Matt Groening Net Worth: Income & Career
Matt Groening, an American animator, television producer, author, and cartoonist, has an estimated net worth of a staggering $600 million as of 2024.
Matt Groening is widely known for creating the iconic animated television series “The Simpsons.”
Groening is on his way to becoming a billionaire, but how did he get there?
Is it feasible that his profession as a cartoonist paid that well, or did he get his millions from somewhere else?
The single most important work in his life is “The Simpsons,” which gave him his major break in the industry.
According to Deadline, he’s made the most of his money from the long-running series, which was renewed for seasons 33 in 2021.
With a fan base that continues to increase over time, the show’s popularity maintains it in great demand.
It’s something that people never get tired of witnessing, and given that Matt Groening now has a net worth of $600 million, he’s far from done.
The Simpsons (1989–present), The comic strip Life in Hell (1977–2012), and Futurama (1999-2003, 20008-2013) are some of his famous works.
His first professional cartoon sale was Life in Hell. In 1978, he sold it to the avant-garde Wet magazine.
Quick Facts
So, let’s get to know Matt Groening a little better, starting with some basic facts about him:
Name | Matthew Abraham Groening |
Birthplace | Portland, Oregon, United States. |
Birthdate | February 15, 1954 |
Age | 70 years old |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | White |
Religion | Agnostic |
Father’s Name | Homer Philip Matt Groening |
Mother’s Name | Margaret Ruth |
Siblings | Mark, Patty, Lisa, and Maggy |
School | Lincoln High School |
College | The Evergreen State College |
Profession | Producer, Animator, Cartoonist, Author, Actor, Comedian |
Nickname | Matt |
Height | In Centimetres – 175 cm In Feet and Inches – 5′ 7″ |
Weight | In Kilograms – 86Kg In Pounds – 189.6 lbs |
Hair Color | Medium brown |
Eye Color | Brown |
Zodiac Sign | Aquarius |
Net worth | $600 million |
Sexual Orientation | Straight |
Marital status | Married |
Spouse | Deborah Caplan (m.1986, d.1999) Agustina Picasso (m.2011) |
Children | Abe Groening, Homer Groening, Nathaniel Philip Picasso Groening, India Mia Groening, Venus Ruth Groening, Luna Margaret Groening, Sol Matthew Groening |
Social Media | |
Last Update | December, 2024 |
Matt Groening: Net Worth and Income
Matt Groening: Net Worth
An American animator, television producer, author, and cartoonist, Matt Groening, has a net worth of $600 million.
It’s unclear how much money Groening makes as the creator and executive producer of one of the most popular television shows of all time.
Still, there are multiple hints that he earns tens of millions of dollars per year throughout the show.
The Simpsons can be found on a variety of platforms.
Not only does it have hundreds of episodes in rotation on TV, but you can also watch practically every episode of the series on Disney+.
The Simpsons were adapted into a film called The Simpsons Movie, which grossed over half a billion dollars worldwide on a $75 million budget.
At the same time, a video game that served as a tie-in to the film was released.
There are also toys, comic books, music, and more.
The most notable game is The Simpsons: Hit & Run, a free-roaming game where players can freely walk throughout Springfield’s streets, parodying the blockbuster video game series Grand Theft Auto.
With The Simpsons, Groening has developed an empire.
Also, the sheer amount of merchandise and entertainment that has come out of the series is staggering.
The list might go on forever. The Simpsons franchise is worth over $750 million.
Matt Groening: Net Worth in Different Currencies
Let’s look at the Net Worth of Matt Groening in several currencies, including BitCoin, the cryptocurrency.
Currency | Net Worth |
Euro | € 510,807,000 |
Pound Sterling | £ 438,381,000 |
Australian Dollar | A$ 828,129,000 |
Canadian Dollar | C$ 765,069,000 |
Indian Rupee | ₹ 44,198,700,000 |
BitCoin | ฿ 13,839 |
Matt Groening: House and Cars
House
Matt Groening and his then-new wife, Agustina Picasso, paid $11.65 million for an ultra-swank residential property in Santa Monica in the summer of 2011.
The Gorham House, which is surrounded by walls and gates, was designed by renowned architect Robert D. Farquhar in 1910.
Groening has paid $11.895 million buying the similarly-sized property next door to rectify the matter, putting their total compound investment to almost $23.5 million.
Sure, it’s a lot of money, but for a man rumored to be worth $600 million, it’s achievable.
According to public records, the seller of Groening’s new “spare” home was an elderly widow, and the property was last sold off in 1990 for “just” $3.755 million.
Malibu Home
Groening, like many other Hollywood royalties, owns a Malibu vacation home.
In his case, the getaway is a contemporary beachfront mansion on Carbon Beach, which is home to a slew of billionaires.
Cars
Matt Groening, best known for creating the Simpsons cartoon, drives a Prius.
In Japan, the Prius is available with a nickel-metal hydride battery for 2.35 million yen (US$29,000), and the lithium-ion battery variant is estimated to cost 3 million yen (US$37,000).
In the United States, the Prius v starts at US$26,400 and is exclusively available with a nickel-metal hydride battery.
As of April 2016, global sales were at 634,000 units, with Japan leading the way with 428,400 units sold, accounting for 67.6% of total sales.
Matt Groening: Lifestyle
Lifestyle
Matt Groening spends his great net worth on jungle expeditions, donning a fedora, searching for the Lost Ark of the Covenant.
Here’s a list of items Groening has:
- He currently uses an original Atari computer as a doorstop.
- A diamond-encrusted Bart Simpson statuette that fits in your hand and has a red ruby-encrusted tongue.
- Tracy Ullman’s naked photographs, which he used to adore. According to rumors, they had an affair.
