Bill Cosby's Net Worth | Full Details

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NET WORTH: $400 MILLION
Birth name	William Henry Cosby Jr.
Born	July 12, 1937 (age 84)Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	Temple University (BS)University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA, EdD)
Profession	Comedian, Actor, Screenwriter, Author, Television producer, Educator, Film producer
Height	1.83m
Spouse	Camille Hanks
Children	5, including Erika and Ennis
Nationality	United States of America

Bill Cosby’s net worth as of 2022 is $400 million. However, with the recent happenings, you can expect the figure to reduce in the next couple of years.

Cosby is an American comedian, actor, musician, and author from Philadelphia. In the 1960s, Bill started his career in the entertainment industry. During the 1960s, he started his career as a stand-up comedian at the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco. Then his debut sitcom aired on television in 1969.

In recent years, Bill Cosby’s image and prestige were ruined by several charges of sexual assault, misconduct, rape, and abuse. And more than 60 women came forward and laid these accusations at Cosby.

Not until April 2018, Cosby was convicted of sexual assault. Discover Bill Cosby’s net worth.

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Early Life

Bill Cosby was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the birth name, William Henry Cosby Jr. His father, William Henry Cosby Sr. served as a steward in the United States Navy and his mother, Anna Pearl (née Hite) served as a maid.

In his teenage years, Cosby was the class comedian and captain of the basketball teams and track. Cosby was also the class president and performed in plays.

Cosby paid more attention to monkeying around than studying. He quit school and began to work as an apprentice in a shoe repair shop after he failed the 10th grade.

Bill Cosby joined the Navy in 1956 where he served for 4 years as a Hospital Corpsman and obtained his high school equivalency diploma via similar courses.

In 1961, he was given a track and field scholarship to Temple University where he read physical education. And he played fullback and ran track on their college’s football team.

As Cosby advanced through his studies, he kept honing his skill for humor; he cracked jokes with his college friends and colleagues in the service. He later became a bartender at a Philadelphia club where he earned money and discovered more about his talent to make people laugh. So, he entertained his customers with humor.

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Bill Cosby’s Stand-up Comedy Career

In 1961, Bill Cosby made his debut stand-up comedy act in Philadelphia clubs and NYC at the Gaslight Cafe. He proceeded to do stand-up comedy in Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington D.C.

In 1963, his touring made him gain national frontage on The Tonight Show alongside a caravan of successful comedy albums in the 1960s. He released his debut LP (Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow…Right!) in 1964.

Between 1965 and 1987, Cosby earned 7 Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Performance. And his albums—My Brother, To Russell, and Whom I Slept With made it to the first place on Spin magazine’s list of 40 Greatest Comedy Albums of All Time.

Cosby achieved fame by recounting comical stories from his childhood. His victory in stand-up led to television roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show as well as the action series, I Spy which earned him the Emmy Awards three consecutive times.

Early Career

Before he began The Cosby Show, he pursued several other television projects. Bill was a regular guest host on The Tonight Show and featured in an annual special for NBC. Then he played on The Cosby Show for two seasons (from 1969).

In this earlier edition of The Cosby Show, Cosby played the role of a gym teacher at a Los Angeles high school. Not only did the show have a good rating, but it was also a modest significant success.

Bill developed, hosted, and produced the Saturday morning animated movie—Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids. These movies were based on his childhood and it was extremely successful.

The Bill Cosby Show

In the 1980s, Bill Cosby began what was considered one of the most successful sitcoms known as The Cosby Show. While he held much creative control, Bill was a co-producer and featured in the series. Cosby was involved with all production aspects of the show.

His plots were gotten from his actual family life, however, it didn’t just end there. The main characters in the show, parents to 5 children (Cliff and Clair Huxtable) were thriving financially and college graduates, just like Bill Cosby and his real wife.

The Cosby Show went on from September 1984 through 1992. And for five consecutive seasons, the sitcom has remained at the apex of the Nielsen ratings.

Life After The Cosby Show

From 1996 to 2000, Bill Cosby aired his second sitcom—Cosby. He again returned to stand-up comedy, hosting events like Kids Say the Darndest Things alongside many game shows.

Furthermore, Bill became a famous spokesman and represented brands such as Coca-Cola, Kodak, Ford, and Jell-O. In over thirty years, he performed his first stand-up special—Far From Finished in November 2013 on Comedy Central.

Cosby toured with the show and performed his last show in May 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. His last known performance was done in Philadelphia on 23rd January 2018.

