It’s one of the most prestigious awards shows of the season, but we were surprised to learn how much Jimmy Kimmel gets paid for the Oscars. As it’s his fourth time hosting, you’d think they’d reward him with a bigger salary.
James Christian Kimmel was born on November 13, 1967, in Brooklyn, New York, and is a descendant of Italian immigrants. He was inspired by legendary talk-show host David Letterman’s star in radio, so Kimmel pursued radio as well while in high school. In 1989, after attending Arizona State University, he landed his first paying job alongside fellow former student Kent Voss as morning drive co-host of The Me and Him Show at KZOK-FM in Seattle.
“For the most part, from the moment I got a job in radio, I had to work very hard to make a living,” Kimmel told Success in 2014. The team performed several stunts and pranks on air, with one resulting in an $8,000 loss in advertising. They were fired a year later, and again as hosts at WRBQ-FM in Tampa.
He started out in TV writing promotional copy for Fox broadcasters but was soon recruited to do on-air announcing himself. Producer Michael Davies apparently offered him several TV shows but Kimmel declined them until he was offered a place as the comedic counterpart to Ben Stein on the game show Win Ben Stein’s Money, which debuted on Comedy Central in 1997.
Fast forward to now, the popular talk show personality finds himself at the center of attention for Hollywood’s night of nights. Here’s how much Jimmy Kimmel gets paid for the Oscars.
How much does Jimmy Kimmel get paid for the Oscars?
How much does Jimmy Kimmel get paid for the Oscars? In 2022, Kimmel revealed he was paid $15,000 to host the Oscars in 2017 and 2018. Wanda Sykes, who had to co-host with Regina Hall and comedian Amy Schumer, lamented how little she was getting paid for hosting during an episode of Kimmel Live!. “I was real excited about [the gig], but then I realized, out of all the jobs that I have, this one is actually gonna cost me money,” she joked.
“I got paid $15,000 to host the Oscars. And there’s one of me!,” he said in response, which is 0.1 percent of his annual salary for Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “You guys will probably have to split that.” They then talked about how much work went into being a host for Hollywood’s biggest awards show and questioned whether the investment of time and energy was worth it. “You’re getting robbed. You know what? Hold out right now because they need hosts, you know?” he told Sykes. To compensate for the low pay, she joked: “Well, I’ve already decided I’m just going to steal an Oscar.”
In 2013, Alec Baldwin also commented on the low pay for the Oscars hosting gig. Baldwin hosted alongside Steve Martin, so we have to assume they split the paycheck, too. Baldwin told The Hollywood Reporter at the time, “They don’t pay you any money; the Oscars pay you like chicken feed,” Baldwin said. “It’s all about the honor of helping to extol film achievement.” THR also reported that, in 2013, Seth MacFarlane was reportedly paid above the $15,000 SAG-AFTRA minimum.
What is Jimmy Kimmel’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! salary?
What is Jimmy Kimmel’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! salary? The late-night talk show host earns an annual salary of $15 million. It’s a job he’s held since 2003 which makes him one of the longest-running talk show hosts in history behind the legendary Johnny Carson, who hosted The Tonight Show for 30 years from 1962 to 1992.
What is Jimmy Kimmel’s net worth?
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host is worth $50 million according to Celebrity Net Worth. As mentioned, he began his career in radio and actually resisted TV. He started out writing promotional copy for Fox broadcasters but was soon recruited to do on-air announcing himself. Producer Michael Davies apparently offered him several TV shows but Kimmel declined them until he was offered a place as the comedic counterpart to Ben Stein on the game show Win Ben Stein’s Money, which debuted on Comedy Central in 1997.
Kimmel was then offered a co-hosting gig on The Man Show (which has aged poorly, by the way). Kimmel left in 2003 to host his own late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC. Interestingly, the show has actually not been broadcast live since 2004 when guest Thomas Jane said “f—k” and censors failed to catch it in time, per Vulture. When the show faced layoffs in 2005, Kimmel himself pitched opening each episode with an “integration”—a sketch that starred an advertiser’s product. “That was my stupid idea,” he told Vulture in 2012. “Then it turned into a big moneymaker for them. Now I’m stuck with it.”
In 2014, the TV personality did an interview with Success in which he talked about his work ethic and how he enjoys fly-fishing during any time he has off. “When I’m really busy, I look forward to something like that. I put it on my calendar and try to focus on it when it gets really stressful,” Kimmel said. “It’s great to have downtimes. I almost never have them. There’s always a charity event to host or preparation for the show. If this job was just the show, I could do it pretty easily, but all the extra things add up.”
He explained how important it is for him to know everyone on his staff and put in the hours. “The only thing that I think I did right is that I always try to work harder than anyone else. It eliminates a lot of excuses from people if they see me working very hard,” he said.
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