Is Criss Angel or David Copperfield highest-paid magician? It depends on source
The math doesn’t work out, and a controversy has arisen over rankings by Forbes Magazine that analyzed the world’s highest-paid magicians.
Vanish Magazine says that Luxor headliner Criss Angel, and not MGM Grand headliner David Copperfield, is the highest-paid magician, bringing in more than $150 million a year with his Cirque du Soleil show “Mindfreak Live!”
Both magicians live here with their Strip headliner shows. Here’s Criss on YouTube talking about “Mindfreak Live!” with our Channel 13 talk-show personalities.
Newsweek reported that Criss was the only magician in the list of Las Vegas entertainers who topped $150 million gross ticket sales rankings.
Bloomberg Business Week reported that Criss himself generates about $70 million in profits a year, including millions in TV specials, global airings of his previous six seasons of 100 episodes of “Mindfreak” on A&E, magic kits and merchandise, plus his touring show “The Supernaturalists.” Since 2005, he’s sold more than $35 million in magic kits alone.
Criss headquarters his mini-conglomerate from a 60,000-square-foot Las Vegas warehouse laboratory where the multimillion-dollar infrastructure for “Mindfreak Live!” was built. The show is set to run for the final two years remaining on his 10-year contract with the Luxor and Cirque.
The rankings on YouTube are just as staggering. He’s the most-watched magician in history on the Internet with more than 300 million views on YouTube.
One of those clips, “Walk on Water,’ has more than 60 million views. Criss has more than 6 million followers on Facebook and Twitter, more than any magician. He also can claim the largest live audience in magic history with 50,000-plus people in Clearwater, Florida, that surpassed even the king of magic, Houdini.
Forbes ranks the Top Three magicians, all from Las Vegas, as 1) David Copperfield, 2) Penn & Teller and 3) Criss. One exec privy to ticket sales told me: “Copperfield’s theater at MGM Grand with only 740 seats is less than twice the size of the Luxor theater that houses Criss’ show with 1,600 seats.
“It would be physically impossible for David to produce the number he was credited with in that size venue with his average ticket price. It’s seemingly borne out by rankings from Yelp, Trip Advisor and Ticketmaster, which show Criss in a comparison at 4.5 vs. David at 3.5.
Other magicians rave: “The best magic show in the world,” said Lance Burton. The Amazing Johnathan added: “By far hands down the best magic show I’ve ever seen.” Vanish had the final word: “The greatest magic show the world has to offer.”