Larry David Shocked That Steve Bannon Received ‘Seinfeld’ Royalties

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Back in 2015, a Bloomberg Businessweek profile of White House Chief Strategist and former Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon revealed a little-known fact: that the controversial conservative big-wig is also a former Hollywood producer and financier who made a pretty penny off of one of the most heavily syndicated TV shows of all time, Seinfeld. As it turns out, that’s news even to Seinfeld co-creator Larry David.

In the profile, Bannon described a deal he worked out between Westinghouse Electric and Ted Turner, in which Westinghouse was attempting to sell Castle Rock Entertainment, one of the studios behind films like When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men, and TV shows like Mission Hill and Seinfeld. Bannon encouraged Westinghouse to accept Turner’s offer, but they were wary; Here’s what happened next:

“We told them, ‘You ought to take this deal. It’s a great deal.’ And they go, ‘If this is such a great deal, why don’t you defer some of your cash fee and keep an ownership stake in a package of TV rights?’ In lieu of a full adviser’s fee, the firm accepted a stake in five shows, including one in its third season regarded as the runt of the litter: Seinfeld. ‘We calculated what it would get us if it made it to syndication,’ says Bannon. ‘We were wrong by a factor of five.’”

While Forbes reported that Bannon, even if he owned only a 1% share of the profits, “would have made about $36.2 million since 1998” from the show, The New Yorker now reports that neither Bannon’s divorce files nor syndication information from CBS, Castle Rock and Warner Bros indicates that he received any substantial payment from Seinfeld royalties. So, it’s likely, the truth lies somewhere in the middle; Bannon probably made a significant sum from his investment in the show, but likely not as much as he claims.

For what it’s worth, the creators and cast involved with Seinfeld were none too pleased by the revelations of Bannon’s involvement with the show. “I don’t think I ever heard of him until he surfaced with the Trump campaign and I had no idea that he was profiting from the work of industrious Jews!” said Seinfeld co-creator, head writer, and EP Larry David. Rob Reiner, one of the founders of Castle Rock Entertainment, has commented on the knowledge of Bannon’s connection to the show: “It makes me sick.” And then there’s this tweet from Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza on the show:

The whole ordeal makes for an interesting read and contains a ton of surprising revelations about one of the most controversial figures in Donald Trump’s controversy-filled White House, so be sure to check out the full articles linked above.

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler
Bill Tressler
Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.