Tyler Perry is the third highest-paid entertainer, according to Forbes’ 2023 list.
Sitting at $175 million, the actor and director has had quite a successful year thanks to his BET shows and Atlanta production studio, Tyler Perry Studios. According to the outlet, “Perry is the list’s sole billionaire with an estimated $1 billion fortune.”
This is Perry’s second time being featured on Forbes’ top 10 highest-paid entertainers list. In 2022, Perry made it to No. 8 on Forbes’ list.
In addition to being the only billionaire on the list, Perry is the only Black person.
Since 2005, Perry has accumulated over $1.4 billion in gross income thanks to his dozens of stage plays, over 1,200 television episodes and 22 feature films. Additionally, Perry owns the largest studio in the nation.
Perry has been open about being “poor as hell” before fame, revealing he dealt with an abusive man who turned out not to be his father. Additionally, the actor dove deep into poverty while pursuing his dreams of getting into the film industry by living out of his car.
Perry’s situation would’ve made some people give up on their dreams, but the 53-year-old pushed forward, tweaking some of the productions he was working on, like his first play, I know I’ve Been Changed, a story about child-abuse survivors. The writer’s goal with his stories was to amplify the Black community’s voice, especially with his iconic character, Madea (“Ma to the d**n d-e-a”). His mother and older churchgoing women inspired him to create characters that projected Black women’s burdens.
And although his Madea films didn’t gain as much Hollywood traction, they accumulated over $670 million at the box office, and $290 million went into Perry’s pockets.
Now, the entertainment mogul is making $150 million annually under his 2017 deal with ViacomCBS until 2024 as long as he continues producing at least 90 episodes for his BET shows like Sistas, The Oval, and Assisted Living.
