2024's highest earning comedian made £56 million fortune but you've probably never heard of him

If I held a gun to your head and asked you to the name the comedian that made the most money in 2024, several different answers would fly out.

If we totally ignore this made-up scenario where a LADbible journalist is threatening you with a firearm and asking you to name comedians, you would throw out Ricky Gervais, Dave Chappelle, Adam Sandler, Melissa McCarthy, maybe even Peter Kay.

If you named any of those you would be wrong.

Sorry Peter, you got beat out by a yank (ShowBizIreland via Getty Images)

The comedian who made the most in the entire world made £56.2 million in 2024, beating out massive American stars and British household names alike.

They came in just above Jerry Seinfeld, Peter Kay, Bert Kreischer, and Trevor Noah as some of the highest earning comedians in 2024.

Ironically, second place is *also* a name you probably won’t know in the UK in Sebastian Maniscalco.

First place though went to Nate Bargatze.

Bargatze is an incredibly popular comedian, raking in over £50 million last year from his ticket sales and on top of that being nominated for a Grammy in 2022.

Nate Bargatze (Terry Wyatt via Getty Images)

So the question is, why has he never really translated over to the UK?

The answer I would imagine, lies in the style of comedy he does.

Bargatze is a self-professed ‘clean comedian’, telling Variety in an interview: “I’m from the South: I talk slower, and people aren’t always used to that.

“I’m clean, don’t do sex jokes or drug jokes, so I’ve learned to work the opposite of what those folks are doing.

“In New York or L.A., they might be laughing at you — and in the middle of the country, they’re laughing with you. Either way, they’re laughing.”

Starting off in Chicago in 2002, his career now spans over two decades, leading him to earn the top gong in all of comedy – the one that made the most money in one specific year.

(64th GRAMMY Awards Nominations/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Jokes aside, the comedian is living the comedy dream – having hosted SNL, touring nationwide, and performing on the ‘Netflix is a Joke’ comedy festival alongside the legendary Jerry Seinfeld.

Regarding his comedy philosophy, he told Variety: “I assume I’m like everybody in the audience, and I could be friends with everyone out there.

“We’re all the same. We all have relatives, families, lives.

“It’s human-to-human interactions, the same problems. Start there.”

He went on to add: “You’re making people laugh. The joy is a gift you’re giving with that relief. … There’s really not much better."