PAUL ZERDIN: I GOT $1M FOR AMERICA'S GOT TALENT... PAID OVER 40 YEARS!

Paul Zerdin is a British comedian and ventriloquist best known for winning the tenth season of America's Got Talent in 2015, netting him a $1 million prize, writes York Membery.

The 53-year-old is also a cast regular in the Christmas pantomime at The London Palladium.

He lives with his choreographer wife Emma in Cobham, Surrey.

What did your parents teach you about money?

I am one of two children and grew up in Wimbledon, south-west London.

My actor father Dan, who lived to 98, trained at RADA with Roger Moore but later became a producer at the BBC World Service where he met my mother Hilary Osborn, an actress turned TV and radio presenter.

She once said to me as a boy: 'Money can make your life comfortable, but don't let it be your god.' And that still echoes around my head. I started doing magic shows at kids' parties as a boy, and by my teens was making up to £400-£500 a weekend. I re-invested most of it in props for my show.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

I wasn't a great student – the only GCSEs I left school with were in drama and English.

But after school I got a job in a magic shop before becoming a full-time children's entertainer.

However, in the early noughties, audiences at my Blackpool summer show began to decline as more people holidayed abroad. One evening my Dad, by now doing my accounts, called me and said: 'Son, you're broke!'

So I had to rein in my expenses and eat beans on toast for a while.

Luckily, I was able to make all that money back during my half-term shows a few months later.

Have you ever been paid silly money?

Yes, when I scooped a million dollars in prize money after winning the America's Got Talent TV show in 2015.

But I had to pay a hefty tax bill on it since it was classed as foreign earnings. I also had to choose whether to take it as an annuity – essentially 40 years of $25,000 before taxes, or a lump sum of $300,000, again before taxes. I picked the first option.

The most I've ever been paid for a gig was for a one-hour Zoom show I performed in front of my kitchen laptop for a big US company during the pandemic. That netted me a five-figure sum.

What was the best year of your financial life?

Probably the years 2015 to 2017, because after winning America's Got Talent I was given my own headline show in Las Vegas. And I went on to do a lot

of one-nighters, some of which paid crazy money – again, five-figure sums – in the US and Canada. I was playing venues where the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Martin had played – they sometimes even sent a stretch limo to the airport to pick me up.

The most expensive thing you bought for fun?

After winning America's Got Talent I treated myself to a beautiful $10,000 Breitling watch, with a titanium face, which I saw in a Manhattan shop.

Sadly, three years later it was stolen while I was on holiday. It was insured, but even so I didn't get the full amount back.

What has been your biggest money mistake?

I bought myself a used Jaguar F-Type sports car after getting back from America, but three years later it was stolen from Sainsbury's car park in Cobham, Surrey – I went in to get some dinner, came out and it had gone.

So I bought a somewhat older, used Jaguar XKR for £12,000 to tide me over, but that turned out to be my worst ever car. It just bled money – I probably spent more repairing it over the next couple of years than I'd paid for it.

Best money decision you have made?

Taking part in America's Got Talent. I had to cancel some gigs and corporate events in the UK to be available to film the series, plus make a few trips back and forth across the Atlantic, but it was so worth it.

Winning was mind-blowing. It also paved the way for all the work I've done in North America since.

Will you pass your money down or spend it all?

I'd like to enjoy my money while I'm here, but leave some for family members when my time is up. However, I don't believe in giving too much to the next generation – it's important for them to find their own way. I never got any handouts as a kid.

Do you have a pension?

Yes, I've been paying into a private pension since my 20s, which will ensure I have a decent lifestyle when I retire – although I love what I do too much to even think about retirement right now.

Do you own any property?

Yes, a large four-bedroom detached house with a big garden in Cobham – but I still don't have room for all my puppets and props.

My wife and I only have puppet children at the moment...

If you were Chancellor what would you do?

I'd sort out the student loan system. The amount of debt that young people are getting into when they go to university is horrendous.

2026-04-04T21:20:18Z