Tony Hinchcliffe Net Worth: A Controversial Racist and His Break with the Trump Campaign – What’s the Value of an Offensive Comedian?
In the age of cancel culture, stand-up comedians are complaining that they can’t tell jokes freely anymore. Among these complaint noises, one comedian stands as the face of offensive comedy: Tony Hinchcliffe.
Despite his culturally inappropriate style, Hinchcliffe has managed to make a name for himself. In fact, he’s one of the few people who managed to make a good living out of comedy.
How good of a living? That’s what I’m here to discuss. In this post, I’ll cover Tony Hinchcliffe’s net worth by walking you through his controversial career.
What Is Tony Hinchcliffe’s Net Worth?
After building a successful career in stand-up comedy, Tony Hinchcliffe has accumulated a whopping net worth of $6 million. You’re probably thinking: “He made that much money from telling jokes? How?” Good question.
Let’s find out.
1. Early Beginning
Some people say you’re either born funny or you’re not. Well, in Hinchcliffe’s case, his sense of humor was the product of his not-so-ideal childhood.
Image source: Google
You see, the comedian grew up in a rough neighborhood. Facing the difficulties of life at an early age, he got into offensive comedy as a defense mechanism. He didn’t know that would be the best or the worst decision he’s ever made (more on that later).
Hinchcliffe’s interest in comedy grew over time, so he decided to embark on a path that only a few succeed in; pursuing stand-up professionally. Like hundreds of comedians before him, he started at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California.
2. Finding Success
If you know anything about stand-up comedy, you know starting comedians don’t get that many gigs, and Hinchcliffe wasn’t any different. Remember the offensive comedy I talked about earlier? It became his signature style, roasting audience members with witty jokes.
It wasn’t long before he built a reputation and was opening for some of the biggest names in the comedy industry, like Joe Rogan and Jeff Ross. Ross, in particular, took interest in Hinchcliffe because he also loved comedy roasts.
Image source: Instagram
In fact, you might know him from a small TV show called Comedy Central Roast. Ross helped Hinchliffe get his first writing gig on the show, and the rising comedian got to work with big actors like James Franco and Rob Lowe.
Then, it finally happened!
Hinchcliffe got the chance every comedian dreams of. He got a one-hour comedy special on Netflix called One Shot. Why was it called that? Because the whole special was shot in one take with no cuts or edits—a bold choice.
Unfortunately, Hinchcliffe hasn’t disclosed how much he made from these gigs, but you can probably tell his bank account is quite full.
3. Kill Tony
You can probably tell Hinchcliffe was doing better than most comedians. Still, he wanted to do more, helping rising comedians improve and build a reputation.
So, he gathered a bunch of comedians and started the famous (or infamous) podcast Kill Tony. Hinchcliffe would let comedians do a 1-minute bit and then, along with the other professionals, give them constructive feedback on what to improve.
Given his interest in dark/offensive comedy, Hinchcliff had one rule: No limits! He allowed comedians to talk about anything and everything, no matter how offensive and dark it was.
A comedy show that allows comedians to be as offensive as they want? Of course, it was a hit. In fact, it was so successful that Hinchcliffe decided to take it to live theatre.
Image source: Google
How successful was that liver version?
Hinchcliffe sold out the Madison Square Garden once. I’m talking almost 20,000 seats watching newbie comedians tell jokes. If that’s not enough to make you rich, I don’t know what is.
From ticket sales, sponsorship deals, and merchandise, Kill Tony was making the comedian more money than I could count.
I know what you’re thinking: “How does a show like that exist in a world defined by cancel culture?” It’s not like it was criticism-free, but people still gobbled it up.
4. Tony Hinchcliffe’s Downfall
You know what they say: Nothing lasts forever. If you think Hinchcliffe’s life had been going too well, you’re right. The guy kept putting himself in one dire situation after another.
It all started in May 2021. The Vulcan Gas Company was hosting a comedy show, welcoming several comedians from different backgrounds. After Chinese comedian Peng Dang finished his set, he welcomed his fellow comedian Hinchcliffe on stage.
Unfortunately, Hinchcliffe didn’t reciprocate that generosity. He got up on stage, grabbed the mic, and immediately started spitting racial slurs about Dang and joking about Asian stereotypes.
As if that wasn’t enough, he even called audience members who laughed at Dang’s jokes “race traitors.” You can probably tell Dang and the public didn’t take that well.
Dang took to social media, publishing a clip of Hinchcliffe’s set, and plenty of comedians expressed their disapproval of these “jokes.”
Last week in Austin, I got to bring up Tony Hinchcliffe. This is what he said. Happy Asian (AAPI) Heritage Month! pic.twitter.com/9XG6upit2a
— Peng Dang (@pengdangcomedy) May 11, 2021
Obviously, that was a big hit to Hinchcliffe’s career; his agency dropped him as a client, and his shows stopped selling as much. The man’s reputation was in decline.
That didn’t last long, though. He eventually picked up the pace, and his career started recovering—until 2024.
5. Tony Hinchcliffe at a Trump Rally
You’d think Hinchliff would learn his lesson and keep his mouth shut after the Dang incident, but no. People like him don’t stop telling racist jokes just because they face the backlash of the public. At least, that’s what we realized on October 27, 2024.
Everyone was showing their support for their preferred presidential candidate, and Hinchcliff chose to be a Trump supporter (not surprising). So, in a Trump rally in Madison Square Garden, he took the mic and started talking—-about Puerto Rico.
Again, Hinchcliff kept spitting negative stereotypes about the island and its people. That wasn’t even the end of it. He also kept making jokes about people of color and watermelons. You get the idea.
Image source: Google
Everyone, from normal citizens to political figures, criticized Hinchcliffe’s jokes. The Trump campaign even distanced itself from him.
And he was back to where he was after the Dang incident. He has fewer seats in comedy shows and less money in his pocket. The interesting part? Hinchcliffe refuses to apologize for these jokes to this day.
Wrapping Up
Ultimately, Tony Hinchcliffe’s net worth is the result of an illustrious career, but one that’s full of controversy, blatant racism, and public criticism. Then why did he become so famous? Maybe his controversial style is what attracted people to him. Some people like the unconventional, even if it’s not always socially acceptable.
Featured image source: Instagram
