Bill Cosby's Net Worth (Updated September 2022) | Wealthy Gorilla

Net Worth:	$400 Million
Age:	88
Born:	July 12, 1937
Gender:	Male
Height:	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Source of Wealth:	Professional Comedian/Actor
Last Updated:	Dec 11, 2025

Table of Contents

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• Introduction
• Before Wealth & Fame
• Comedy Career
• The Cosby Show
• Earnings History
• Sexual Assault Allegations
• Estimated Net Worth
• Highlights

Introduction

Bill Cosby is an American professional actor, comedian, author, and musician with an estimated net worth of $400 Million.

Cosby began his career in the entertainment industry during the 1960s. He would perform stand-up comedy at the Hungry I in San Francisco, and in 1969, his first sitcom show aired on television.

In recent years, Bill Cosby’s image and reputation was damaged by many accusations of rape, sexual assault, abuse and misconduct. Over 60 women came forward and fired these accusations at Cosby. It wasn’t until April 2018 that Cosby was convicted of sexual assault. This conviction was overturned in 2021, and Cosby was released from prison after serving three years.

Before Wealth & Fame

As a teenager, Bill Cosby was the class clown, yet he was also captain of the track and basketball teams, class president, and actor in plays. Cosby spent more time clowning around than studying, and after failing the 10th grade, he dropped out of school and began working as an apprentice in a shoe repair shop.

In 1956, he enlisted in the Navy and served for four years as a Hospital Corpsman. In 1961, after earning his high school equivalency diploma, Cosby received a track and field scholarship to Temple University. He studied physical education there while running track and playing fullback on the football team. As Cosby progressed through his studies at Temple, he continued to hone his talent for humor, joking with fellow enlistees in the service and later with college friends.

When he began bartending at a Philadelphia club to earn money, he became more aware of his ability to make people laugh and entertain his customers with humor.

Comedy Career

While appearing in the NBC series I Spy, Bill Cosby performed stand-up comedy and recorded a dozen records for Warner Bros.

In 1968, he narrated Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed and began appearing as a regular guest host on The Tonight Show. A year later, he returned with The Bill Cosby Show, a situational comedy show that aired for two seasons. A few years later, he returned with a wildly successful Saturday morning cartoon called Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. This show helped make Cosby one of the richest comedians in the world and was one of the longest-running cartoons in history.

The Cosby Show

Bill Cosby had another huge success on television in 1984 with the debut of The Cosby Show, which was an immediate success. After the series ended in 1992, Cosby took on several other projects, including reviving the game show You Bet Your Life.

In 1996, he appeared in the CBS show Cosby, which reunited him with his Cosby Show co-star Phylicia Rashad. At the same time, Cosby hosted the series Kids Say the Darndest Things, which ran until 2000 and ended around the same time Cosby did.

Cosby then launched a series for preschoolers called Little Bill, which debuted on Nickelodeon in 1999 and was renewed for a second season. A few years later, he co-wrote and produced Fat Albert, starring Kenan Thompson as the titular character. During the summer of 2009, Cosby hosted a comedy gala called Just for Laughs, the world’s largest comedy festival.

Earnings History

Year	Earnings
1988	$35,000,000
1989	$60,000,000
1991	$32,000,000
1992	$66,000,000
1996	$18,000,000
1997	$18,000,000
Total	$229,000,000

Although we don’t have all the information regarding Bill Cosby’s annual earnings during the peak of his career, there are some years worth mentioning. In 1988, when The Cosby Show was at its peak, Bill was reportedly earning $1 million per episode, equating to roughly $24 million per season. This was also the year in which NBC acquired the show’s syndication rights for a reported $4 million per episode, which added significantly to Cosby’s earnings. That year, Bill earned an estimated $35 million. However, in the year following the NBC deal, he reportedly earned almost double that amount, bringing in $60 million.

In the 1990s, Cosby continued to earn estimates of between $10 million and $20 million per year in residuals from The Cosby Show. He also signed lucrative endorsement deals with brands such as Jell-O, which paid him between $2 million and $5 million per year. This allowed him to continue earning typically between $30 million and $60 million per year in the early 1990s; however, midway through the decade, his income began to decline.

Forbes reported Bill Cosby’s earnings for 1996 and 1997 at $18 million apiece. This brings his total earnings from the six years mentioned in the table above to a combined $229 million.

Sexual Assault Allegations

The first sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby stretch back to 1965 when Kristina Ruehli claimed he drugged and assaulted her in his home. In the early 1980s, more allegations were made, followed by more in 1996 by Playboy Playmate Victoria Valentino. A criminal complaint was filed against Cosby in 2000 by Lachele Covington, who accused the comedian of groping her and exposing himself.

Four years later, Andrea Constand came forward and accused Cosby of drugging and groping her, and the accusations just kept coming. In total, more than 60 women have since come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault and harassment during his career. Although he repeatedly denied the allegations, in September 2018, Cosby was sentenced to three to ten years in state prison and a $25,000 fine.

Bill Cosby served three years before his conviction was overturned, though his legal issues were still far from over, as other suits were still pending.

In 2022, the court ruled in Judy Huth’s favor, ordering him to pay $500,000 in damages. While he was once one of the funniest stand-up comedians of all time, he became a comedic pariah after facing numerous legal troubles.

Since 2004, Cosby has not appeared in any new films, and his last TV release, Bill Cosby: 77, was canceled in 2014. Given how much controversy now surrounds him as an entertainer, it seems unlikely that he will ever come back into the public eye.

Estimated Net Worth

Bill Cosby’s net worth is $400 Million.

Highlights

Here are some of the best highlights of Bill Cosby’s career:

• The Bill Cosby Show (1969)
• The New Bill Cosby Show (1972)
• Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids (1972)
• Cos (1976)
• The Cosby Show (1984)
• You Bet Your Life (1992)
• Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998)