Bill Cosby Net Worth

What is Bill Cosby's net worth?

Bill Cosby is an American comedian, television star, and producer who has a net worth of $200 million. At the peak of his success, Bill Cosby's net worth was $300-$400 million. Bill earned the majority of his fortune as the creator and star of "The Cosby Show." In the late 1980s and 1990s, Bill was the highest-paid television actor in the world. His base salary for the show was $1 million per episode, but when his producing, creator, syndication, and various other income streams were totaled, he earned $4 million per episode. That's the same as earning $8 million per episode today. He owned 20% of the show's equity, which went on to generate hundreds of millions in syndication royalties. Those royalties have mostly dried up in recent years in the wake of his scandals.

Cosby used those royalties, in addition to royalties from other programs, endorsement deals, and speaking engagement fees, to invest in an extremely valuable real estate portfolio and art collection. Depending on their respective market rates at any given moment, the Cosby art collection and real estate portfolio could be worth north of $250 million combined. The future of Cosby's fortune is not yet known. Cosby reportedly spent millions of dollars on various legal defenses and could be liable for millions of dollars in future damages.

Bill Cosby rose to prominence in the 1960s as a groundbreaking comedian, becoming one of the first Black performers to achieve mainstream success in American entertainment. His comedy albums won multiple Grammy Awards, and he gained initial television fame in "I Spy" (1965-1968), making history as the first Black actor to star in a dramatic television series.

In the 1970s, Cosby expanded his influence through educational children's programming, creating and hosting "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" (1972-1985). He also appeared in films including "Uptown Saturday Night" and "Let's Do It Again."

Cosby achieved his greatest success with "The Cosby Show" (1984-1992), which revolutionized television by portraying an upper-middle-class Black family. The show dominated ratings for years and transformed both television and cultural representation. He followed this with "A Different World" and other television projects.

Beyond entertainment, Cosby became a prominent public figure, advocating for education and often speaking on social issues affecting the Black community. He authored several books and received numerous honorary degrees.

However, Cosby's legacy was dramatically altered when dozens of women began publicly accusing him of sexual assault in 2014-2015, with allegations dating back decades. Many women claimed he drugged them before the assaults. In 2018, Cosby was convicted of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand and sentenced to prison.

In June 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction on technical grounds related to a prior agreement with prosecutors. Despite his release, the allegations permanently damaged his once-pristine public image. More legal challenges followed, including a civil case in 2022 where a jury found Cosby liable for sexually assaulting a teenager in the 1970s.

The dramatic fall from "America's Dad" to convicted sex offender represents one of the most significant reversals of fortune in entertainment history.

The Cosby Show Syndication Royalties

The Cosby Show ran from 1984 to 1992. At the peak of the show, he was earning $4 million per episode (the same as $8 million today). In the last two decades alone, the show has generated over $1.5 billion from syndication. As the owner of 20% of the show's profits, Bill earned at least $300 million from syndication sales.

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Early Life

Bill Cosby was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia. He is one of four children of Anna Pearl and William Henry Cosby Sr. Bill was class president at Mary Channing Wister Public School in Philadelphia. He was known for his reputation as the class clown. He attended Germantown High School but failed out of tenth grade. In 1956, Cosby left school at the age of 15 to join the Navy. He worked in physical therapy with the Navy and Marine Corps, who had been injured during the Korean War. Cosby did eventually earn his diploma and went on to earn a doctorate in Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He also bartended at clubs and made big tips from those he made laugh. He then focused his efforts on the stage.

Standup Comedy Career

Cosby debuted his stand-up act in the clubs of Philadelphia and then in NYC at The Gaslight Cafe in 1961. He went on to tour and do stand-up in Chicago, Vegas, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. In 1963, his touring led to national exposure on The Tonight Show and a series of successful comedy albums in the 1960s. His debut LP dropped in 1964, Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow…Right! Cosby won seven Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Performance between 1965 and 1987. His album To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With was named number one on Spin magazine's list of the 40 Greatest Comedy Albums of All Time. Cosby made a name for himself by recounting humorous stories from his childhood. His success in standup led to television roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show and the action series I Spy, for which he won three consecutive Emmy Awards.

Early Career

Before starting The Cosby Show, Bill pursued a variety of other television projects. He was a regular guest host for The Tonight Show and hosted and starred in an annual special for NBC. For two seasons, starting in 1969, he starred in The Bill Cosby Show. In this early version of The Cosby Show, Bill played a P.E. teacher at a Los Angeles high school. The show was a ratings hit but only a modest critical success. Cosby was at odds with NBC for refusing to utilize a laugh track for the show. He believed that viewers had the ability to find humor for themselves without being prompted. From 1972-1979, Cosby created, hosted, and produced the animated Saturday morning cartoon Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. It was based on Bill's own childhood. The show was wildly successful.

