How Tracy Morgan Achieved a Net Worth of $50 Million

Generally speaking, Tracy Morgan will be best-known to interested individuals for one of two things. First, there was his time on Saturday Night Live. Second, there was his time on 30 Rock. However, it should be mentioned that Morgan has had plenty of other roles in plenty of other projects as well, which have combined to provide him with a current net worth that has been estimated by some sources to be around $50 million.

How Did Tracy Morgan Reach His Current Net Worth?

In short, Morgan was born in the Bronx. He was named Tracy because his father had a platoon mate named Tracy who was killed just a few days after he had been sent into the Vietnam War. Like a lot of Vietnam veterans, Morgan’s father came home as a recovering heroin addict. Unfortunately, while some Vietnam veterans were able to make either smooth or relatively smooth returns to civilian life, others such as Morgan’s father were unable to do so. As a result, he left his family when Morgan was still at the age of six.

Morgan never completed his high school education. Instead, when he was at the age of 17, he dropped out of high school so that he could care for his father because he had learned that his father had contracted AIDS because of his drug habit. Combined with the fact that Morgan had his first son with his girlfriend turned wife Sabrina at around that time, this convinced Morgan to start selling crack cocaine. Something that continues to bother him in the present time in spite of the fact that it was motivated by survival rather than profit-making.

Eventually, Morgan started doing comedy because his best friend told him that he should be doing comedy just a week before said individual was murdered. As a result, he was able to find a fair measure of success as a stand-up comedian, which in time, led to him making numerous appearances on the TV show.

Morgan’s very first appearance on the TV screen came in 1994 when he was cast as Hustle Man on the Fox sitcom Martin. Like the name suggests, the character was someone who specialized in providing both questionable products and questionable services to interested individuals in the neighborhood, which ranged from wedding planning services at a much discounted rate to pigeons that had apparently been roasted on a tree branch when the main cast was snowed in. In total, the character appeared in just seven episodes. However, the role nonetheless paved the way for Morgan to appear in other projects, with Saturday Night Live being an excellent example.

Over the course of seven years on Saturday Night Live, Morgan saw his profile rise by leaps and by bounds. For proof, look no further than the fact that the number of his roles soared in that period, which started up in 1996 and continued until 2003. On top of that, Morgan got the chance to hone his comedy skills, particularly since he was part of the same cast as other greats such as Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell. Moreover, Morgan made the acquaintance of Tina Fey, who was one of the first writers to figure out how to make the best use of his particular set of comedy skills.

Following his time on Saturday Night Live, Morgan showed up in a succession of roles on a succession of projects. For example, there was The Tracy Morgan Show, which was a sitcom that starred Morgan and Tamala Jones. Likewise, there was his appearance in Head of State, which was the first time that Chris Rock ever directed a movie. However, there can be no doubt about the fact that Morgan’s best-known role since Saturday Night Live has been the character Tracy Jordan on Tina Fey’s 30 Rock, who wasn’t just written with Morgan in mind but also based to a considerable extent on Morgan and Morgan’s life experiences. Suffice to say that said role proved to be a huge success, so much so that it pretty much defined the public perception of Morgan as an entertainer for a lot of people out there.

With that said, Morgan has continued to be involved in various projects ever since that time, which is something that has continued into the present. This can be seen in his recent appearance on an episode of the Twilight Zone reboot as well as his upcoming appearance as Captain Caveman on the 3D-animated Scoob. Naturally, Morgan’s fame has also seen him appear in numerous commercials for numerous companies, which are in addition to his hosting duties for various events such as the VH1 Hip Hop Honors.

As such, it seems safe to say that most of Morgan’s current net worth has come from either his career as an entertainer or the personal brand that he has managed to build up as an entertainer. However, it should be mentioned that a part of it will have come from his settlement with Walmart as well, which comes from the time when a minibus that contained him and some of his associates was struck from behind by a Walmart tractor-trailer. It is unknown how much Morgan settled for, but chances are good that the sum was substantial. For what it is worth, the Hollywood Reporter estimated that Morgan and one of the other plaintiffs must have received at least $90 million, though of course, this is nothing but an estimate.

Further Considerations

In any case, it is clear that Morgan hasn’t let the Walmart incident interrupt his career. As such, while his net worth is estimated to be around $50 million at this point in time, it seems reasonable to say that it could see increases in the times to come. Something that is particularly true because the careers of comedians can continue well into old age with fewer issues than a lot of other entertainers.