The Simpsons voice cast ranked by net worth: the woman behind Bart out-earns most Hollywood leads

Here is a sentence to radicalize every struggling screen actor in Los Angeles: the six principal voices of The Simpsons have each banked eight-figure fortunes, at peak earning $400,000 per episode — roughly $7–9 million a season — for work that requires no hair, no makeup, and no gym contract.

They can do it in sweatpants. Some of them probably do it in sweatpants. Meanwhile, actual famous faces grind through press tours for less.

The Springfield rich list

Net worth estimates bounce around depending on which outlet is counting (and how), so consider these ranges, compiled across trackers like Celebrity Net Worth and the lovemoney rich list:

• Hank Azaria (Moe, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy) — ~$90–120 million, padded by a very real live-action career (The Birdcage, Brockmire).
• Julie Kavner (Marge, Patty, Selma) — ~$90–100 million, earned while being so private she won't be photographed working. Icon behavior.
• Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Krusty, Barney) — ~$85 million. The "D'oh" alone should be a listed asset.
• Yeardley Smith (Lisa) — ~$85 million from essentially one voice, which is efficiency.
• Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns, Ned, Skinner, Smithers) — ~$85 million, plus whatever Spinal Tap residuals buy these days.
• Nancy Cartwright (Bart, Nelson, Ralph, Todd) — ~$60–80 million, with career earnings from the show alone estimated north of $150 million.

Yes, the woman voicing a 10-year-old delinquent has out-earned the vast majority of leading men who've ever fronted a network drama. Per episode, she's been paid more than most TV leads see for entire seasons.

The heist, explained

None of this was gifted. In 1989 the cast made $30,000 an episode; the money only got stupid because they collectively bargained like a tiny yellow union — a 1998 standoff (Fox threatened to recast ALL of them, imagine the audacity) pushed pay to $125,000, later renegotiations hit the $400K peak, and a 2011 trim settled things around $300K. Longevity plus leverage plus syndication equals generational wealth, no red carpet required.

Modern Family cast net worth, ranked: the gap between #1 and everyone else is over $100 million

And the origin of the biggest bargain in TV history? Cartwright showed up in 1987 to audition for Lisa, spotted Bart on the next page, and asked Matt Groening if she could read the boy instead. She described the moment to NPR:

"I just opened my mouth and a 10-year-old boy popped out."

Groening hired her in the room. One improvised career decision, one throat, four decades, and a net worth that laps half the A-list. Eat my shorts indeed.

Previously we wrote: Arnold Schwarzenegger says the gym's most useful minute is the one you want to skip