The Cosby Show

In the 1980s, Cosby launched one of the most successful sitcoms of all time called The Cosby Show. Cosby co-produced and starred in the series and held much creative control. He involved himself with every aspect of the production of The Cosby Show. Plots were often based on Bill's actual family life, and the similarities didn't stop there: Main characters, parents to five children, Cliff and Clair Huxtable, were college-educated and financially successful, much like Cosby and his real-life wife. The show ran from September 1984 to 1992 and is one of only two sitcoms to remain at the top of the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive seasons.

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Life After The Cosby Show

His second sitcom, Cosby, aired from 1996 – 2000, and during this time, Cosby also returned to his stand-up roots, hosting programs such as Kids Say the Darndest Things, as well as several game shows. He also became a popular spokesman, representing brands like Jell-O, Kodak, Ford, and Coca-Cola. Bill performed Far From Finished, his first stand-up special in over 30 years, on Comedy Central in November 2013. He toured with the show and performed his last one in Atlanta, Georgia, in May 2015. Cosby's last known stand-up performance was in Philadelphia on January 23, 2018.

Sexual Assault Convictions

Bill Cosby has been the subject of highly-publicized rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and sexual battery accusations by many women since 2000. His accusers say the earliest of the assaults started taking place in the mid-60s. Cosby repeatedly denied the allegations, stating that the incidents were consensual. Most of the acts alleged by his accusers fell outside of the statutes of limitations for legal proceedings. In the wake of the allegations, almost everyone who had anything to do with the Cosby brand severed ties with him. Reruns of The Cosby Show and other shows featuring Bill were pulled from syndication. In 2015, Cosby was the subject of eight civil suits, which later rose to 33. On April 26, 2018, a jury in Pennsylvania found Bill Cosby guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault. In September 2018, he was sentenced to three to ten years in a state prison. He was confined to a single cell in administrative segregation at SCI Phoenix in Pennsylvania but was moved to the general population of the prison in January 2019. In December 2019, Cosby lost an appeal to overturn his conviction. In June of 2021, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania vacated the conviction for violations of Cosby's 5th Amendment and 14th Amendment due process rights and released him from jail. The legal issues have continued to follow Cosby since.

Attempted Comeback

Following his release from prison in 2021, Bill Cosby started plotting an attempt at a comeback, including a potential comedy tour spanning the United States and Canada, going all the way to London. It was reported that the Cosby team contacted a number of promoters and clubs trying to make it happen. Also, a five-part docuseries covering his legacy and time in prison, and a book were being put together by Cosby. But in September of that same year, he canceled these comeback plans for the time being.

Personal Life

Cosby has been married to his wife Camille since 1964, and the couple had five children. Their son Ennis was murdered in January 1997 at the age of 27 in an attempted robbery while he was changing a flat tire on the side of the interstate. Their daughter, Ensa, died of renal disease while awaiting a kidney transplant in February 2018. In 2016, Cosby's attorneys revealed he was legally blind. In 2021, Bill and Camille moved back to their home in Shelbourne, Massachusetts, leaving their home in Elkin Park, Pennsylvania.

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Real Estate

Elkins Park Estate (Pennsylvania)

Cosby's long-time home is a historic estate in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania (outside Philadelphia), which the family has owned since 1983. Bill and his wife Camille purchased this 3-acre property in June 1983 for $225,000. The main house is a 5,835 sq ft 18th-century stone Colonial manor with 5 bedrooms and 4½ baths. Over the years, the Cosbys raised their children here, and the estate was updated with modern comforts (gated entry, security, etc.). Given its size and location in Montgomery County, the current market value of this property is likely in the millions (several million dollars), far above the 1983 purchase price. This Pennsylvania home gained attention as the site where Cosby's 2004 assault of Andrea Constand occurred and is where Cosby returned after his 2021 prison release. It remains the Cosbys' primary residence since 2021.

Shelburne Falls Compound (Massachusetts)

In the early 1970s, at the height of his early career, Cosby acquired a sprawling 21-acre estate in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts (near Buckland). He bought the land around 1971 while pursuing graduate studies at UMass Amherst. The property evolved into a private family compound with multiple structures, sitting along the Deerfield River. Cosby's five children grew up spending time on this estate, and the family even set aside portions of the land for conservation. (Tragically, Cosby's only son Ennis, who was murdered in 1997, was laid to rest on this Massachusetts property.) The Shelburne Falls estate – effectively a rural retreat – likely has a more modest market value than his urban holdings, but still represents significant wealth. It includes extensive acreage and was a key part of Cosby's asset base for decades. Cosby has reportedly owned this Western Massachusetts compound since 1971 and continues to retain it.

