Making the transition from film to television is a difficult one that few performers can pull off successfully. Jennifer Aniston made it happen after Friends, and John Krasinski has done well since The Office. As we have seen, Sacha Baron Cohen has made a mint for himself after his television series turned him into a household name back in England.
Over the years, Cohen would have a chance to flex his acting abilities in loads of hit projects, and he has accumulated quite an impressive amount of wealth. He has done so by getting his hands dirty in various areas and by being someone with a penchant for spotting a successful opportunity.
Let’s take a look and see how Sacha Baron Cohen made a fortune!
Television Gets The Ball Rolling
One of the unique things about Sacha Baron Cohen‘s rise to his massive fortune is the fact that he has been able to find success in a number of different facets of the entertainment industry. He initially got his start on television, where he began to make a name for himself before spreading his wings into solo projects.
Character work on television can be a great way for someone to start letting the general public know who they are, and this is precisely what Sacha Baron Cohen was able to do back in the U.K. It was his time on the series The 11 o’clock Show that eventually led to his character Ali G getting his own show on the small screen, according to IMDb.
For many people, Ali G is considered Sacha Baron Cohen’s best character, and he is someone that was never afraid or pulled punches on his show. Ali G was the place where Borat and Bruno really came to life, and these characters would eventually play a huge part in Sacha Baron Cohen‘s career down the line.
Cohen was always recognized as a legitimate comedic talent back in his homeland, but now that he had a significant amount of creative control, people really got to see what he brought to the table.
As great as the small screen was for a launching point, things were truly hit another level on the big screen.
Hit Films Pay The Bills
The success and acclaim of Ali G on the small screen meant that Sacha Baron Cohen was going to be able to extend his reach further in the entertainment industry. This was a huge reason why he was able to make the film Borat, which would go on to be a monumental success in the movie business.
For those of us old enough to remember, Borat was something that completely took the world by storm, and you could hardly go anywhere without hearing one of his many catchphrases from the film. Sure, a lot of people found the film to be incredibly offensive and many people even walked out of the movie while it was in theaters, but this does not change the fact that the film was a massive global success.
The box office receipts from Borat were more than people were expecting, and this meant that Sacha Baron Cohen was going to get the opportunity to shine on the big screen in the future.
According to IMDb, Cohen would go on to appear and other projects like Talladega Nights, Sweeney Todd, and Les Miserables, showing that he could do a little bit of everything if given the opportunity. Naturally, appearing in these hit films made his filmography look incredibly impressive.
While there have been some misfires that Cohen has had on the big screen, the overall picture clearly shows that he is someone that has done well for himself at the box office.
Even though film and television have been a huge help, Cohen has also done decently well for himself in real estate.
Making Money Through Real Estate
Being able to buy an expensive piece of property and flip it is something that a lot of people dream of, and Cohen was able to make a move nearly a decade ago.
After spending $2.45 million on a spot in the Hollywood Hills, Cohen would begin renting it out in 2011 for the price of $10,995 a month. Two years later, he would sell the home for $2.595 million, which is a modest profit.
Sure, this was not a massive flip, but he was collecting rent checks for several years before making around $140,000 in profit for his former home.
Cohen has had a successful career, and now that Borat 2 is here, it will be interesting to see how his net worth increases in the near future. It history tells us anything, then he will be doing just fine.