What is Jason Alexander's Net Worth and Salary?
Jason Alexander, born Jay Scott Greenspan, is a multifaceted American actor, comedian, director, producer, singer, and writer with an impressive net worth of $50 million. He is most recognized for his portrayal of George Costanza on the iconic sitcom Seinfeld. Prior to Seinfeld, Alexander starred in the CBS sitcom Everything's Relative in 1987.
Alexander's career spans numerous Broadway performances, including the lauded Jerome Robbins' Broadway, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical in 1989. Additionally, he starred in the Los Angeles production of The Producers alongside Martin Short. His diverse portfolio includes producing music videos, making guest appearances, and engaging in television endorsements. Notably, in 2019, he was cast as Asher Friedman in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Alexander's filmography features nearly 50 movies, including a standout role as Phillip Stuckey in Pretty Woman, co-starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.
Personal Life
Jason Alexander was born on September 23, 1959, in Newark, New Jersey. On the philanthropic front, he has served as a national spokesman for the Scleroderma Foundation and appeared in an ASPCA commercial. Additionally, he supports the OneVoice initiative, advocating for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and he has visited Israel multiple times. Alexander married Daena E. Title in 1982, and they have two children, Gabriel and Noah. Known for his passion for poker, he has competed in various televised tournaments, including a virtual National Poker Tournament in 2021 hosted by the Children's Tumor Foundation to raise funds for Neurofibromatosis research.
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Jason Alexander Seinfeld Salary
During the initial seasons of Seinfeld, supporting cast members Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jason Alexander earned modest salaries. Their successful negotiations before season 5 elevated their earnings to $150,000 per episode, approximately $3.8 million per season. In 1997, the supporting cast sought substantial raises, aspiring to $1 million per episode or profit-sharing points. As Alexander recounted:
'Julia, Michael and I, during our big renegotiation for the final year, asked for something that I will go to my grave saying we should have had, and that is back-end participation in the profits for the show. It was categorically denied to us, which forced us to then ask for ungodly salaries. We make very little, standard Screen Actors Guild residuals for the reruns.'
The network offered $200,000, then $400,000, before ultimately agreeing to $600,000 per episode for the final season, totaling about $15 million each. Adjusted for inflation, that's equivalent to $24 million today. The supporting cast members earned roughly $45 million in base salary from Seinfeld.
Seinfeld Syndication Earnings
Contrary to popular belief, Julia, Michael, and Jason do not receive large sums from Seinfeld's syndication deals, which have amassed nearly $4 billion. Equity ownership percentage points are required to profit from syndication, and the supporting cast did not receive backend points. They do receive royalties, but these amount to several hundred thousand dollars annually, not millions. In contrast, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld each earned $250 million from syndication sales in 1998 and a decade later continued earning at least $50 million annually from syndication points. However, the supporting cast secured profit-sharing on DVD sales, providing a moderate financial benefit during the DVD era.
