Peter Kay named Britain’s richest comedian

£34.6million fortune buys a lot of garlic bread

Peter Kay has been named Britain’s richest comedian, with a £34.6million fortune.

Records at Companies House show that in the year to March 2023, the value of the Car Share star’s two firms were down £1.2million on the previous year – but he still topped a table compiled by The Sun today.

And his coffers will be swelled by receipts for his ongoing arena tour, which extends to December next year.

The newspaper’s analysis apparently only considers the value of the companies through which stars do their business, and not other assets such as property.

Second in the rich list is Stephen Merchant, with £26.2million – up £2.5million in a year – followed by his Office co-creator Ricky Gervais with £25.8million.

Gervais recently bought a £14.75m home in London and also owns a £3million riverside mansion in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and two New York apartments.

The Sun’s list is also likely to be incomplete, with the likes of Rowan Atkinson – who still rakes in a fortune from Mr Bean – and Jimmy Carr not making their cut.

But this is their top ten:

1 Peter Kay: £34.6m, down £1.2m in a year
2. Stephen Merchant £26.2m, up £2.5m
3. Ricky Gervais £25.8m, up £600k
4. Russell Howard £10.1m, up £1m
5. Jack Whitehall £.9.9m, down £1.3m
6 Rob Beckett £6m, up £2m
7. Michael McIntyre £5m, up £1.9m
8 John Bishop £4.3m, down £155k
9. Sarah Millican £3.2m, down £200k
10. Hugh Dennis £2.7m, up £40k.

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Published: 22 Jul 2024