apply his merit, as he flunked 10th grade twice. But, his art of story-telling, humor, and making the right friends gave him an edge over the rest of his batchmates.
Moreover, his deep interest in sports and games like football brought him accolades. After multiple failures, Cosby gave up on education and joined the US Navy.
The journey from the US Navy to the Comic World…
While in the US Navy, Cosby used to be the medical aide for the numerous ships on-tour. Regretting his decision to give up on education, Cosby completed a diploma, which is equivalent to High School while working in the US Navy.
Post Navy, Cosby won the scholarship and headed to the Temple University which soon became the turning point in his life. While in the Temple, Cosby cracked a job as a Bartender, wherein his popularity grew due to his humor and jest.
Soon, he landed the job of the filling in-house comedian, which gave him the much needed exposure. Making his themes catering to a more universal and general genre, thus giving it a familiar touch, Cosby slowly climbed up the ladders. Soon, he started doing the warm-up shows at his cousin’s radio show.
Tonight Show, Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow and many more..
Once again, Cosby decided that education was not his cup of tea. Following his passion for storytelling and entertainment, he left his college midway and started performing gigs at the Greenwich village.
As his popularity amongst the locals grew, his first break at the national audience was in Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show in 1963. Making close to a dozen appearances, he built a strong enough fan base that helped him to garner his first contract.
The shot to fame was pretty evident, as I Started Out As A Child, gave him the much-coveted Grammy Award. This started a wave of hits by Cosby, thus helping him to win 5 more Grammys before he won a couple more for his contribution to children’s entertainment.
Also read: The 30 Richest Actors in the world.
The Cosby Show, Losing Ennis and Downfall
The Cosby Show, which started with positive reviews, soon became the talk of the town. With the very realistic theme of the show, Bill Cosby’s character broke all the records of the American sitcoms, thus becoming the most loved American Dad.
Running for 8 seasons, it kept Cosby busy enough, but that did not deter him from trying out on the other projects as well.
Fatherhood, the book by Cosby broke all the records as it covered his reflection of becoming a parent and enjoying the same.
Everything he touched, turned to gold–Midas Touch
But, all good doesn’t last long. During the shoot of one of his shows, Bill Cosby faced a huge personal loss, as his only son Ennis was shot while changing the tire of his car. The incident happened in 1997, on the California Highway, and the perpetrator was later reported by his neighbor to the police officers.
Cosby was also caught in the parental scandal, Autumn Jackson claimed to be the daughter of Cosby. Later, she was found to be guilty of impersonation and landed in prison for 2-years.
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Bill Cosby Net Worth and Earnings
Being the highest-earning TV actor during the peak of his career, Cosby’s net worth is close to $400 Million. He earned close to $1 Million per episode, and his main source of earning has been TV shows. Though his other sources include production, creation, and syndication, amounting to more than $3.5 Million/episode, they were quite few in number.
Moreover, his equity in the shows amounted to 20%, which remained as a consistent flow of income for him, until before the scandal. With the wide array of investments into real estate and art, he expanded his wealth at an increasing rate.
Though his amassed wealth has slowly dried up due to multiple litigations, it will be interesting to watch how his future wealth turns out to be. Especially with multiple charges against him, the battle of the law will be a game of the dollars.
Highlights
Here are some of the key highlights from Bill Cosby’s career as a comedian.
1. 1966 through 1968: Won three Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series – Primetime Emmys for I Spy.
2. 1977: Earned an M.A. (education) degree and an Ed.D. from UMass Amherst. He used his character Fat Albert in his doctoral thesis.
3. 1984 and 1985: Earned Golden Globe Award for Best Actor—Television Series Musical or Comedy – Golden Globe Award for The Cosby Show – Cliff Huxtable. The same year he also
4. 2002: Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush. The same year the scholar, Molefi Kete Asante included Cosby in his book: The 100 Greatest African Americans.
5. 2005: In a British poll broadcast on Channel 4 to find the Comedian’s Comedian, Bill was voted among the top fifty comedy acts ever by fellow comedy insiders & comedians.
6. 2010: Received the Lone Sailor Award by the United States Navy Memorial & the National Football Foundation’s Gold Medal.
Though he has won several other awards including about 9 Grammys, many of his awards were revoked owing to convictions and allegations of sexual assault.
Conclusion
If not for the sexual assault, Bill Cosby’s life and career highlighted the peaks of success and the true results of consistent dedication for talent.
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