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The fans of stand-up comedy have probably heard of Bill Burr, an American stand-up comedian known for his cynic brand of observational comedy that doesn't bow the head to political correctness. As Rolling Stone has put it, Burr is an "undisputed heavyweight champ of rage-fueled humor" — which is definitely a "not for everyone" type of comedy that nevertheless gained Burr a dedicated fan base.
But does his brand of sarcastic and controversial humor really pay off? And if yes, how much does Bill Burr earn for his stand-up specials and performances? Read on to learn more about Bill Burr's net worth, career, most notable TV roles, personal life, and his endorsement of Bitcoin!
Bill Burr's early life and comedy career
William Frederick Burr, who would later win the hearts of stand-up comedy fans as Bill Burr, was born on June 10, 1968, in Canton, Massachusetts to the couple of nurse Linda Ann and dentist Robert Edmund Burr. The comedian isn't the only child in his family: he also has a brother named Robert Burr.
In one of his stand-up skits, Bill shared his story of being bullied in school, mostly for being ginger. By his admittance, the future comedian fantasized about taking revenge on his bullies well after his high school years, until his 30s.
After graduating from high school in 1987 and no longer having to deal with bullies, young Bill faced yet another challenge, namely deciding what he wanted to do in life. He enrolled in Emerson College in Boston, graduating in 1993 with a degree in radio, which would later help Burr to kick-start his career as a podcaster. Around the same time, he started making his first steps in a stand-up comedy, moving to New York after graduation to pursue his newly found passion. As a fresh starter in a stand-up comedy, Burr took different side hustles to make ends meet, including working as a forklift operator in a warehouse.
Although Burr's stand-up career was moderately successful at the time, he was nowhere near the current stardom. Back then, Burr was unsure if he'd ever be able to be a full-time comedian.
“I wanted to do it, but I didn’t think it was possible because there wasn’t the internet, it was just on TV and that seemed like a million miles away from where I was,” Burr told Vulture.
Bill Burr's career finally took off when he decided to just be himself. The comedian shaved his head and started incorporating his signature cursing in skits — something that he was reluctant to do at the beginning of his comedy, fearing being booed by the audience.
After coming to terms with his "blunt asshole" persona, Burr started getting cooler opportunities all around. His unconstrained performance has earned him the title of a "comedian's comedian" and he started to get invited to multiple late-night talk shows, making him a favorite guest of Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, and Conan O'Brien. Burr also appeared on Showtime at the Apollo, Comedy Central Presents, and Just for Laughs. But the real fame came to Burr in 2004, when he performed on Dave Chappelle’s sketch comedy series Chappelle’s Show.
The start of the Monday Morning Podcast
In 2007, Burr started recording his weekly podcast called "Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast," which is available on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Burr's website, and the All Things Comedy network that he co-founded in 2012.
Bill Burr's podcast largely focuses on his personal life experiences, his tours, and current events. During each one-hour episode, Burr also offers advice to questions submitted by listeners. As a podcast host, Burr is occasionally joined by his wife, Nia Renee Hill, and often invites and features other comedians.
Since 2015, Bill Burr has expanded the Monday Morning Podcast with a second weekly edition called the Thursday Afternoon Monday Morning Podcast, which adds about half an hour of new material in addition to the skits from previous episodes.
Aside from his two podcasts, Burr is also a frequent guest to other star podcasters, having appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience, WTF with Marc Maron, The Nerdist Podcast, and The Adam Carolla Show.
Bill Burr embraces Bitcoin
As a frequent guest on other comedians' podcasts and a welcoming host himself, it comes as no surprise that Burr once invited Anthony Pompliano, a host of The Pomp podcast and a laser-eyed Bitcoin evangelist, to an episode of “Bill Bert Podcast” he co-hosted with Bert Kreischer. Unbeknownst to both Bill and Bert, they were about to get converted to Bitcoin.
Bill Burr, who has a net worth close to $12 million, has seemingly turned his ear to the gospel of Bitcoin after Pompliano explained in vivid detail the inherent weaknesses of legacy financial systems. According to the bitcoiner, in the event of a bank failure, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is unable to provide more than $250,000 in protection per account holder. For high-net-worth people like Burr, this means splitting their funds across multiple accounts or risking big losses should the banks fold.
