Comedian Katt Williams has been on several talk shows, “Club Shay Shay” featuring Shannon Sharpe and “Willie D Live,” since the year began.
His 2-hour and 46 minute conversation with Sharpe garnered almost 41 million views in less than a week. His sit down with Willie D from the Geto Boys had almost 3 million views in less than 24 hours.
On both shows, the funnyman shared that he was very rich and that his wealth has trickled down to a couple of generations of new comics coming up in the game.
Passing It On
Williams has been known to hand over thousands of dollars to other comedians after viewing them doing standup. Comedian Deon Cole said in a video posted before the “Club Shay Shay” interview that this happened to him and he received $2500 in cash from the Ohio native on top of his performance fee from the club.
While his generosity is heralded amongst his peers and those who look up to him, his exact net worth has been shrouded by his vague comments and tight-knit circle.
So What’s His Net Worth?
Celebrity Net Worth states his net worth is between $2 million and $5 million, despite him suggesting that it is more.
He has also openly disputed the notable source’s figures, saying that he made more in one of his Netflix specials than what was reported on CNW. He also claimed that even when he does perform in small towns, he commands $100K to step on the stage, and pays a 10 percent tithe in the “rinky dink town” as a way to give back.
According to Williams, he commands from Netflix $10 million per special, which could be accurate because he usually pays for the production fees upfront and those fees may then pay the crew, cast, and other expenses.
The father of six has made the majority of his money from his stand-up comedy career, his comedy specials, and his Emmy-award-winning acting career.
Williams became popular in the late 1990s, getting his first breakout gigs on BET’s “Comic View,” IMDB shows.
Comedy specials like 2006’s “Katt Williams Live: Let a Playa Play” and HBO’s “The Pimp Chronicles, Pt. 1” opened the door for him to become a household name. He followed that with “American Hustle” in 2007 and “It’s Pimpin’ Pimpin” in 2008.
As a result, he got more gigs and launched a comedy tour that was named by Billboard the Best Comedy Tour of 2008.
More comedy specials, which he says are his bread and butter, followed. In 2012, his third special with HBO, “Kattpacalypse” was released to rave reviews. His fourth and final HBO comedy special “Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife” was directed by Spike Lee.
By 2018, he secured his deal with Netflix, yielding “Great America” and then “World War III” in 2022.
According to Entertainment Weekly, his “Great America” special is one of the Top 10 Best Comedy Specials on the streaming service of all time.
His comedic genius helped put Nick Cannon’s MTV improv show “Wild ‘N Out” on the map, as he was a bridge between hip-hop and the comedy world, based on his following gained from being in the hip-hop cult film “Friday After Next” with Ice Cube.
Other movies he appeared in are “Ganked” (2005), “Norbit” (2007), “The Perfect Holiday” (2007), “Internet Dating” (2008), “Lonely Street” (2008) and “First Sunday” (2008). Since, he has appeared in movies such as “Scary Movie 5” (2013), “Father Figures” (2017), “2 Minutes of Fame” (2020), “The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2” (2021), and “For the Love of Money” (2021).
While he appeared in a few episodes of “My Wife and Kids,” Damon Wayan’s sitcom, it was his role on the show “Atlanta” that earned him a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2018.
During his “Club Shay Shay” interview, he said that he could have made more money in film and television but he “turned down $50 million four times” for roles that went against his morals.
His morals and generosity have not shielded him from being exploited.
In a 2019 interview with Jemele Hill on her “Jemele Hill is Unbothered” podcast, he claimed that he lost $59 million in a federal embezzlement scheme initiated by people once on his payroll.
“In my search for who was the enemy that was causing all these things to repeatedly happen to me over and over again when they shouldn’t, we uncovered that it was actually my people that was involved,” he said. “We didn’t really know that until the Department of Justice started indicting these people for the embezzlement of $59 million from Katt Williams.”
The “Club Shay Shay” proved to be a great form of marketing.
It was the kick-off for his 2024 “Dark Matter” tour which he said he would make into a special for Netflix.
The tickets for this 40-date tour went from $59 to $215, an approximate quadruple increase in a few days, according to SeatGeek.
While people might not know exactly how much he makes, it is clear, that the money is coming in.
