Chris Rock's Impressive Netflix Deal Paid Him $40 Million For 2 Shows

Chris Rock, who's gone from a successful stand-up star to a beloved Hollywood legend over the years, recently made headlines after being slapped by Will Smith at Sunday's 2022 Oscars ceremony. Here's a look at Rock's career and the many other ways the comedian makes his money.

Rock first gained a wide following after he appeared on “Saturday Night Live” in the early 1990s. Following his stint on the NBC sketch comedy show, he went on to write and star in the comedy “CB4,” which made $18 million despite only costing $6 million to make.

Throughout the course of his career, Rock has produced several successful comedy specials, including “Bring the Pain,” “Bigger & Blacker” and “Never Scared” for HBO, and put out several Grammy-winning comedy albums.

Combined with the success of his films such as “The Longest Yard” and “Grown Ups” and shows such as “Everybody Hates Chris,” among others, Rock has amassed a net worth of $60 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

The website claimed Rock's net worth could have been higher had he not lost “tens of millions of dollars” in a 2016 divorce settlement with his wife of 20 years, Malaak Compton.

Rock is consistently one of the highest-paid comedians in the world. Between June 2016 and June 2017, he earned approximately $57 million, according to Forbes. The comedian then made $30 million between June 2017 and June 2018.

After an eight-year hiatus, he returned to stand-up comedy in 2018 with two Netflix specials.

Rock was paid $40 million for the two specials, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The first of his two specials, “Chris Rock: Tamborine,” debuted in February 2018.

Rock also makes money outside of stand-up comedy and acting. He was the voice behind Marty the Zebra in the “Madagascar” animated film series. He also served as producer for several of his own series and films, including “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Chris Rock Show.”

Drawing on his years of comedy performance experience, Rock hosted the 77th Academy Awards in 2005 and the 88th Academy Awards in 2016. He is also a recipient of awards himself, winning four Emmy Awards and three Grammy Awards for his work.

Rock was smacked across the face on the Oscars stage Sunday by Smith after the comedian joked about Jada Pinkett Smith, who lives with alopecia, starring in a “G.I. Jane” sequel due to her shaved head.

However, the controversy seemed to have helped sell Rock's comedy tour tickets. The comedian is scheduled to perform at Boston's Wilbur Theater Wednesday through Friday before his “Ego Death” world tour begins Saturday.

Ticket resale website TickPick tweeted that following the Oscars altercation, it “sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined.”

Rock has declined to press charges against Smith over the slap, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said it has launched a “formal review” into the incident.