Beverly Hills Mansion (California)

Cosby also owns a premium property in Beverly Hills. In 1992, at the height of his Cosby Show earnings, he purchased a luxury mansion at 728 North Linden Drive, Beverly Hills for $3.65 million. The property is a sizable 0.53-acre lot in the Beverly Hills flats, featuring an ~6,700 sq ft Spanish-style mansion with 8 bedrooms and 5 baths. Surrounded by mature trees and tucked behind gates, this has been the Cosbys' West Coast residence for years. Today, the Beverly Hills estate's value has appreciated substantially – recent estimates put it around $12 million (per Redfin analysis), though some speculative sources have suggested even higher values. The home is mortgage-free and was a cornerstone of Cosby's real estate wealth. (There were unconfirmed reports in 2021 referring to this as Cosby's "former" house, but property records do not show a sale, implying the Cosbys still own it.)

Manhattan Townhouses (New York City)

Cosby accumulated at least two high-value townhouses on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which have figured into his financial picture and recent troubles:

East 71st Street Townhouse: In 1987, Cosby bought a stately six-story townhouse at 18 E. 71st Street (Lenox Hill) for $6.2 million. This 12,000+ sq ft mansion served as the Cosbys' New York residence and was considered their primary home in the city for decades. As property values soared, Cosby later leveraged this asset – by 2010–2014 he had taken out $17.5 million in loans against the townhouse. (In fact, in 2017, he even explored borrowing up to $30 million on it, indicating the home's potential value at the time.) Recently, however, Cosby defaulted on those loans. By late 2024, a bank lawsuit revealed Cosby had stopped making payments on the $17.5 M debt for the E.71st St property, prompting foreclosure proceedings. This implies significant financial strain or an inability to refinance, putting this mansion at risk of forced sale.

East 61st Street Townhouse: Cosby and his wife also own a smaller 4-story brownstone at East 61st Street (Lenox Hill). They bought this 5,000 sq ft townhouse back in April 1980 for just $327,000 (likely as a long-term investment). In 2017, amidst mounting legal costs, Cosby quietly listed the E.61st St townhouse for sale at $6.995 million. It appears a sale never occurred; instead, Cosby borrowed against this property too. He took out a $4.2 million loan, but fell into default on that as well. In December 2024, Citibank filed a pre-foreclosure action over the $3.68 M remaining balance on the 61st St mortgage. In short, both Manhattan townhouses are now subject to foreclosure lawsuits due to Cosby's loan defaults. This indicates that, while these New York properties are very valuable (likely worth eight-figure sums in total), Cosby's inability to service the debt against them has turned them from assets into liabilities. If foreclosure proceeds, the properties may be seized or sold by lenders to recoup the loans.

Art Collection

Bill Cosby and his wife Camille are the longtime owners of what has often been called "the most significant private art collection in the hands of an African American family." Experts have estimated the collection's market value exceeds $150 million

The Cosbys began assembling their collection in the 1960s, using Cosby's rising entertainment earnings to acquire both historic and contemporary works. Over the decades, the collection has grown to include more than 300 pieces, spanning genres, centuries, and continents.

The Cosby collection features masterpieces by Thomas Hart Benton, Rembrandt, Renoir, Picasso, and Matisse, alongside a substantial body of work by Black American artists including Henry Ossawa Tanner, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden, Faith Ringgold, Charles White, and many others. Their holdings helped elevate the visibility of Black artists within major museum circles.

In 2014, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art launched a landmark exhibit featuring 62 works from the Cosbys' personal collection, highlighting its cultural and curatorial significance. The show sparked both acclaim and controversy following Cosby's legal troubles, but it cemented the collection's reputation as museum-grade in scale and quality.

In recent years, Cosby has reportedly used at least one painting as loan collateral and sold others, including a Thomas Hart Benton oil valued at over $10 million, suggesting the collection has also served as a source of liquidity during periods of legal and financial strain.

Legal Gees and Settlements

Cosby has faced numerous civil lawsuits and settlements stemming from sexual assault allegations, which have put a dent in his fortune. The most notable payout was a 2006 settlement with Andrea Constand – Cosby paid her $3.38 million to resolve her sexual assault claims. This settlement became public during Cosby's 2018 criminal trial. In 2022, a California jury in Judy Huth's case found Cosby liable for assaulting her as a teenager at the Playboy Mansion in 1975; Cosby was ordered to pay $500,000 in damages.

Several other accusers filed defamation suits after Cosby's representatives called them liars. In 2019, Cosby settled a defamation lawsuit with seven women (accusers from the 1970s–80s) for an undisclosed sum. Likewise, former model Janice Dickinson sued for defamation and, in 2019, reached a confidential settlement that her attorney described as a "very large" and "epic" amount.

In total, between the Constand payout and various settlements, Cosby has likely paid tens of millions of dollars to resolve legal claims. He also incurred substantial legal defense costs – by one estimate, up to $40 million in fees through 2018​

Notably, Cosby's insurance carrier (AIG) covered many of these civil settlements. Reports indicate Cosby had at least $37 million in liability insurance (including a $35 million umbrella policy), which his insurers tapped to pay claims even if Cosby personally objected.

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