Otto Waalkes: The Comedian’s Fortune

How much money does Otto Waalkes have?

Otto Waalkes is probably one of the most famous and important comedians in Germany. This has also earned the comedian a sizeable fortune that most of his industry peers can only dream of. Even if things have become quieter around the Hamburg-born resident in recent years, Otto is still active. With his income, he lives quite well even in the posh Hamburg district of Blankenese. As successful as Otto’s career was, he was so unlucky in love. He has two divorces. Unfortunately, the second marriage to the well-known German actress Eva Hassmann did not last either. She divorced in 2012 after a whopping 12 years. Professionally, things went better for him. Otto Waalkes has an estimated net worth of 8.5 million euros.

The way as a comedian

At the age of just eleven, Otto proved that Otto had what it takes to be a great comedian. Back then, in his home town of Emden, he performed his “babysitter boogie” in a department store and promptly won a book and a shopping voucher worth 30 German marks. Practice early. When Otto first appeared with his band, Otto was 16 years old. The fact that the comedian has many talents is not only proven by his early band career, which, however, was mainly limited to East Frisia. Much more studied Otto Waalkes art education, although he never practiced the teaching profession. Actually, he had wanted to study free painting anyway, if only he had got a place in this subject.

The fact that Otto Waalkes had to finance his studies somehow was also the cornerstone of his later career as a comedian, which filled entire stadiums. He initially performed in small clubs in Hamburg – back then as a musician. His apologies and jokes about the quality of his music as well as his nervous demeanor, however, were far better received by the audience than the performance itself. This eventually turned into a stage show that practically took on a life of its own. The comedian Otto was born and was suddenly able to fill the entire Westfalenhalle.

Otto Waalkes – a picture book career

Word games, puns, foolishness, funny noises and the appropriate underpinning by exaggerated body language have made Otto famous. Parodies in song form based on well-known songs have also resulted in Otto Waalkes being celebrated by his audience. In many of his jokes there is a certain amount of criticism of society or time. At the same time, the comedian is a fan of satire and well-dosed political innuendos. So it’s no wonder that not only his live shows, but also the films, books and long-playing records that go on the cap of this creative genius have found huge sales. What Otto does is meanwhile one German cultural asset and just can’t get it out of the minds of many children and adults. Otto Waalkes is not only active as a comedian. He has already shone as an actor and also as a voice actor. He speaks Sid in Ice Age.

So it’s no wonder that ZDF duly honored the great German artist in December 2015 on the occasion of his 50th stage anniversary. The TV show “Otto- Born to fool around“Could hardly have had a more fitting name and over a period of two and a half hours it offered viewers a comprehensive review of the comedian’s remarkable achievements. Even if the German cult star has become a little quieter in the meantime, Otto Waalkes continues to offer his fans new laughs. For example in 2018 thanks to the movie “Help, I’ve shrunk my parents.”

Image sources:
Cover picture: Harald Bischoff [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Harald Bischoff [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons