What is KevJumba’s net worth?
KevJumba is a Taiwanese-American comedian, YouTube personality, actor, director, writer and producer who has a net worth of $4 million. KevJumba, also known as Kevin Wu, became an internet sensation while attending the University of California, Davis, and then left school to focus on his career.
He began posting videos on YouTube in 2007 about his experiences as an Asian American, and as his popularity increased, he also began posting videos of his father, known as PapaJumba. His YouTube channel ‘KEVIN’ has 2.65 million subscribers, although at the time of writing it displays the message ‘This channel has no content’.
In early 2023, KevJumba posted a video titled “Youtube, Starting from Scratch”, saying he would start posting videos again, but he later made the video private. He appeared in the films “Hang Loose” (2012), “Rock Jocks” (2012), “Revenge of the Green Dragons” (2014), “Man Up” (2015) and “T winsters” (2015). In 2010, he competed with his father in “The Amazing Race” and finished in seventh place. KevJumba directed the 2012 miniseries ‘The Most Awesomest Fashion Show’, and he wrote and produced ‘Hang Loose’ and ‘Man Up’.
Early life
KevJumba was born Kevin Wu on June 12, 1990 in Houston, Texas. His father, Michael, immigrated to the US from Taiwan and works as a computer engineer. KevJumba attended Clements High School in Sugar Land, graduating in 2008 and then spent two years at the University of California, Davis. He later enrolled at the University of Houston and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2019.
Career
KevJumba joined YouTube in 2006 and became popular the following year after his video ‘I Have to Deal With Stereotypes’ appeared on the homepage. In 2008, his channel was the third YouTube channel with the most subscribers. “The Hollywood Reporter” said of KevJumba: “The Houston native’s self-deprecating humor about the indignities of being an Asian-American teen generated more than 300 million views and led to collaborations with Jessica Alba and Jeremy Lin.” KevJumba’s popularity inspired him to drop out of college to make videos full-time, and he moved to Los Angeles, where he lived with fellow YouTubers such as Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval and Ryan Higa. He signed a contract with the CAA talent agency in 2011. “The Hollywood Reporter” article said of this period in his life: “CAA set up Wu with acting coaches, auditions and meetings with notable producers, including one who started developing a TV comedy. based on his relationship with his family. There were discussions with producers of both traditional content (Cartoon Network) and digital (Xbox Entertainment Studios, which closed in 2014). Brands paid him five figures for three-minute videos.”
In 2011, KevJumba began performing with Yesterday, Today, Forever (YTF) alongside other YouTube personalities. In 2012, he started appearing in videos on the YouTube channel ‘YOMYOMF’. He starred in the web series ‘Funloozen’ and ‘KevJumba Takes All’, and ‘Funloozen’ reached 500,000 views within a few weeks of its release. He stopped posting YouTube videos in 2013, but in 2022 he started posting videos of himself playing music on his YouTube channel, which is now called ‘KEVIN’ instead of ‘KevJumba’. He later deleted those videos. KevJumba also appeared in the CW series “Online Nation” (2007) and the HBOLabs web series “Hooking Up” (2008), and he starred in the 2014 Martin Scorsese-produced crime drama “Revenge of the Green Dragons.” He starred in, wrote and produced the 2012 film “Hang Loose,” which won awards at the National Film Society Awards and VC FilmFest – Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.
Private life
In January 2022, KevJumba posted a video on Instagram of him proposing to his girlfriend, with the caption “I did it! She said yes!!!” In June 2015, KevJumba was hit by a car in Los Angeles and suffered a broken spine and collapsed lungs. He underwent two major surgeries and in 2017 he told ‘The Hollywood Reporter’: ‘My mood started to fluctuate because every time they found something was wrong with my body, I tried to downplay it.” The article stated, “He was ultimately assessed as a danger to himself and spent 17 days in a behavioral health care facility following his month-long hospitalization.”
In 2009, KevJumba launched a new YouTube channel, “JumbaFund”, with the aim of donating earnings to charities suggested by viewers. In 2011, the nonprofit organization The Supply invited him to teach English in Kenya. He posted videos of his trip to the YouTube channel ‘JumbaFund’ and donated more than $5,000 in advertising revenue to the charity, which The Supply spent on the cost of building the Jumba Lenana Academy. “JumbaFund” also donated money to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Red Cross before KevJumba decided in 2012 to direct the channel’s revenues exclusively to the Jumba Lenana Academy. Construction of the school was completed in 2013 and the name was changed to KevJumba Secondary School. “JumbaFund” donated more than $50,000 to the construction of the school.
Awards
“Hang Loose” earned KevJumba a Special Jury Award for Best Newcomer at the 2012 VC FilmFest – Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, and he and his co-star Dante Basco were named Best Duo at the 2013 National Film Society Awards. In 2013 he was honored with the 47th Visionary Award from Los Angeles-based theater organization East West Players, the nation’s oldest Asian-Pacific American theater company. Tim Dang, the producing artistic director of the East West Players, said of the decision to present the award to KevJumba: “Kevin is a great example of how the ‘next generation’ is leading the way to increase the visibility of Asian Americans through new media and the art of comedy. At a relatively young age he has achieved a level of recognition that has created a new and vital audience. He is also an innovative philanthropist, who uses his celebrity to engage his audience in donating to charities and building his own school in Kenya through his JumbaFund YouTube channel.”