It was revealed on Friday that Ricky Gervais has made history by raking in a whopping £1.41million at the Box Office for a single stand-up gig.
His record-breaking gig saw the actor and comedian, 61, take to the stage at Los Angeles’ iconic Hollywood Bowl on May 6 as part of his Armageddon show, which he is currently taking around the globe on a worldwide tour.
And far from his lucrative tours being his only bank account filler, throughout his time in the spotlight – launched most notably with The Office in 2000 – Ricky, who has been with his partner Jane Fallon for 39 years, is now worth £128million.
Having written and starred in the iconic BBC comedy, playing the now-legendary David Brent, Ricky went on to enjoy huge success with other shows including Extras, Derek, Life’s Too Short, An Idiot Abroad and After Life.
Ricky has previously spoken about his humble beginnings, revealing he went to ‘a rough school on a council estate’ and while he said ‘there’s nobility in poverty’, he admitted that if was to become rich, he wants to ‘be proud of the method’.
Laughing all the way to the bank: After raking in a record-breaking £1.4m for ONE gig, a look at how risqué Ricky Gervais, 61, went from a Reading council estate to a net worth of £128m
Here he is! It was revealed on Friday that Ricky Gervais has made history by raking in a whopping £1.41million at the Box Office for a single stand-up gig
WHERE IT BEGAN
Ricky grew up in Reading, in a large estate called Whitley, which was made up of council housing and what he described as his ‘rough school’.
His father, Lawrence Raymond ‘Jerry’ Gervais, who died in 2002, was a labourer and hod carrier who met his mother Eva during a blackout and went on to have four children. Eva passed away from lung cancer aged 74.
Gervais frequently refers to life growing up in Reading on his Twitter feed and in 2013, he said: ‘I went to quite a rough school on my council estate. I remember lunchtimes in the playground felt a bit like The Hunger Games.’
Speaking about making money, he said: ‘I’ve never craved money. In fact, the first few years of getting a new found wealth I felt guilty about it, I still do…
‘There was a nobility in poverty really and so I’ve always thought that if I’m going to be rich and famous I’ve got to be proud of how I got my money and how I got my fame.’
His love: Ricky has been with his partner Jane Fallon for 39 years, is now worth £128million (pictured in 2016)
RAKING IT IN
In 2021, it was revealed that in the midst of the pandemic his UK fortune rocketed to almost £16 million during the pandemic, figures for his business empire show.
The After Life star’s fortune went up by £2.7million between 2020 to 2021 as his TV shows continued to be successful during the lockdown.
His main company Red Lion 100 Limited saw its value jump by £1.2million to £8.6million from April 2020 until the end of March 2021.
In 2021, it was revealed that in the midst of the pandemic his UK fortune rocketed to almost £16 million during the pandemic, figures for his business empire show
Despite the huge leap in the company’s fortune’s Ricky, the company’s only shareholder, opted against paying himself a dividend from the company funds having withdraw just £505,000 in 2020.
Another company Red Lion 99 LLP jumped up by £1.4 million to £3.5 million. Derek Productions Limited saw its fortune increase by £100,000 while another two companies remained stable with around £800,000 held.
Ricky saw huge success last year when season two of Afterlife streamed on Netflix became one of the hits of the first lockdown. As a result, the star signed a new deal with Netflix to pen a third season, which is currently being filmed.
The figures do not include cash earned by Ricky’s US arm which is boosted by royalty payments from the US version of his hit series The Office.
The show added millions to his wealth as it proved a massive hit running to nine seasons until 2013. Accounts for Red Lion 100 shows that the company owes his US business – called Gervais Ink Inc – £451,000.
Nice! Gervais owns several properties around the world including homes in London, Los Angeles and New York City
PROPERTY
Gervais owns several properties around the world including homes in London, Los Angeles and New York City.
His eight bedroom London home – situated in Hampstead – cost an eye-popping £10.8million when he purchased the property in 2016.
He previously revealed in one of his swanky pads, he owns a tennis court- although he hasn’t had a chance to make the most of the grounds.
Speaking to The Mirror at the time, he said: ‘I haven’t even enjoyed the tennis court. Best thing we’ve ever bought. My partner Jane and I go down to our house in Buckinghamshire and play tennis all the time.’
Amazing: His eight bedroom London home – situated in Hampstead – cost an eye-popping £10.8million when he purchased the property in 2016
Snapped: He previously revealed in one of his swanky pads, he owns a tennis court- although he hasn’t had a chance to make the most of the grounds
GIGS
His lucrative gig earlier this month set an all-time record as it was the world’s highest-grossing single gig ever by a British stand-up comedian.
Ricky said of his incredible record: ‘To find out about this record is the icing on the cake. I was happy enough when it didn’t rain.’
The After Life actor had previously shared a series of tweets about his Hollywood Bowl show, sharing his pride at having performed at one of the most ‘surreal’ nights of his life.
He tweeted: ‘Thank you Hollywood Bowl for one of the most surreal nights of my life. What a venue. What a crowd. I can’t even imagine what my mum would think about me playing the Hollywood Bowl…
‘I hope she would be horrified by the language, tell me I looked fat, and be secretly proud. Wish I’d filmed it now… if only to remind myself it actually happened. Mental.’
The star also took to Instagram to share a snap of the venue at night, captioning the image: ‘That time I played a packed out Hollywood F**king Bowl.’
Errr… Ricky is pictured in his film The Invention Of Lying
PHILANTHROPY
Ricky is a keen philanthropist and last year he used a portion of the proceeds from his Supernature tour ticket sales to give to charity.
He split £427,243.42 from the ticket sales of his Supernature UK tour between three animal charities – International Animal Rescue, Animals Asia & Nowzad.
The equal split left each charity with a £142,414.47 donation.
Ricky said of the donation: ‘It is such a privilege to be able to help animals in need, simply by doing a job that I already love.’
Pen Farthing, Founder & CEO of Nowzad, saying: ‘The Nowzad charity, its staff and the animals we care for, are just beyond thrilled and (and somewhat still in shock) at the amazing and super generous donation from Nowzad patron; Ricky Gervais.
‘The man’s comic talents are legendary but his passion and drive for promoting and supporting animal welfare knows no limits. Thank you Ricky – from all of us. You are the difference.’
Sweet: Ricky is a keen philanthropist and last year he used a portion of the proceeds from his Supernature tour ticket sales to give to charity
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12103297/How-risqu-Ricky-Gervais-61-went-Reading-council-estate-net-worth-128m.html
