David Copperfield is the most commercially successful magician in history.
Nearly 50 years ago, a 12-year-old David Seth Kotkin became the youngest person ever admitted to the Society of American Magicians. Now, the performer better known by his stage name David Copperfield is the world’s highest-paid magician for the second year in a row, earning $61.5 million pretax in the 12 months to June.
The living legend, whose greatest illusions include walking through the Great Wall of China and making the Statue of Liberty disappear, performed a stunning 621 shows in Las Vegas during our scoring period. He also mints millions from his museum, which contains the world’s largest collection of magic artifacts, as well as exclusive tours and concerts on Musha Cay, his private-island resort. Copperfield owns 11 private islands in the Bahamas.
Copperfield’s secret to success is simple. He told FORBES in 2016 that he refused to give up even when others doubted his illusions would work. “I get told 'no' every day,” Copperfield said. “‘No’ has become a great source of inspiration.”
His persistence has paid off in more ways than one. Copperfield is worth an estimated $850 million by FORBES’ count.
Penn & Teller take second place with earnings of $30.5 million, thanks to their Las Vegas residency at the Rio. During our 12-month scoring period, the odd couple performed 254 shows in Sin City, grossing over $100,000 a night. Penn Jillette and the mononymous Teller also recently wrapped up the fourth season of their magic competition series Penn & Teller: Fool Us.
A&E star Criss Angel ranks third with $14.5 million, down from last year’s $19 million. Since the illusionist is headlining “Mindfreak Live” in Las Vegas, his second show with Cirque du Soleil, Angel booked fewer outside tour dates. His traveling revue, The Supernaturalists, also did not tour during our scoring period. Between performing 10 shows a week at the Luxor Hotel, Angel fit in private gigs and a new TV special, Criss Angel: Trick’d Up.
Angel’s 10-year contract with the Luxor ends in October 2018; his next step is a mystery. “I have a lot of opportunities and options, and I’m not sure what I’ll do yet,” Angel told Variety in July.
Combined, the world’s eight highest-paid magic acts earned $147 million between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2017, before taxes and management fees. Figures are based on data from Pollstar Pro as well as interviews with agents, managers and other industry insiders.
Corporate gigs are nice work if you can get it. Exhibit A: David Blaine. The Bronx-born magician failed to make our list last year as he concentrated on preparing for a prime-time TV special. Now Blaine has nabbed the eighth – and last – place on the list with $6 million. During our scoring period for this year's list, the Bronx-born magician embarked on his first-ever North American tour, but he conjured most of his cash from boardroom magic. For his most elaborate private performances, such as swallowing a live frog at a Google conference, Blaine gets paychecks in the mid six figures.
It's unclear as yet whether his bookings will be affected by the rape allegations leveled against him by former model Natasha Prince that were made public last week by The Daily Beast. In a statement issued by his attorney, Blaine denied the allegations. Scotland Yard told The Daily Beast that no arrests have been made and they are currently investigating.
The addition of Blaine expands our list to eight this year, which has a cutoff of $5 million, but the collective earnings of the highest-paid magicians decreased by $10 million since nearly every other act earned less by our estimation. Most notably, English magician Dynamo (No. 5) collected $9 million, a 50% drop from last year’s $18 million haul, which was generated by his wildly popular Seeing Is Believing tour.
Once again, there isn’t a single female solo act among the highest-paid magicians, though The Illusionists (No. 4, $11.5 million), a touring production that features a rotating cast of magicians, has several female performers. Jinger Leigh, whose husband Mark Kalin also performs with The Illusionists, is all too familiar with the industry's vast gender gap after 25 years in magic, but she is optimistic. “It is frustrating, but don’t worry, we’ll get there,” Leigh told FORBES. “If I’m not the one that actually gets there, I will be essential in paving the path for the ones that do.”
