What is Ethan Klein's Net Worth?
Ethan Klein is an American comedian and social media personality who has a net worth of $20 million. That is a combined net worth with his wife, and media co-star, Hila Klein.
Ethan Klein is best known for cohosting the YouTube channel h3h3Productions with Hila. Most of their content comprises reaction videos and comedy sketches that satirize Internet culture. Additionally, Klein hosts the H3 Podcast, which has one of the largest podcast audiences in the United States according to Media Monitors.
h3h3Productions
In 2011, Klein and his wife Hila launched the YouTube channel h3h3Productions. A hugely popular channel that has accumulated over six million subscribers and a billion views, it largely consists of reaction videos in which the Kleins offer cultural commentary and critiques. The videos are also intermixed with comedy sketches that have a characteristically absurd style. Many viewers have compared the style to the television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and the works of the comedy duo Tim & Eric. Over the years, h3h3Productions has earned a reputation for its satirical skewering of Internet trends, online personalities, and various YouTube policies.
H3 Podcast and Other Series
Beyond their YouTube channel, the Kleins host a triweekly podcast entitled "H3 Podcast," which features conversational interviews. The duo also has two weekly sub-series called "H3 After Dark," which is an unscripted podcast covering current affairs, and "Content Court," which is a narrative podcast that explores controversial Internet personalities. Since the end of 2020, the Kleins' podcast has been one of the highest-ranking in the United States.
In September of 2020, Klein joined the podcast "Frenemies" alongside cohost and YouTube personality Trisha Paytas. The show ran for 39 episodes until June of 2021, at which point Paytas left due to disagreements with Klein and the podcast's production. Although "Frenemies" was often praised for its candid discussions of mental illness, it also received harsh criticism for Paytas's antisemitic comments about Judaism and the Holocaust. Later, in September of 2021, Klein began the podcast series "Leftovers" with cohost and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. On the show, the duo talks about their progressive ideas while mocking prominent conservative figures.
Hila Klein and Ethan Klein (Photo by Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Fair Use Lawsuit
In April of 2016, YouTube personality Matt Hosseinzadeh filed a civil action suit against the Kleins for alleged copyright infringement. He claimed that he contacted the Kleins to remove his content from their video, and that they refused. Hosseinzadeh's attorney asserted that the video used more than 70% of his work. In response to the lawsuit, YouTube personality Philip DeFranco launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help raise money for the Kleins' legal fees. He argued that fair use on YouTube needed to be protected.
A month after the lawsuit was filed, the Kleins announced that the $130,000 of funds raised by DeFranco's GoFundMe would go into an escrow account called the Fair Use Protection Account. Ultimately, the Kleins won the lawsuit, as US District Judge Katherine B. Forrest ruled that their commentary video stood as "fair use as a matter of law." This case was significant as the first of its kind to receive a judgment, and for providing a persuasive argument that can be used in future cases pertaining to fair use on YouTube.
Controversies
In 2017, the Kleins and their YouTube channel received backlash when they expressed support for YouTube personality PewDiePie, who had made controversial Nazi jokes in one of his videos. Later, in 2020, Ethan Klein was dropped as a sponsor for Old Spice when footage resurfaced of him using denigratory slurs in a 2017 podcast episode.
Personal Life
Klein met his wife Hila in Israel in 2007, when Hila was serving in the Israel Defense Forces. They spent several years together, and eventually married in 2012. Together, they had a son in June of 2019. The couple lives in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Real Estate
In 2017, Ethan and Hila spent $780,000 on their first Los Angeles home together, in the town of Woodland Hills. At some point in 2018, the couple spent $2.3 million on a home in Encino.
In November 2019, Ethan and Hila Klein spent $9 million on a large estate in Bel Air, California. Located within a guarded community, the 7,500 lavish estate has 6 bedrooms and sits on just over an acre. As of this writing they still own both previous homes.