Explaining the advantages of Bitcoin, Pompliano emphasized its resistance to inflation, which makes the flagship cryptocurrency an attractive investment in the eyes of many. As the amount of Bitcoin is hard-capped at 21 million units, no one can print it like the US Federal Reserve did with the dollar in times of the coronavirus pandemic.
Alarmed about the potential risks to his wealth, Bill Burr immediately lashed out at "unqualified" bankers, blaming the financial speculation for inflating the housing market.
“You create this whole f*cking bubble and when the whole thing goes to sh*t you still get a f*cking bonus, and you’re only gonna give me 250 off my million bucks? How is that f*cking legal? I’m getting Bitcoin! F*ck this sh*t!” he burst out.
After explaining to the comedian duo how cryptocurrency is held, Pomp suggested that Burr should add Bitcoin as a payment option for his comedy performances. At the same time, Kreischer seemed genuinely excited about the income possibilities offered by crypto mining.
Although it's unclear whether Bill Burr ever actually purchased bitcoin after being seemingly convinced by Pompliano, his gross profit from the investment made on July 2, 2020, would stand today at a mind-boggling 481%. Boosted by the billion inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, the flagship cryptocurrency has recently surged to more than a two-year high and is currently trading at $52,000, according to TradingView data.
What is Bill Burr's net worth?
At the time of writing, Bill Burr's net worth is estimated at $12 to $14 million. He is best known as a comedian and a podcaster but has also made it into the film industry as an actor. Bill Burr also had a brief stint as a director for the Netflix adult animated comedy F Is for Family.
As a host of one of the most popular podcasts, Bill Burr likely earns a significant part of his income from his streaming royalties, sponsorships, and brand agreements. He has also released eight stand-up TV specials and likely generates handsome revenues from his intellectual property rights to his creations. According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix, which has established itself as a major platform for comedians, used to buy new specials for its platform, often for as much as $1 million lump-sum. High-profile comedians like Burr probably made even more from such deals.
Like most comedians, Burr also makes a bulk of his money from touring. His ticket prices range from $80 to $350 and the shows are often sold-out months in advance.
Finally, a chunk of Bill Burr's wealth comes from acting: according to IMDB, his acting credits add up to 46. While most of his roles were small ones, and therefore low-paid, Burr managed to score a couple of acting roles in high-profile big-budget shows like Breaking Bad and Mandalorian.
In Breaking Bad, Bill Burr played Patrick Kuby, one of Saul Goodman's former henchmen, while in Mandalorian, he took a role of a mercenary Migs Mayfeld. While his acting compensation isn't public information, it's probably safe to assume that these roles paid handsomely, making a major contribution to Bill Burr's net worth.
Bill Burr's political leanings
Burr's stand-up comedy doesn't focus largely on politics, but it's clear that his views do not fall strictly within the left-right paradigm. Bill Burr, who prefers to identify as liberal, has long voiced his support for gun control and abortion rights. At the same time, the comedian is vocal about the challenges to culture posited by political correctness, and certainly likes to give hard time to both sides of the US political spectrum.
For instance, not so long time ago, Burr riffed about how both Joe Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 77 could die of old age before the next election, adding that he personally would like to see someone in their forties to take the reins, as such person is more likely to live with the decisions they're going to make while in office.
Although the joke predictably drew a wave of laughter from the audience, Jimmy Kimmel, the host of the show, mockingly warned Burr that instead of Santa, he was about to get a visit from the Secret Service. The comedian then corrected himself, clarifying that he only wishes the two presidential hopefuls to die "peacefully."
Oddly, in the same interview, Bill Burr unexpectedly blamed liberals for indicting Donald Trump. According to the comedian, the former president has now become a martyr in the eyes of his supporters, which will most certainly secure his comeback as the US President.
"I think he was a one hit wonder, he wrote the twist, he was on the casino circuit and then you idiot liberals wrote him twist again when you indicted him and now he is a martyr," said Burr, adding that Trump's supposed big return is going to be "great for comedy."
Amusingly, it's not the first time when Bill Burr has found himself in hot water over his remarks about Trump. In November 2023, the comedian mocked the outrage from the MAGA crowd after his wife, Nia Renee Hill, was caught on camera at the UFC event flashing double middle fingers at the former president. In his typically straightforward manner, Burr pointed out the hypocrisy inherent in the Trump supporters' backlash.