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Personal Life

Cosby married Camille Hanks in 1964 and their union was blessed with five children—Ennis Cosby, Evin Harrah Cosby, Erika Ranee, Ensa Cosby, and Erinn Chalene Cosby.

However, he lost his son Ennis at the age of 27. During an attempted robbery while changing a flat tire on the side of the interstate in January 1997, Ennis was murdered. As of February 2018, Ensa their daughter died as a result of renal disease while awaiting a kidney transplant.

Furthermore, Cosby’s attorneys disclosed that Cosby is now legally blind. In 1965, Bill Cosby landed a job on ISpy (a television series). Back in those days, it was a huge contract because African-American actors played very minor roles. However, Cosby’s role was among the major characters.

During this time, Bill won a Primetime Emmy Award and later began the Cosby Show which ran from 1984 through 1992.

Sexual Assault Convictions

Since 2000, Bill has been a subject of highly circulated sexual assault, sexual battery, rape cases, as well as child sexual abuse indictments by several women.

His indicters say his initial assaults began in the mid-1960s. But Bill continually refuted the allegations made against him, claiming that the occurrences were consensual. The majority of the deeds claimed by his indicters fell outside the laws of limitations for legal proceedings.

During this period of allegations, virtually everybody who had something to do with the Cosby brand detached from him. Replays of The Cosby Show alongside other shows he featured in were removed from partnership.

Then in 2015, he became the subject of 8 civil suits, which later surged to 33. On the 26th of April 2018, a Pennsylvania tribunal found Cosby culpable of 3 counts of heightened sexual assault.

So, in September 2018, Bill was convicted and sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison (a state prison). He was constrained to a single cell in administrative segregation at SCI Phoenix, Pennsylvania.

However, in January 2019, he was transferred to the general population of the prison. And in December 2019, his petition to overturn his conviction was lost.

How Much is Bill Cosby’s Net Worth?

According to celebrity net worth, Bill Cosby’s net worth is $400 million. Bill Cosby was among the highest-paid stars of all time right before he launched The Cosby Show. He was earning very high to the extent that he declined a five-year contract worth $3.5 million (which is equivalent to $25 million in the present day) to start his production company.

The Cosby Show (which was one of Bill’s most successful shows) made Bill one of the richest people in the entertainment industry. The Cosby Show ran between 1984 and 1992. He was receiving $4 million at the peak of the show (which is equivalent to $8 million today).

Just in the previous two decades, the show has produced more than $1.5 billion from partnerships. Being the owner of 20% of the profits from the show, Cosby has received nothing less than $300 million just from partnership deals.

Cosby has also made multi-millions from endorsement deals—especially Jell-O, live comedy shows, movie appearances, and different “less successful” television series. After about 100 shows, Bill made $11 million from his 2014 comedy tour.

Bill Cosby’s Real Estate

Cosby’s real estate is worth more than $100 million. He has massive properties in Beverly Hills and Pennsylvania. Only his Beverly Hills estate could be worth up to $60 million depending on relative current sales. Potentially approaching $80 million.

Bill Cosby’s Art Collection

Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille boast of what is defined as “the most significant art collection in the hands of an African-American family”. Cosby began amassing art pieces in the ’60s and the family collection currently comprises art pieces by Renoir, Thomas Hart, Picasso, Rembrandt, Matisse, and Benton. His art collection could be worth nothing less than $150 million.

Some Bill Cosby Quotes

Below are some quotes made by Bill Cosby.

“Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry.” – Bill Cosby

“The past is a ghost, the future a dream, and all we ever have is now.” – Bill Cosby

“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” – Bill Cosby

“Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.” – Bill Cosby

“Women don’t want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think – in a deeper voice.” – Bill Cosby

“The truth is that parents are not really interested in justice. They just want quiet.” – Bill Cosby

“Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.” – Bill Cosby

“Every closed eye is not sleeping, and every open eye is not seeing.” – Bill Cosby

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” – Bill Cosby

“A word to the wise isn’t necessary, it is the stupid ones who need all the advice.” – Bill Cosby

Conclusion

Bill Cosby’s net worth as of 2022 is $400 million and his major income source is his acting career. Before being convicted of sexual assault, Bill lived a supposedly normal life with his wife, Camille Hanks, and his five children.

But his son, Ennis was murdered in 1997 and his daughter, Ensa died in 2018 from renal disease. Thus, only 3 of his children are alive. He also has 3 grandchildren. Cosby was given a $75,000 fine and a $1 million bond after his arrest.

The allegations levied against him greatly impacted his net worth, yet he still has so much more to live a comfortable life.