With a net worth of more than $450 million in 2022, few people know how young millionaire David Letterman experienced poverty and how he changed his life.
David Letterman, one of the richest MCs in American history. With more than 30 years of dedication to the domestic entertainment industry, he left a deep impression in the hearts of the audience and left a huge fortune in his home.
Famous for being the MC of NBC’s late-night talk show “Late Show with David Letterman”, David can be said to make a lot of money thanks to his charm when hosting this show. But success only really came to him when he was in the late afternoon.
Childhood is hard.
David Letterman, real name David Michael Letterman, was born on April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana, a state in the Midwestern United States. His father died early due to heart disease.
“I used to be so poor that I had to live in a car, which was both my home and my only asset,” David said.
When he was in middle school, David worked as a part-time waiter at a small supermarket to earn extra income for his family. Graduated from Ball State University in 1969 at the Department of Television and Radio, he was briefly accepted to work as a broadcaster but was fired shortly after due to his frequent sarcasm and sarcasm about the sound. classic music.
After graduating from college, David worked as a weather MC at Indianapolis Television. His sense of humor when standing in front of the camera quickly captured everyone’s laughter, leaving an indelible impression on those who had seen his newscasts.
In 1975, family and friends saw his potential as a writer and encouraged David to come to Los Angeles to further his career. Here, David first came into contact with stand-up comedy through the show “The Comedy Store”. From there, he began to create many relationships with people in the industry and quickly became a screenwriter, guest, … for many major programs and game shows in 1978.
Gradually, the unique style of humor has made the David Letterman brand. The producer of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” kept an eye on him and regularly invited him to their shows.
“Carson was a turning point in my life,” David said.
Joining NBC was the first stepping stone in David Letterman’s millionaire career. Initially, he was assigned to be the MC for a morning comedy show in the 1980s, but David alone couldn’t handle the show’s terrible script, so much so that it was cut off after only 4 months.
Not wanting to waste his talent, David was arranged by NBC to another show, different time frame, etc. Since then, “Late Night with David Letterman” was born with David’s skillful steering.
At night, people look to TV shows with the desire to entertain after a long tiring day, capturing that, David launches his signature comedy pieces. The carelessness and liberality in David’s programming style has created a big hit, attracting many viewers, especially young people, the main group of people who often stay up late to watch TV.
In 1992, realizing his fame was big enough, David separated and built his own show on CBS. $ 14 million / year is the number to keep this “genius” MC, almost twice as much as when he was at NBC. This salary makes him the second most expensive MC in American television history.
David Letterman has a unique and distinctive hosting style, leaving a deep image in the hearts of American audiences. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
At the age of 50, David’s leadership is somewhat more mature, the humorous pieces are controlled and somewhat restrained to attract more viewers.
At the same time, David founded his own Worldwide Pants – a company specializing in content production and entertainment. The huge profit from this company also contributed to raising the MC’s assets to many zeros.
In 2014, the last broadcast marked the end of the “Letterman era” attracting 13.76 million viewers, showing the level of this talented MC.
In order to see David Letterman firsthand on stage as an MC, many famous names were present such as: “television queen” Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray… and veteran actors of the show. Hollywood at that time like Steve Martin, comedians Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carey…
Letterman with guest Barack Obama in an interview program. Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GettyImages
Throughout his journey on stage, David won 9 Emmy Awards for the title of best presenter. He is also recognized as the longest-running late-night talk show host in American television history.
Barrack Obama expressed regret:
“Without David, television is not fun.”
The Retirement Life of a Millionaire
Most of his time during this period was devoted to charity. David donates millions of dollars to nonprofits including the American Cancer Society, Doctors Without Borders, and Ball State University.
In 2017, David was awarded the “The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor” to honor his invaluable contributions to America’s media and entertainment industry.
In particular, David also knows how to make more money for himself by investing in valuable real estate. He bought a farm in Montana to practice business. David also earns $50 million a year in royalties from the shows he’s been in.
In 2018, David made a small comeback in the interview program My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman on Netflix with the first guest being Barack Obama.
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