While it has been over 25 years since Seinfeld concluded, fans still keep on revisiting the iconic sitcom, which despite being a show about nothing, has cemented itself as a timeless classic. As a result, it still remains one of the biggest moneymakers in the TV landscape, and it’s reasonable to see why Netflix reportedly paid a giant sum of over $500M to bring the show on its platform.
But the showrunners, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, and others who worked on it aren’t the only ones who have profited from the show’s enormous popularity, as it also involves Steve Bannon.
Steve Bannon Is One of the Lucky Recipients of Seinfeld’s Success
During the early stages of Donald Trump‘s presidency, Steve Bannon was his chief strategist, who eventually left his post after the relationship between the two diluted. But prior to becoming one of the pillars during Trump’s run as president, Bannon, who was previously accused of anti-Semitism, was an investment banker, who launched his own firm in 1990.
While Bannon was initially brought in to help Westinghouse Electric secure a minority stake at Castle Rock, it’d be Bannon’s firm that would eventually go on to buy a stake at Castle Rock Entertainment. The stake involved royalties from five shows under the production company, which included Seinfeld.
Bannon told Bloomberg:
“As often happened with Turner, when it came time to actually close the deal, Ted was short of cash,” Bannon told Bloomberg in 2015. “Westinghouse just wanted out. We told them, ‘You ought to take this deal. It’s a great deal.’ And they go, ‘If this is such a great deal, why don’t you defer some of your cash fee and keep an ownership stake in a package of TV rights?’”
While the exact numbers aren’t out, in 2013 it was reported Seinfeld made a whopping $3.1B from its rerun. Hence, it’s safe to say that Bannon enjoyed a hefty paycheck.
Larry David Was Disgusted After Learning About Steve Bannon’s Profit From Seinfeld
When Larry David was recently asked about Bannon’s earnings from Seinfeld, thus inadvertently playing a part in the rise of Donald Trump and his MAGA movement in 2016, he wasn’t enthralled.
Aside from cracking his usual witty remarks, the actor stressed that it was sickening, revealing that he wasn’t aware of it until a few years back.
He said (via Variety):
“I didn’t become aware that Bannon had some kind of profit participation in the show … until a couple of years ago, actually. But, yeah, it’s sickening.”
It’s reasonable to see why NBC execs wanted Jerry Seinfeld to return for more seasons and were ready to pay a whopping sum of over $100M. Even after decades since it wrapped up, Seinfeld remains a huge moneymaker in the realm of TV.
All 9 seasons of Seinfeld are available to stream on Netflix.
