Net Worth Ranker
What Is Matt Stone’s Net Worth?
As of February 27, 2025, Matt Stone’s net worth is estimated to be around $700 million. This substantial wealth is primarily attributed to his co-creation of the widely successful Comedy Central series, “South Park,” alongside Trey Parker. Their collaboration extends beyond television, encompassing films, a Broadway musical, and various other ventures, all contributing significantly to Stone’s financial standing.
Key Financial Milestones and Revenue Streams
Matt Stone’s financial success is marked by several key milestones and diverse revenue streams. In August 2021, Stone and Parker solidified their financial future with a monumental $900 million deal with ViacomCBS. This six-year agreement entails the production of six additional seasons of “South Park” and fourteen movies exclusively for the Paramount+ streaming service. This deal alone showcases the substantial value placed on their creative output and the enduring popularity of “South Park.”
Beyond the ViacomCBS deal, “The Book of Mormon,” co-created by Stone and Parker, has proven to be a major financial triumph. To date, the Broadway musical has generated over $500 million in revenue from ticket sales, merchandise, and other related sources. This success highlights their ability to create content that resonates with audiences across different platforms, further contributing to their overall net worth.
An essential component of Stone’s wealth comes from his ownership of 50% of all digital revenue generated by “South Park.” This lucrative arrangement stems from a clause in their initial Comedy Central contract, granting them a significant share of revenue beyond the show’s initial television broadcast. In one such example of the value of this clause, Stone and Parker each made $125 million when “South Park” sold streaming rights to HBOMax.
The “South Park” intellectual property (IP) is estimated to be worth $1 billion, demonstrating the brand’s strength and enduring appeal. Furthermore, merchandise sales and foreign syndication generate an estimated $10-20 million per year, providing a consistent stream of revenue for Stone and Parker.
Contractual Agreements and Digital Revenue
Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s 2007 contract renewal with Comedy Central proved to be groundbreaking. The deal enabled them to establish a digital hub for all things “South Park,” including streaming episodes, and more importantly, granted them a 50% stake in all advertising revenue generated by the show, both digitally and through broadcast. This unheard-of contract has allowed Parker and Stone to each earn an estimated $25-30 million annually solely from the show’s broadcast on Comedy Central.
This 50% share extends to syndication deals, such as Hulu’s $198 million acquisition of streaming rights in 2015 and the subsequent $500 million valuation of “South Park’s” streaming rights in 2019. Stone and Parker each received 25% of these substantial transactions. The advantageous contract clause dates back to their original 1997 agreement with Comedy Central, where a forward-thinking lawyer ensured they would receive 50% of any revenue generated outside the show’s television broadcast. This provision, initially considered insignificant, became immensely valuable with the rise of digital platforms like YouTube and streaming services like Hulu.
Despite Viacom’s initial attempts to contest the clause, Parker and Stone successfully maintained their right to both own 50% of non-broadcast revenue and digitally distribute the show as they saw fit. Embracing piracy on YouTube, they made every episode available online for free, generating millions in digital advertising revenue. The advent of streaming services like Hulu then amplified their earnings, with each earning approximately $50 million from Hulu’s $192 million deal for four years of rights to the back catalog. When the deal expired in 2019, HBO Max secured exclusive streaming rights in a deal rumored to be worth $500 million-$550 million.
Early Career Ventures
In 1992, Matt Stone, together with Trey Parker, Jason McHugh, and Ian Hardin, established the Avenging Conscience production company. Their initial project was the short film “Jesus vs. Frosty,” which employed construction paper cutouts. This short, later known as “The Spirit of Christmas” alongside its 1995 sequel “Jesus vs. Santa,” introduced the characters who would eventually become Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman.
Parker, Stone, McHugh, and Hardin created a trailer for “Alferd Packer: The Musical,” a film inspired by “The Colorado Cannibal.” The trailer’s popularity among University of Colorado Boulder students convinced the film department chairman to encourage them to develop it into a full-fledged movie. Stone contributed as a writer, actor, and producer, and the film was renamed “Cannibal! The Musical” after Troma Entertainment acquired it in 1996. Since then, the film has achieved cult status, with numerous theater companies staging live adaptations.
Career Developments and Broadway Success
After moving to Hollywood, Matt Stone and Trey Parker faced years of struggle despite having an agent, lawyer, and script deal. Stone wrote and produced “Orgazmo” with Parker, who directed the film. Following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1997, October Films purchased the rights for $1 million. After producer Brian Graden saw “Jesus vs. Frosty,” he commissioned the duo to create a video greeting card, resulting in “Jesus vs. Santa.” Comedy Central executive Doug Herzog was impressed and requested they develop it into a series.
Parker and Stone created the “South Park” pilot for $300,000, and Comedy Central’s marketing efforts generated approximately $30 million in t-shirt sales before the show’s debut. As of today, “South Park” has aired over 300 episodes across 23 seasons, leading to the film “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” (which grossed $83.1 million at the box office), the albums “Chef Aid: The South Park Album” (1998) and “Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics” (1999), and various video games such as “South Park: The Stick of Truth” (2014) and “South Park: The Fractured but Whole” (2017).
In 2002, Matt Stone and Trey Parker embarked on an R-rated puppet film, “Team America: World Police,” which they co-wrote and co-produced. Stone has described the experience as the worst time of his life, expressing his aversion to puppets afterward. During “Team America’s” production, they began collaborating with writer-composer Robert Lopez, co-creator of “Avenue Q,” on “The Book of Mormon.” The musical premiered on Broadway on March 24, 2011, starring Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad as Elder Price and Elder Cunningham. “The Book of Mormon” received 14 Tony nominations, the most of any Broadway show that year, and won nine, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score.
In 2013, Parker and Stone announced the launch of their production studio, Important Studios, stating that their favorite people to work with were themselves. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they released two “South Park” specials, 2020’s “The Pandemic Special” and 2021’s “South ParQ Vaccination Special,” and co-created the deepfake technology web series “Sassy Justice.” Stone stated that their intention was to make fun of deepfakes to diminish the fear surrounding them.
Real Estate Investments
In 2005, Matt Stone purchased a 3,000 square foot home in Venice, California, for $3.5 million. He listed this property for sale in January 2020 for $4.5 million. He also owns a smaller property nearby, which he acquired in 2003 for $800,000. In 2008, he invested $5.15 million in an entire floor of a New York City building, which he sold for $6.15 million in April 2019.
Awards and Recognition
Matt Stone has received 18 Primetime Emmy nominations for “South Park,” winning Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour) in 2005, 2007, and 2009, Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More) in 2008, and Outstanding Animated Program in 2013. “South Park” has also earned him a CableACE Award for Animated Programming Special or Series and a PGA Award for Most Promising Producer in Television. “The Book of Mormon” won nine Tonys, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. The musical also earned a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album as well as honors from Drama Desk Awards and the Outer Critics Circle Awards.
Stone won a NAVGTR Award for Writing in a Comedy for the video game “South Park: The Stick of Truth,” an MTV Movie Award for Best Musical Performance for “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,” and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animation for “The Spirit of Christmas.” Matt and Trey were presented with the Maverick Filmmakers Award at the 2003 Santa Monica Film Festival. Stone has also received nominations from the Annie Awards (Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production for “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut”), Behind the Voice Actors Awards (Best Male Vocal Performance in a Video Game in a Supporting Role for “South Park: The Stick of Truth”), Gemini Awards (Best Comedy Program or Series for “Kenny vs. Spenny”), and Online Film & Television Association (Best Voice-Over Performance and Best Voice-Over Performance in an Animated Program for “South Park”).
