Seinfeld bumps Kevin Hart on Forbes' 'World's Highest Paid Comedians 2017' list

Top comics score big with Netflix deals

It was an admirable run for Kevin Hart, but can anyone keep down Jerry Seinfeld?

A year after the Philadelphia-born comedian topped Forbes' World's Highest Paid Comedians list with $87.5 million in earnings in 2016, Jerry Seinfeld is back on top.


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Hart's 2016 was something of an outlier, driven by a blistering tour schedule that included more than 100 shows, each grossing about $1 million a pop. His first place rank last year stood a full $30 million above Seinfeld's second-place position.

This year, comedy success was largely propelled by Netflix, whose $6 billion content budget pushed several entertainers ahead of Hart. Here's the top ten:

10. Sebastian Maniscalco - $15 million
9. Jeff Dunham - $15.5 million
8. Terry Fator - $18.5 million
7. Jim Gaffigan - $30.5 million
6. Kevin Hart - $32.5 million
5. Amy Schumer - $37.5 million
4. Dave Chappelle - $47 million
3. Louis C.K. - $52 million
2. Chris Rock – $57 million
1. Jerry Seinfeld - $69 million

Seinfeld's 2017 boom comes thanks to a new Netflix deal that includes a stand-up special, two seasons of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" and a development component.

Hart moved away from touring this year to pursue bigger projects such as "Jumanji," "Captain Underpants," several endorsement deals and the upcoming launch of Laugh Out Loud, a streaming platform created in a partnership between Lionsgate and Hartbeat Digital.

Check out the full Forbes' list here.