Jeff Dunham-Achmed, Series, Peanut, Wife, Height, House, Age, Net Worth

Jeff Dunham knack for ventriloquism started at the age of eight. He had received a Mortimer Snerd dummy as a Christmas present from his parent; the next day, he was sneaking into the school library reading a how-to book on ventriloquism. 

Determined to be one of the best ventriloquists, he spent hours practicing and studying the routines from the likes of Edgar Bergen and James Edward Nelson. Today, he makes his own dummies, has been listed as the highest-paid comedian and is regarded as the reviver of ventriloquism. 

How Much Is Jeff Dunham Worth In 2020?

Jeff Dunham’s net worth is estimated to be $140 million as of 2020. Much of his wealth comes from his flourishing career as a stand-up comedian. In addition, the merchandise sales and occasional acting roles allow the 57 years old comedian in stacking up a whopping $140 million. 

Dunham runs an official YouTube channel, where he frequently shares videos where most have views no less than millions. He has received more than 350 million hits on YouTube, with the introduction of Achmed: the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity video ranked as the ninth most-watched YouTube video in the year 2009. 

Pollstar ranked Dunham standup act as top-grossing in North America. His acts are also considered among the most successful acts in Europe. Moreover, Forbes listed him as the third highest-paid comedian in the US, with the second and first position secured by Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld, respectively, from June 2008 to June 2009.

Dunham earning was estimated to be $30 million during that period, $10 million more than comedian Dane Cook and George Lopez who were placed at the fourth position. 

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Jeff has also achieved the Guinness Book of World record for “Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour” after his Spark of Insanity tour sold 1,981,720  tickets. 

Earnings Throughout The Years

The 57 years old comedian had enrolled at Baylor University to study communications. However, during the weekends, he would fly around the country to do private shows, earning $70,000 a year as a college junior.

In 2003, Dunham made his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. While his debut did garner audience praise, the channel did not take his act favourably, which prompted him to tape his stage performance in a DVD, naming it Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself. The network eventually aired the tape in late 2006, which drew two million viewers. The DVD sold two million copies at the time and has been certified 20× platinum. 

Dunham’s earning from selling four million copies of DVDs along with merchandise sales was $7,000,000, helping him stack up a $30 million in 2009. To date, Jeff has sold over 10 million DVDs and has earned tens of millions of dollars from merchandise sales. Below is the timeline of Dunham’s earning:

Books, Puppets, Tours, And Acting Career 

The 57 years old comedian has written two books: Dear Walter and autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, and Me. Dear Walter is a collection of questions asked of Dunham’s fictional character at live performances and was written by Dunham and Walter Cummings. 

Dunham has introduced 12 characters until now, among which a puppet named Peanut is the only character that was not hand-made by Dunham. Besides, he has also voiced other characters as Little Peanut. 

Jeff has done seven tours till now, with three covering European countries along with the US. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during his sixth tour, Perfectly Unbalanced, that took place from December 2, 2015, to September 13, 2017. 

Jeffrey made his big-screen debut with the television program Hot Country Nights in 1991. Since then, the 57 years old ventriloquist has appeared in numerous shows, television series, and movies as Ellen, Any Day Now, She Spies, One on One, 30 Rock, Dinner for Schmucks, The Nut Job. 

He also worked as the executive producer and writer of TV specials as Arguing with Myself, Spark of Insanity, Controlled Chaos, Minding the Monsters, All Over the Map, and Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special.

In 2009, Dunham created a sketch comedy television series The Jeff Dunham Show, which ended on December 10, 2009. The entire series run is included on The Jeff Dunham Show DVD. 

Real Estate, Automobile Including The 1989 Batmobile

In 2014, Jeff bought a 7,204 square foot mini-mansion located in Hidden Hills, California, for $4.033 million. He sold his Mediterranean-styled villa of Encino, California, for $4.1 million in December 2017. Dunham had bought the Encino’s property in July 2009 for $4.25 million. 

Jeff’s three-story, Mediterranean-style mansion located in Del Mar, CA, was sold for $5.5 million in 2017 after initially listing the estate for $8.75 million back in 2011. 

Like his exotic house collection, Dunham owns a remarkable range of vehicles, including a pair of iconic Hollywood superhero rides. Among his car collections are Ford GTX1, 1934 Ford Achmedmobile, 1965 George Barris Calico Surfer, Bradley GT, 1970 Plymouth Superbird, 1973 AMC Gremlin, and 1971 Mercury Marquis Brougham.

The 57 years old ventriloquist own the 1992 Batmobile from the 1992’s Batman Returns. The classic Batmobile is road-legal; what’s more, Jeff made a video of Tim Burton’s Batmobile drive, which is uploaded on his YouTube channel. He also owns a replica of Batmobile from the 1966’s television series Batman.

Parents, Relationship And Children

Born in Dallas, Texas, Dunham was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham and his wife Joyce Dunham, who raised him as their only child. 

He is married to Audrey Murdick since October 12, 2012. Murdick is a certified nutritionist, personal trainer, and competitive bodybuilder. They have a twin son: James Jeffrey Dunham and Jack Steven Dunham, born in October 2015. 

Dunham has three children from his first marriage. He met his first wife, Paige Brown, at the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, Florida. Brown and Dunham tied the knot in May 1994. They have two daughters together: Ashlyn Dunham, born in 1995, and Kenna Dunham, born in 1997. Jeff also adopted Brown’s daughter, Bree Dunham, who was born in August 1991.   

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