Bobby Lee's Net Worth (Updated 2022) | Wealthy Gorilla

Net Worth:	$1 Million
Age:	51
Born:	September 17, 1972
Gender:	Male
Height:	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Source of Wealth:	Professional Actor
Last Updated:	February 19, 2024

Table of Contents

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• Introduction
• Comedy Career
• The Comedy Store
• MADtv & Other TV Appearances
• Joe Rogan & The TigerBelly Podcast
• Financial & Legal Issues

Introduction

Bobby Lee is an American professional actor, podcaster, and comedian with an estimated net worth of $1 Million.

Lee is best known for being a member of MADtv, which aired from 2001 to 2009. He started working for Comedy Story and decided to perform on one of their amateur nights. Since then, he has made a name for himself in the comedy industry.

Lee is also known for his roles in the movies ‘Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle’, ‘The Dictator’, and ‘Pineapple Express’. He co-starred in the series ‘Splitting Up Together’ alongside Oliver Hudson and Jenna Fischer between 2018 and 2019.

Comedy Career

From humble beginnings, Bobby Lee’s career rose to exceptional heights over the years, building on his early stand-up experience. Throughout his career, Lee collaborated with some of the richest comedians in the world while successfully entering the podcast space. It began in his home state of California, where Lee dropped out of college and entered the local comedy scene while working odd jobs.

Bobby Lee began his stand-up career working part-time in restaurants and bars in San Diego’s entertainment district. This exposure to the city’s creative subculture led him to attend amateur nights, where he eventually met comedians Carlos Mencia and Pauly Shore.

Through these contacts, Lee secured a place at The Comedy Store in San Diego, where he honed his delivery and worked on new material. Impressed by his sense of timing and humor, Pauly Shore suggested he move to Los Angeles, where his mother’s comedy club dominated the scene.

The Comedy Store

Bobby Lee’s transition to LA and regular work at The Comedy Store marked a significant turning point in the early part of his career. The club has played host to countless major comedians over the years, with Whoopi Goldberg, Jim Carrey, and Dave Chappelle among its performers.

As Bobby Lee’s presence in the industry continued to grow, he developed his inimitable style, which would characterize his later career. In a retrospective interview, Lee described how his family barely spoke to him during this period of his career and his struggles with mending relationships.

MADtv & Other TV Appearances

While Lee’s profile had been significantly improved through his performances at The Comedy Store, his breakthrough came on mainstream television. It began in 2011 with his membership in the cast of MADtv for The CW, making him the only Asian cast member to join the series at that time. Lee would remain with MADtv until its cancellation in 2009, following a successful run of performing in sketches that lampooned cultural icons.

His appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno allowed him to reach a large nationwide audience and forge new contacts in the industry. In addition to gaining exposure from one of the wealthiest TV hosts in the world, Lee would also gain attention with his podcast guest appearances.

Madtv Salary

According to reports, Bobby Lee was paid $4,000 per episode when he began featuring on MADtv. At 25 episodes per season, this would have equated to $100,000 per season. In the show’s final seasons, his pay increased to $20,000 per episode, but by this time, the number of episodes per season had dropped to 17. This likely earned him $340,000 apiece for the final seasons. While it’s impossible to confirm his exact total earnings from the show, we could assume he earned somewhere between $1.1 million and $1.7 million.

Joe Rogan & The TigerBelly Podcast

In 2011, Bobby Lee appeared on fellow comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast, entering the online comedy world with a bang. Lee quickly became a recipient of what many refer to as “The Joe Rogan Effect,” where comedians who appear on the show gain wider recognition. During one interview with Rogan, Bobby Lee also revealed his traumatic experiences with Hollywood directors and encounters with racism.

Lee’s positive experiences with Rogan led him to establish TigerBelly, which debuted on the internet in 2015. The show, which Lee initially co-hosted with his ex-partner Khalyia Kuhn, proved to be a huge success and continues to this day.

Financial & Legal Issues

Lee openly discussed facing significant financial difficulties in 2023, revealing a period of intense stress over his mounting debts. In early 2023, Lee and his TigerBelly podcast co-host Khalyla Kuhn became involved in a $2 million legal dispute with podcasting company Wondery.

The lawsuit alleged that Wondery breached contractual obligations by failing to honor revenue-sharing agreements and mishandling promotional commitments for the TigerBelly podcast. Disputes over intellectual property rights also emerged, with both parties contesting ownership of the podcast’s branding and content. To address this, Lee sold his Los Angeles home, although specific details about the transaction, such as the final sale price, remain undisclosed. This marked a significant moment in his efforts to regain financial stability during an incredibly challenging year.

In mid-2023, Lee and Kuhn ended their partnership with Wondery and launched the TigerBelly Podcast independently. This move gave them complete creative and financial control over the podcast, freeing them from outside interference. Despite restructuring challenges, the podcast now generates more than six figures annually, proving it a financially stable venture and marking a key moment in securing its future as an independent platform.