- He has Five chocolate Oscars. These are chocolate figurines that have been coated in gold foil to resemble Academy Awards. He had seven. However, two of them melted when he placed them near a sunny window on a shelf.
Life in Hell, The Simpsons, Other Ventures
Life in Hell
Groening portrayed life in Los Angeles to his pals in the self-published comic book Life in Hell, which was partially based on Walter Kaufmann’s book Critique of Religion and Philosophy’s chapter “How to Go to Hell.”
Then, in 1978, he sold his first professional cartoon to the avant-garde Wet magazine.
“Forbidden Words” was the strip’s title, which first appeared in the September/October issue of that year.
He exhibited his cartoons to James Vowell, the editor, who was impressed and eventually granted him a space in the newspaper.
Finally, on April 25, 1980, Life in Hell made its official premiere as a comic strip in the Reader.
The Simpsons
Creation
Life in Hell drew the attention of James L. Brooks, a Hollywood writer-producer and the founder of Gracie Films when fellow producer Polly Platt showed him the strip.
He approached Groening in 1985 with the offer of working in animation on an unspecified future project, which turned out to be the creation of a series of short animated skits known as “bumpers” for the Fox variety show The Tracey Ullman Show.
Brooks had hoped that Groening would adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show.
But, instead, Groening was afraid that he would have to relinquish his ownership rights, that the show would flop, and that his comic strip would be lost with it.
Homer and Marge Simpson and his younger sisters Lisa and Margaret were all named after members of Groening’s family (Maggie).
He chose the name “Bart,” an anagram of a brat, because he felt it was a bit too obvious to name a character after himself.
He emphasizes, however, that his family is nothing like the Simpsons’, except for some sibling rivalry.
The Tracey Ullman Show
Groening had sent rudimentary sketches to the animators with the expectation that they would tidy them up; instead, they just traced over his designs.
As a result, the Simpson family was created so that they could all be recognized in silhouette.
The Tracey Ullman Show aired the first Simpsons shorts on April 19, 1987.
Grampa Simpson, another Simpson family member, was added in the later shorts.
Disenchantment
Groening was in talks with Netflix to create a new animated series, according to a press release dated January 15, 2016.
Netflix ordered the series Disenchantment on July 25, 2017.
The first ten episodes of the initial order debuted on the streaming service in August 2018, with the remaining ten episodes in September 2019.
Similarly, Netflix renewed the series for twenty new episodes, which was released in ten episode installments in 2020 and 2021.
The fantasy-themed sitcom was inspired by a sketchbook full of “wonderful creatures we couldn’t do on The Simpsons,” according to Groening.
Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, and Nat Faxon are among the cast members.
Other Ventures
Groening founded Bongo Comics with Steve Vance, Cindy Vance, and Bill Morrison in 1994.
In addition to original products, the firm distributes comic books based on “The Simpsons” and “Futurama.”
In 1995, Groening founded Zongo Comics, a Bongo Comics imprint. It publishes comics aimed at a more mature audience.
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Career
Matt Groening started his career in 1977, working a variety of odd jobs in Los Angeles.
He began sketching cartoons for his self-published book named “Life in Hell,” based on his problems during this time.
In 1978, Groening sold his first comic to the magazine ‘Wet.’
Groening landed a job at a Los Angeles newspaper the same year.
Later, he was able to officially publish his first comic strip, “Life in Hell.”
Furthermore, the comic was a great hit, selling over 20,000 copies in its first two printings.
Following this accomplishment, Deborah Caplan published his next book, titled “Work is Hell.”
James L Brooks expressed interest in collaborating with Groening on an animated series on the comedy series “The Tracy Ullman Show.”
After that, Groening created ‘The Simpsons,’ initially broadcast on the show in 1987.
Eventually, The Simpsons grew in popularity to the point where it was given its half-hour spin-off series.
When ‘The Simpsons’ first aired in 1989, it immediately became the longest-running primetime television show in the United States.
Groening founded the comic book firm ‘Bongo Comics’ in 1994.
Under its moniker, the business produced TV shows such as ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Futurama.’
Matt Groening has also appeared in films such as “Comic Book: The Movie” (2004), “The Seventh Python” (2008), “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” (2005), and “I Know That Voice” (2010). (2013).
Groening was the executive producer and writer of a 3-D short film based on “The Simpsons,” released in 2012.
3 Interesting Facts About Matt Groening
- He married Augustina Picasso, an artist with whom he had been in a four-year relationship, in 2011. He married Augustina Picasso’s daughter Camille and became her stepfather. Nathaniel Philip Picasso, the couple’s son, was born in 2013.
- Matt Groening has been nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy Awards and 23 Annie Awards in various categories.
- He took on numerous responsibilities while working on his cartoon series “Futurama,” including voice actor, writer, creator, and executive producer. In addition, he has made an appearance in episodes of ‘The Pitts,’ ‘Portlandia,’ and ‘Space Ghost Coast to Coast,’ among others.
FAQS
What was the source of The Simpsons’ controversies?
From the beginning, the show was divisive. For example, Bart, the show’s rebellious lead character at the time, suffered little punishment for his disobedience, prompting some parents to label him as a flawed role model for youngsters.
What was Matt Groening’s motivation for creating The Simpsons?
Recognizing that the sale would result in him losing the rights to his Life in Hell characters, Groening swiftly constructed a new cartoon family based on his brothers and parents.
Is Matt Groening a genius?
Matt Groening despised going to school. He didn’t think he was very talented in any area and considered himself to be rather mediocre until he became enormously wealthy. The Telegraph rated Groening the fourth most extraordinary living intellect in October 2008.