Bo Burnham Net Worth
With a net worth of $4 million, Bo Burnham is an acclaimed American comedian, singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and internet celebrity. He rose to prominence thanks to his YouTube account and its satirical and politically controversial songs. His success was further propelled when his first studio album was released on March 10, 2009, through Comedy Central Records. Following that, Bo Burnham has since put out multiple additional albums and comedy specials.
| Name | Bo Burnham |
| Birth Date/age | Aug 21, 1990 (32 years old) |
| Birth Place | Hamilton |
| Profession | Actor, Singer-songwriter, Comedian, Rapper, Musician, Screenwriter |
| Nationality: |
United States of America |
| Net Worth | $4 Million |
Early Life
Born on August 21, 1990, in Hamilton, Massachusetts, Robert Pickering Burnham was the youngest of three children of Patricia, a hospice nurse, and Scott Burnham, a construction company owner. In 2014, his mother’s work as a hospice nurse was featured in an episode of “This American Life.”
As an attention-seeking child, Bo was already performing skits at the age of three, solely for his parents in the comfort of their own home. Growing up, Bo was influenced by the likes of George Carlin and Richard Pryor, inspiring him to take an interest in theater and ministry at school.
After graduating from Saint John’s in 2008, he was accepted to the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts; however, he chose to defer his enrollment for a year to focus on his developing media career.
Comedy Career
In 2006, Burnham uploaded two self-recorded songs and videos onto YouTube, aiming to share them with his family. They gained immense popularity, not just on YouTube, but on other websites too. He continued releasing home-recorded ‘pubescent musical comedy’, where he would accompany himself on the guitar or digital piano.
His videos were mostly filmed in and around his home in Hamilton, MA, and contained an element of DIY and voyeurism. In order to contrast his actual, more reserved self, he created a persona of himself onstage; more arrogant and haughty.
Burnham was featured on Comedy Central’s ‘The World Stands Up’ in January 2008 and the airing happened in June.
He was only 17 years old when this happened, making him the youngest performer at the time. He later signed a four-record deal with Comedy Central Records, resulting in his debut EP ‘Bo Fo Sho’ which was only released online in June 2008. He released his first full-length album, simply titled ‘Bo Burnham’, in March 2009.
The singer then proceeded to tour the United States and other countries, such as London and Montreal. During his performance at Westminster College in March 2009, fifteen students from the college’s GSA, Black Students Association, International Club, and Cultural Diversity Organization protested against the usage of homophobic and racist language.
In August 2010, Bo Burnham’s show “Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words” earned him a nomination for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. He was the recipient of the Panel Prize – a £5,000 reward given to the performance that best embodied the comedic spirit of the Fringe.
That same year, Burnham wrote, produced, and starred in the series “Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous”, though it wasn’t picked up for a second season and ended on June 26, 2013. Burnham achieved a major success in 2011, finishing first in the Comedy Central Stand Up ShowDown.
On May 21, 2010, Bo Burnham recorded his debut hour-long stand-up special “Words Words Words” at the House of Blues in Boston for Comedy Central. It aired on the channel on October 16 and was released two days later.
In December 2013, “What” came out on Netflix and YouTube. His third special, “Make Happy,” premiered on June 3, 2016. On April 2021, Burnham revealed on social media his newest Netflix comedy special, “Bo Burnham:
Inside,” which was filmed solo in his own home with no crew or spectators present during the COVID-19 pandemic. The special garnered significant acclaim and was also released in limited theaters.
In 2021, it was revealed that Jerrod Carmichael had been chosen to portray the part of Boston Celtics icon Larry Bird in Adam McKay’s HBO drama series, which is based on Jeff Pearlman’s “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s”.
Outside of acting, Carmichael has also directed two comedy specials for Netflix: “Jerrod Carmichael: 8” in 2017 and “Chris Rock: Tambourine” in 2018. In 2019, he was announced to have contributed to the soundtrack of the Anne Hathaway-starring “Sesame Street” movie.
Film Career
In 2009, Burnham featured in Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” where he was cast as the host of NBC’s sitcom “Yo Teach!” Later in 2018, he made his feature film directorial debut with “Eighth Grade” at the Sundance Film Festival.
This movie was critically acclaimed, and its writer and director, Burnham, was respectively awarded the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing For a First-Time Feature Film. On top of that, the film also gained an outstanding 99 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In 2020, Burnham co-starred with Carey Mulligan in the widely acclaimed darkly comic revenge thriller “Promising Young Woman”. He portrayed Ryan Cooper, a pediatric surgeon who is the object of affection for Cassie, Mulligan’s character. The movie was acclaimed and highly regarded, and was even nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Personal Life
Burnham and Lorene Scafaria, a filmmaker, have been in a romantic relationship since 2013 and are currently living in Los Angeles.
Key Takeaways
Having now gained an insight into how Bo Burnham created his significant net worth, let us examine the major lessons to be learnt from his experiences.
Embrace your vision
Especially in the world of entrepreneurship, it is essential to have faith in our own vision, regardless of whether those around us concur. We must persist and stay true to our goals.
Opportunities Are Endless
Bo Burnham was an ordinary boy who harbored ambitious aspirations. By capitalizing on the power of the internet, he was able to expand his personal wealth and eventually construct his brand. Therefore, we too should be seizing the possibilities available on digital platforms.
Branding Yourself
From the very beginning of his career, Bo Burnham demonstrated a knack for carefully crafting and protecting his brand. His mastery of this concept has opened a variety of opportunities that otherwise would not have been available. By taking steps to nurture and protect our own brands, we too can unlock the doors to opportunities previously unimaginable.