Stephen Colbert's Net Worth Is a Reminder of Just How Long He's Been on TV
Stephen Colbert's net worth comes from a monster 'Late Show' salary.
Published July 18 2025, 1:20 p.m. ET
Comedians sometimes like to joke about how poorly their profession pays, but if you make it all the way to the top, you can wind up with a pretty substantial salary. Stephen Colbert is one of the men at the pinnacle of comedy, and he's been hosting The Late Show on CBS for more than a decade.
CBS announced in July of 2025 that The Late Show would be coming to an end in May of 2026, leading some to wonder what the long-time TV host's net worth is. Here's what we know.
What is Stephen Colbert's net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Stephen Colbert has a net worth of $75 million, which stems chiefly from his long career in television. Before hosting The Late Show, Colbert hosted The Colbert Report on Comedy Central and was a correspondent during the early days of Jon Stewart's The Daily Show before that. He has also written best-selling books and worked occasionally in film and television.
Stephen Colbert
Television host
Net worth: $75 Million
Stephen Colbert is a television host best known for his work on The Colbert Report and for his time host The Late Show on CBS. He has had a long career in television and became known during his tenure on The Late Show for going after President Donald Trump. Stephen's tenure on The Late Show will end in May of 2026 with the end of the show.
Birthdate: May 13, 1964
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
Birth Name: Stephen Tyrone Colbert
Education: Northwestern School of Communication
What was Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' salary?
There's not a ton of rock-solid reporting on Stephen's salary at The Late Show, but reports suggest that when he first signed on to the show in 2015, he was being paid $6 million, and when CBS renewed his contract in 2019, his salary was bumped all the way up to $15 million.
Clearly, then, at least at that point, CBS believed that it had a late-night show that it would be able to stick with for a long time.
CBS's ultimate announcement that they would be canceling the show was chalked up to a "financial decision," and in their statement, executives from the network suggested that the changing landscape of entertainment made continuing The Late Show untenable. Those shifts are undeniably real, but many believe that politics also played a role in the decision to end The Late Show.
Paramount, CBS's parent company, is currently trying to merge with Skydance, and needs approval from the Trump administration to do so. Stephen has been a regular thorn in Trump's side, so many see the decision to cancel his show as one motivated in part by a desire to see the merger approved.
We may never know the real reason for the cancellation, but it's safe to say that the next year of The Late Show will be fascinating television. If Stephen was holding anything back, he doesn't have much reason to anymore.