Making daring jokes can pay off big and even very big in France, and it’s not Cyril Hanouna who will tell you otherwise. The “troublemaker of the PAF”, as his colleagues in the French media call him, has an income worthy of the biggest stars of the round ball. This host with a hilarious sense of humor has built, through self-sacrifice and judicious negotiations, a fortune that makes you dizzy.
Cyril Hanouna, civil status Cyril Valéry Isaac Hanouna, is a real jack-of-all-trades. After his DEUG in Eco-management, the one his mother affectionately calls “baba”, was first a bank employee, then a fabric merchant. He temporarily works as an animator in a Jewish cultural center. But the young Cyril is above all passionate about television and has dreamed for a very long time of being an animator, a passion opposed to the will of his father who wants to see him embrace a career in medicine. His first appearance on a television set took place in 1994. At that time, Cyril Hanouna was 20 years old and accompanied a friend in the TV show “the fair price” of TF1. His television career really began in 1997 when he was hired as a trainee by the Comédie channel. In 1999, he wrote a television series, “Sur la vie d’ma mère”, which was broadcast for 2 years on the France 2 channel.
Cyril Hanouna owes his success to his versatility. The one, who is today one of the favorite animators of French viewers, has several strings to his bow. In addition to the profession of TV host, the “troublemaker of the PAF” is also a comedian, screenwriter, singer, actor, columnist, TV producer and radio host. He has worked for the biggest TV channels in France, including TF1, France 2; France 3, M6, D8, France 4… he worked for Fun Radio, Rire et Chansons, RTL, Vrirgin Radio, Europe 1… He made a career in TV production by launching the company “H2O Production”. He also has a career in theatre. Never at rest, Cyril Hanouna chained contract after contract. In 2010, he co-founded the company “Click and Game Entertainment”, an internet channel that broadcasts TV games.
Cyril Hanouna demonstrates that self-sacrifice is one of the sine qua non conditions for success. All was not rosy for the one who is currently one of the highest paid animators on the European continent. Until the age of 30, he was still under the family roof, because he could not afford an apartment. However, he has not given up on his dream of becoming a famous animator. He chained badly paid contracts without pouring into mediocrity and ease. He knew how to convince by his talent and his imagination, in order to better negotiate his salary. Failures did not stop him, but on the contrary they sharpened his unquenchable thirst for success. He was criticized several times and saw himself at the center of many controversies, but he never gave up.
These years of self-sacrifice finally paid off. After years in the traps, Cyril Hanouna has finally seen the light of the sun. In 2012, he signed an annual contract worth 19 million euros with the D8 channel to host his favorite show. Three years later, he threatens to go to TF1, because D8 offers him a new contract of 30 million euros, a salary he finds insufficient. In order to convince Cyril Hanouna to stay on Canal +, Vincent Bolloré took out the checkbook. He offered the host of “Touche pas à mon poste” a staggering contract of 250 million euros over 5 years, or 50 million per year or 4,166,666 € per month as salary. The American magazine People With Money calculated that Cyril Hanouna’s annual income amounted to 96 million euros between 2015 and 2016.
“People With Money” also estimated Cyril Hanouna’s personal fortune at 275 million euros. Apart from his salaries and professional income, the animator with comical humor has also invested in the stock market. Its real estate heritage is also very important. He also negotiated juicy advertising contracts with the range of hair products CoverGirl. Cyril Hanouna has also launched a perfume called “L’eau de Cyril”, as well as a range of clothes for teenagers, “Hanouna Séduction”. Its assets also include a number of restaurants in Ile de France, including the chain of restaurants “Chez l’gros Cyril”. He also owns a football club. All these achievements ensure Cyril Hanouna a place of choice in the ranking of the wealthiest animators in France.
Cyril Hanouna is a business sleuth. From the start, he sensed the potential of his program “Touche pas à mon poste”. He therefore arranged for it to be his personal property. The TV channels only had a right of exploitation. He has also set up his own production structure which is in charge of the production of the show from one end to the other. He also has his own columnists and he takes it all when he leaves a television station. It should nevertheless be noted that he ceded ownership of the show to D8 in return for this juicy contract which he won in 2015. However, we must recognize that he has a very developed sense of negotiation.
Host Cyril Hanouna is now at the head of an exceptional heritage. With a salary or annual income of around 100 million euros, he stands out as the highest paid French animator of all time. He reached the top by cultivating excellence and making abnegation his leitmotif. It shows that the profession of animator has nothing to envy to other sectors and that one can succeed in it, provided that one believes in it deeply and that one never agrees to give up.