In order to know a comedian, you must hear their jokes, and Stephen Colbert’s satirical humor always comes with a side of politics.
Back in September 2025, for instance, Colbert revived his conservative pundit persona from TheColbert Report in response to ABC’s suspension of his friend Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, following Kimmel’s comments about conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Colbert joked: “Americans are born with certain God-given rights like life and liberty and, of course, the pursuit of Donald Trump’s happiness.”
Colbert is known for his concept of “truthiness,” a quality in which someone claims to know something is true based on gut feeling rather than facts, evidence, or logic. Even though conservative politicians often confused his satire with candor, Colbert used truthiness to expose hypocrisy in politics and the media.
His biting comedy frequently landed him in trouble, sparking backlash from conservatives and even regulatory scrutiny. But it also cemented his stardom—and helped him amass a substantial net worth in the process.
Here’s a look at Colbert’s wealth as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ends its 11-year run on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
What’s Stephen Colbert’s net worth in 2026?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, a popular online source for celebrity wealth, Stephen Colbert has an estimated net worth of $75 million in 2026.
While his highest-profile gig has been hosting The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Colbert has spent decades building his comedy brand.
Celebrity Net Worth cites Colbert’s long-running television career, production work, bestselling books, and speaking engagements as the basis for his fortune.
In addition to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which he led from 2015–2026, Colbert hosted The Colbert Report on Comedy Central from 2005–2014.
Prior to that, he served as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1997–2005, wrote for The Dana Carvey Show (1996) and Saturday Night Live (1996), and co-created the series Strangers with Candy (1999-2000) alongside Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, and Mitch Rouse.
According to Page Six, Colbert earned $6 million per year for the first few years of The Late Show. In 2019, CBS more than doubled his paychecks to $15 million per year, placing him among the highest-paid late-night hosts in America.
Related: Who are the highest-paid news anchors?
Stephen Colbert’s early life and comedy career
Stephen Tyrone Colbert was born on May 13, 1964, in Washington, DC. He was the youngest of 11 children. Tragically, when Colbert was 10, his father, James William Colbert, Jr., and two of his brothers, Paul and Peter, died aboard Eastern Air Lines Flight 212, which crashed while landing in Charlotte, North Carolina. Colbert stated that this event influenced his philosophy on grief and suffering.
After the tragedy, Colbert’s mother, Lorna, moved their family to a carriage house in downtown Charleston, the George Chisholm House, which she ran as a bed and breakfast. Colbert describes his adolescence as difficult and powerfully affected by grief. He sought solace in the works of JRR Tolkien and developed an interest in the theater. At the Port-Gaud School, Colbert performed in plays and wrote for the school newspaper.
Colbert first enrolled at Hampton-Sydney College in Virginia, but after two years, he transferred to Northwestern University, where he became fascinated by improvisational theater. He graduated from its School of Communication in 1986; a few years later, he began performing as Steve Carell’s understudy at Second City Chicago before meeting Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, who were co-creators of Strangers with Candy.
Stephen Colbert’s personal life
Colbert met his future wife, Evelyn “Evie” McGee, at the Spoleto Festival in 1990; she actually met Colbert’s best friend, Jon Stewart, first. McGee and Colbert immediately bonded over their shared Charlestonian roots, discovering they had many friends in common. They wed on October 9, 1993, and have 3 children: Madeleine (born 1995), Peter (born 1998), and John (born 2002).
Colbert has often said that Evie is “the laugh I want to get more than anybody else.” She is a regular guest on his show.
Why was Stephen Colbert’s show canceled?
On July 17, 2025, CBS announced that it planned to end The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May 2026 due to financial reasons.
CBS executives described their actions as a “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” but its timing sparked intense speculation.
On July 14, 2025, Colbert sharply criticized Paramount Global, which is CBS’s parent company, over a reported $16 million legal settlement involving President Donald Trump. Colbert called it “a big, fat bribe,” and suggested that Paramount Global had paid off Trump in order to get the impending Skydance Media acquisition of Paramount approved.
On August 7, 2025, the Skydance Media acquisition of Paramount Global was finalized.
More on wealthy celebrities:
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- Sabrina Carpenter’s net worth: The pop star’s wealth at 26
- Justin Bieber’s net worth: The pop superstar’s wealth at 31
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was the #1-rated late-night talk show at the time, and the announcement left fans — and Colbert himself — stunned.
What is Stephen Colbert doing next?
After the live final taping on May 21, 2026, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert officially ends, along with the entire Late Show franchise that had been started by comedian David Letterman in 1993.
Colbert says he and his family are planning on going to Washington, DC to attend the wedding of Colbert’s brother, Tommy.
Colbert has revealed he will next be working with famed director Peter Jackson on writing a new installment of The Lord of the Rings franchise. The project is currently titled Shadow of the Past; as a huge JRR Tolkien fan, Colbert previously pointed out six chapters from the books that Jackson had yet to cover in his films.
Colbert has also expressed an interest in doing another TV show — but has ruled out running for political office.
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