“Those Trump guys — they’re always going, ‘Ah, you’re snowflakes, eff your feelings,’ and all of that,” Burr said. “And then you make fun of Trump, and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, it’s so disrespectful!’ You’re saying ’Eff Joe Biden!’ It’s like, you can’t have it both ways!”
So, are you still confused about Burr's political views? To the outsider, Burr's stance on many things appears to be chaotic at best — like that time when he claimed that pro-choice has always made sense to him and then immediately compared abortion to murder, likening it to removing the uncooked cake from the oven and smashing it on the ground — and a deliberate instance of the fence riding at worst.
The thing about the comedian is that he is at his core a professional entertainer — and Republicans buy sneakers, too (or in Burr's case, listen to podcasts and watch stand-up shows). As American society is deeply divided along ideological lines, sliding with either side immediately leads to being pigeonholed as a member of that political group, which means less outreach and facing "cancel culture" from the opposite side. This — and Burr's contrarianism by his own admittance — are the main reasons behind the comedian's reluctance to stick to one side.
FAQ
What is Bill Burr's height?
Bill Burr is quite a tall man, standing at approximately 5 feet 10 inches or 178 centimeters. The stand-up comedian weighs around 154 pounds, which is 70 kg.
What episode does Bill Burr show up in Breaking Bad?
Bill Burr's Breaking Bad character, Patrick Kuby, appears on the show in season 4 (episodes 3 and 11) and season 5 (episodes 5, 10, and 12).
What are Bill Burr's comedy specials?
At the time of writing, Bill Burr has released several comedy specials, including Comedy Central Presents, Paper Tiger, I'm Sorry You Feel That Way, Walk Your Way Out, Friends Who Kill, and One Night Stand, to name a few. Bill Burr's specials are available on multiple streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO.
What TV shows has Bill Burr been in?
Bill Burr is best known for playing Patrick Kuby in the fourth and fifth seasons of AMC's crime-drama show Breaking Bad, Migs Mayfeld in the Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian, and detective Walsh in the movie Date Night. His other notable roles include various characters in Chappelle's Show, The King of Staten Island, The Heat, Old Dads, Reservation Dogs, and Outer Banks, to name but a few.
Bill Burr has also lent his voice to the characters in The Simpsons, F is for Family, Leo, and the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, including its 2009 expansion pack The Lost and Damned.
When was Bill Burr in Mandalorian?
Bill Burr's character in The Mandalorian is Migs Mayfeld, a former Imperial sharpshooter turned mercenary. In the series, Mayfeld appears in season 1, episode 6 and later in season 2, episode 7.
Interestingly, Bill Burr himself is far from being considered a fan of the franchise: the stand-up comedian has repeatedly mocked the cultural obsession with Star Wars, and his sarcastic remarks about the fans of the series gained considerable traction on social media.
"By the time I saw it [Star Wars], I was just too old, they had like Ewoks and stuff, and I wanted to see Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I missed the boat, so I never got on it, and I’ve religiously made fun of every one of them that came out. Just teasing — just because people are excited. I’m a jerk, you know? I see people get excited about something and I just make fun of it," Burr told CineamBlend as he explained why he never got on the hype train.
Ironically, Bill Burr's direct jabs at Star Wars were the reason he landed the role in The Mandalorian in the first place, as the series creator Jon Favreau believed that the fans would find it humorous that a staunch critic would contribute to the franchise's legacy. Another reason for casting Burr was that his character's satirical humor is strikingly similar to the actor's real-life comedy style.
Who is Bill Burr's wife?
Bill Burr is married to an actor and producer Nia Renee Hill, whom he first met on the first season of Chappelle's Show in 2003, where Hill worked in the talent department. However, the pair didn't really get to know each other until a year later at Tough Crowd With Colin Quin, where Burr was invited as a guest comedy performer. Their friendship soon grew into a romantic relationship, and after ten years of dating, the couple decided to exchange marriage vows in 2013.
With Nia Renee Hill, Bill Burr has fathered two children: a daughter named Lola (born January 20, 2017), and a son whose name has not been shared (born June 2020).
If you would like to learn more about the net worth of other finance & entertainment personalities, take a look at our articles on Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan, Robert Herjavec of Shark Tank, and Michael Saylor of Microstrategy.
