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How Aziz Ansari Achieved a Net Worth of $18 Million

Aziz Ansari

The talented and hilarious Aziz Ansari has been someone we've enjoyed watching for years. From his early appearance in Uncle Morty's Dub Shack to his voice on Bob's Burgers, we love his comic style, and we're always happy to hear when there's a new project coming out with his name attached. Of course, being a working actor and comedian is one of those professions that comes with a nice paycheck if you do it right. These days Aziz is a millionaire, and we decided to do a deeper dive into how he got where he is today. Here's how Aziz Ansari achieved a net worth of eighteen million dollars.

Net Worth$18 Million
NameAziz Ismail Ansari
Age37
BornColumbia, South Carolina
Birth DateFebruary 23, 1983
Source of WealthAmerican Actor, Writer, Producer, Director, and Comedian
CountryUnited States

The Early Years

We've always thought Aziz was going places, and it turns out we were right. However, before he was a famous comedian, like the rest of us, he was just some kid. It helps that his parents are both in essential professions that nonetheless are often joked about, though not by Ansari. His mother, Fatima, is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist, and his father Shoukath is a Gastroenterologist. It seems like young Aziz was almost fated to either become a doctor, or a comedian from the very first.

Born February 23, 1983, in Columbia, South Carolina, and raised in Bennettsville, his family are Tamil Muslims from Tamil Nadu, India. Though Aziz doesn't publicly identify as religious, doubtless his early upbringing influenced his direction in life. Unlike his parents, Ansari didn't go to medical school. However, he is educated and degreed. It might surprise you to learn that the funny man went to New York University Stern School of Business and graduated with a degree in Marketing. Knowing how to sell a brand is one of those 'fallbacks' that many fellow actors have benefited from. After all, performing is, in essence selling your personality and talent to the world.

Funny Family

Aziz has a brother named Aziz Adam Ansari who was a co-writer on of Master of None and now writes other comedy as well. Aziz directed a couple of episodes while the brothers were working together, moving his career to encompass both sides of the camera as it were.

Aniz, like his big brother Aziz, obviously didn't choose to follow in his parents' footsteps. Ansari, the younger, attended the Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated with a photography degree. Aniz is a massive fan of comic books and originally wanted to create them, and he even worked in the industry a while. He only fell into writing comedy through his brother and their mutual friend Andy Samberg who saw his talent and helped encourage him toward comic writing. Now the Ansari's have two comedians in the family.

It's a Funny Story

Though Aziz has been performing standup comedy for years. Additionally, he's in many shows, movies, and cartoons, but most people know him from his time on Parks and Rec. No one in show business (or almost no one anyhow) just takes their first role and immediately becomes a breakout success. Whether it's comedy, drama, or even a career on a Broadway stage, most actors have to spend years in the biz before they get their big break. Like the majority of actors, Aziz earned his place with diligent work, talent, the will to succeed, and persistent effort.

The Early '00s

By 2005 Aziz was performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, among many others. In a lot of ways, you could call '05 the year Ansari finally started to get real recognition. Rolling Stone favored him with the position of "Hot Standup" on their "Hot List." The summer of 2005 also saw him begin collaborating with fellow comedians Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. The trio created Shutterbugs and went on to create Human Giant the next year, which ran for two seasons.

In '06, Aziz won Best Standup at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. His career and comedy were finally starting to get the recognition it deserved. It would be two years later, in 2008, before he was cast in the lead role for Parks and Rec and catapulted into broader fame. For seven brilliant seasons, Aziz made us laugh every week as the overconfident Tom Haverford. During his time on P&R, Aziz received many accolades and was consistently well-reviewed by critics.

Then in 2009, Aziz was cast in Judd Apatow's Funny People and did a series of shorts about his character Randy with Jason Woliner as part of the promotion for the film. During his rise to prominence on screen as an actor, Ansari never stopped doing comedy. Throughout the mid to late aughts, he toured with the Flight of the Conchords and Comedians of Comedy, then headlined his own Glow in the Dark comedy our in '09.

The 10's & Beyond

Once 2010 and beyond rolled around, the whole country knew how funny Aziz is. His comedy tours, awards, movies, and shows made him a household name. Last year (2018), Aziz became the first Asian American to win a Grammy for Best Actor in a Comedy, for his role in Master of None. That monumental moment was a result of years of work and well deserved.

However, in addition to acting in films and TV, telling jokes and directing, Ansari had branched out. He works as a producer and has loaned his voice to more animated characters than you might expect. Beginning with Alpha and Omega, and Ice Age: Continental Drift, Aziz has voiced characters in animated films like Epic. He has also done voiceover work on lots of shows such as Bob's Burgers and Adventure Time to name just a couple of the most well-known. Moreover, he's even been the voice of Squint in the Ice Age: Continental Drift Video game.

Final Thoughts

With an annual estimated salary of around nine thousand dollars, it's no surprise Aziz is worth twice that. He also owns a lovely home. How did he get it all? Talent and hard work, the same as anyone else. He put in the time, and he's excellent at his job. We doubt Aziz will be done increasing his fame and his net worth along with it anytime soon, and we certainly hope not.

Allen Lee

Written by Allen Lee

Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. He spends more time than is perhaps wise with his eyes fixed on a screen either reading history books, keeping up with international news, or playing the latest releases on the Steam platform, which serve as the subject matter for much of his writing output. Currently, Lee is practicing the smidgen of Chinese that he picked up while visiting the Chinese mainland in hopes of someday being able to read certain historical texts in their original language.

Read more posts by Allen Lee

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