David Choe Net Worth (Money & Salary)
“`html
Title: David Choe Net Worth (Money & Salary)
Last Updated: February 8, 2025
What is David Choe’s Net Worth?
With a net worth of $300 million, David Choe is an American painter, graffiti artist, graphic novelist, and muralist. He gained recognition for his figure paintings and is known in the graffiti community for the bucktoothed whale. Choe has contributed to publications such as “Hustler,” “Vice,” and “Ray Gun,” and he co-hosted the “DVDASA” podcast alongside adult film star Asa Akira. His published works include “Slow Jams” (1999), “Bruised Fruit: The Art of David Choe” (2002), “Cursiv” (2003), and “David Choe” (2020), and he was part of the 2008 documentary “Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe.” Additionally, he has made appearances in several TV series, including “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” (2013), “Vice” (2014), “Better Things” (2019), and “The Mandalorian” (2021).
Facebook Payday
In the early 2000s, David Choe’s graffiti work attracted the attention of Sean Parker, the President of Facebook. Parker commissioned Choe to enhance the walls of Facebook’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, where Choe requested a payment of $60,000.
After Sean discussed with Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, it was agreed that Choe would accept his payment in the form of company stock instead of cash—a decision that proved to be quite shrewd. The exact number of Facebook shares that David received is unknown, and today he does not hold enough shares to be publicly reported in the company’s financial disclosures. However, it is estimated with reasonable certainty that David Choe’s equity was worth about $200 million at the time of Facebook’s IPO, and due to the significant increase in Facebook’s stock value since then, his holdings at various points could potentially have been valued between $300 to $500 million.
Ramin Talaie/Getty Images
Early Life
Born on April 21, 1976, David Choe grew up in Los Angeles, California, specifically in the Koreatown neighborhood. His parents were Korean immigrants and born-again Christians. As a child, David developed his drawing skills by recreating images from “Star Wars” and “G.I. Joe,” and began his journey into graffiti art in 1990, inspired by local graffiti artists Hex and Mear One.
After his parents’ real estate business was destroyed during the 1992 L.A. riots, Choe left high school. He then spent two years hitchhiking across America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. At the age of 21, he returned to California and briefly attended the California College of the Arts but dropped out after two years.
Art Career
David Choe’s foray into graffiti art resulted in a week-long jail sentence, after which he returned to live with his parents and began contributing illustrations and writing to several magazines, including “Vice.” He starred in the web series “Thumbs Up!” (2007–2010) from “Vice,” showcasing his adventures hitchhiking and train-hopping throughout the U.S. and in China with his close friend Harry Kim.
During his time with “Vice,” Choe developed a relationship with the pop culture store and magazine “Giant Robot.” As art galleries showed little interest in his pieces, he decided to display his artwork in the Melrose Avenue ice cream shop Double Rainbow. The response from customers was overwhelmingly positive, allowing him to exhibit there for two years, creating new pieces each time one was sold.
In
“`In 2006, he took the step of self-publishing the graphic novel “Slow Jams,” initially producing about 200 copies for distribution at Comic-Con in 1998. Following his submission of the graphic novel for the Xeric Grant, Choe received $5,000 which allowed him to publish an expanded edition of 1,000 copies. The graphic novel hit the shelves in 1999 at a cover price of $4, but in recent years, it has fetched hundreds of dollars on eBay.
Getty Images