Bobby Lee’s decision to pursue a career in comedy was met with derision by his parents. According to him, their intention was for him to run the family’s clothing business. This skepticism was in part down to the low odds of being a successful comedian, especially as an Asian man in America. In the early days of his career, this difficulty manifested, and the comedian deferred to working in cafes and restaurants to make ends meet. All of this happened in the mid-90s when the comedian began his journey.
Today, Bobby Lee’s perseverance and talent have paid off, and he has accrued a personal net worth of $1 million. The actor/comedian has made his money primarily from stand-up comedy, podcasting/YouTube, and acting.
His First Notable Source of Income was Stand-Up
Bobby Lee began his comedy career in 1994 at the La Jolla Comedy Store. At first, he did other jobs at the store before he eventually kicked off his stand-up comedy career. Within a year of performing at the club, Bobby Lee received his first significant income, as an opening act for Pauly Shore and Carlos Mencia.
As the years passed, Bobby Lee became a regular fixture in the stand-up circuit and was a regular act at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Soon enough, Bobby Lee expanded his creativity and income source beyond stand up and into acting.
Bobby Lee has Appeared in More than 70 Movies and TV Shows
Bobby Lee’s first acting role was in 1999, as an extra in The Underground Comedy Movie. He got his first named character role in 2001, in the TV movie, Unreal TV. His progress continued with roles in Pauly Shore Is Dead, American Misfits, and Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies. At the early stages of his acting career, he joined MADtv, as the only Asian cast member of the sketch comedy show.
As an actor, Bobby appeared in the 2005 comedy show titled Kims of Comedy show along with Steve Byme, Ken Jeong, and Kevin Shea. He also appeared in two other movies, Mind of Mencia and Curb Your Enthusiasm the same year. The actor also featured in other notable films such as The League in 2009, Hard Breakers in 2010, The Dictator in 2012, Laid in America in 2016, and more. He starred in the music video for Eminem’s song titled We Made You in 2009.
His exact earnings across each role in TV or Film is unknown. But since Bobby Lee made his debut in 1999, he has appeared in more than 70 movies and TV shows, which in no doubt, has contributed substantially to his $1 million net worth.
Lee Hosts Two Podcasts
Lastly, and perhaps the biggest contributor to Bobby Lee’s net worth is his podcast success. He began hosting the video podcast, TigerBelly, with his partner, Khalyla Kuhn, in 2016. The podcast covers a range of issues, from sexuality, ethnicity to politics and racism.
Since its creation in 2016, the show has gotten more than 74 million views with more than 420 thousand subscribers. According to SocialBlade, the channel has an average monthly earning of $10,000 and yearly revenue of $129,000.
Beyond the podcast’s YouTube income, he also makes money through direct advertising with various companies, such as HIMS, Caliper CBD, and Blue Apron. While TigerBelly is his primary podcast, Bobby Lee also hosts a podcast, Bad Friends, with Andrew Santino, launched in 2020.
With a $1 million net worth, Bobby Lee exists in a higher financial bracket than most Americans. However, while this allows him to enjoy a bit of luxury, the actor/comedian keeps a low financial profile, and there are limited documented details about his spending habit.
