What Is Jon Stewart's Net Worth and Salary?
Jon Stewart is an American actor, comedian, and political satirist who has a net worth of $120 million. After forging a highly successful standup comedy career, Jon Stewart became a household name after he became the second host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show." He took over the show from original host Craig Kilborn in 1999. Jon went on to anchor the show for 16 years, through 2015, at which point he handed the reigns to Trevor Noah. During his years as host, "The Daily Show" won 24 Emmys, including a record ten consecutive wins in the category of outstanding variety, music, or comedy series. Also, during Jon's years, the series launched the careers of several future comedy superstars, including John Oliver, Steve Carell, and Stephen Colbert.
In September 2021, he began hosting a new show on Apple TV+ called "The Problem with Jon Stewart." In late 2023, Jon walked away from his Apple show, reportedly after the company forbade him from airing upcoming episodes that were critical of China.
On January 24, 2024, Stewart announced he would return to Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" as a once-per-week host through the presidential election cycle. He will continue to serve as the show's full-time producer through 2025.
"Daily Show" Salary
At the peak of his career with "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart's annual salary was $25 million.
Early Life
Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz was born on November 28, 1962, in New York City. His mother, Marian, was a teacher and educational consultant, and his father, Donald, was a professor of physics at The College of New Jersey and Thomas Edison State College. His family members are all Jewish immigrants to America from Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. Jon is the second of four sons.
After his parents divorced when he was eleven, Stewart became mostly estranged from his father. This strained relationship inspired him to use his middle name, Stuart, as his surname. He grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where he attended Lawrence High School. He continued his education at The College of William & Mary in Virginia, where he majored in psychology and was a member of the soccer team. After graduating from college, Jon held various jobs, including a contract administrator for the City University of New York, a soccer coach at Gloucester High School in Virginia, a bartender, a caterer, a busboy, and a contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services.
Comedy and Television Career
Stewart eventually returned to New York City in 1986 to try performing in the city's comedy club circuit. He debuted in stand-up at The Bitter End, the same club where Woody Allen also started his career. This was the period when he began going by the stage name "Jon Stewart." He eventually became a regular performer at the Comedy Cellar, performing in the 2 a.m. timeslot as the last performer every night.
Jon landed his first television job in 1989 when he was hired as a writer for "Caroline's Comedy Hour." He would go on to co-host Comedy Central's "Short Attention Span Theater" with Patty Rosborough in 1990, and in 1992, he hosted "You Wrote It, You Watch It" on MTV. Stewart pinpoints his March 1992 appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman" as the moment his career took off.
Stewart developed and began hosting his own MTV talk show, "The Jon Stewart Show," in 1993. It was the first talk show on MTV, and it was an instant hit and the network's second-highest-rated show. Ratings eventually dropped, and the show was canceled in June 1995. However, David Letterman was a fan. He was also the final guest of "The Jon Stewart Show." Letterman signed Stewart to his production company, Worldwide Pants, and Jon became a frequent guest host for Tom Snyder on "The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder."
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In 1999, Craig Kilborn left "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, and Stewart took over as host. Except for occasional occurrences when correspondents like Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry, or Jason Jones substituted as host, and John Oliver's brief stint as host during the summer of 2013, Stewart hosted almost all "The Daily Show" airings." His brief hiatus in 2013, when John Oliver took over temporarily, was so he could direct the film "Rosewater" (2014). With "The Daily Show," Stewart won twenty Primetime Emmy Awards as either a writer or producer. In 2000 and 2004, the show also won two Peabody Awards for its coverage of the U.S. presidential elections in those years. After 2,579 episodes, Stewart's final episode of "The Daily Show" aired on August 6, 2015. He was succeeded as host by South African comedian Trevor Noah.
After leaving "The Daily Show," Stewart has remained mostly out of the spotlight. In November 2015, he signed a four-year deal with HBO. They were in the process of creating an "animated parody of a cable news network," but ultimately, the project was canceled in May 2017 after its premiere was moved several times. Since 2015, he has also occasionally appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
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Other Projects
As an actor, Stewart has appeared in a smattering of films and television shows including "Half Baked" (1998), "The Faculty" (1998), "Big Daddy" (1999), "Death to Smoochy" (2002), as well appearing as himself in such titles as "Evan Almighty" (2007), "The Simpsons" (voice), and the documentary "Wordplay" (2006). Furthermore, he has hosted gigs, including the 2001 and 2002 Grammy Awards and the 78th and 80th Academy Awards.
Stewart is the head of Busboy Productions, his own production company that he launched in the mid-1990s. The company produced "The Colbert Report," a spin-off of "The Daily Show." Additionally, Stewart is a published writer. He published the book "Naked Pictures of Famous People" (1998), which went on "The New York Times" Bestseller List, and contributed to "America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" (2004), which garnered a Quill Award and went on to be named Book of the Year by "Publishers Weekly."
Personal Life
Stewart met and began dating Tracey Lynn McShane in 1997. They married in 2000 and today have two children. They both legally changed their last names to "Stewart" in 2001. Tracey has been a practicing vegan for many years, inspiring Jon to become a vegetarian.
Real Estate
In March 2005, Jon paid $5.8 million for a 6,000-square-foot apartment in New York City's TriBeCa neighborhood. In 2014, he sold the property for $17.5 million. Below is a video tour of this property from when the next owner listed it for sale. Unfortunately, this owner accepted a 26% loss when he sold it in 2021 for $13 million.
In 2010, Jon paid $3.8 million for a riverfront mansion in Red Bank, New Jersey. A year later, he bought the home next door for $3.2 million. In 2013, Jon and Tracey bought a 12-acre farm in Middletown, New Jersey, which they converted into a sanctuary for abused animals. In 2017, they purchased a 45-acre farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey, which they converted into a sanctuary for animals saved from slaughterhouses.
