Paul Mooney is the stage name of an American comedian, writer, social critic, and television and film actor with an estimated net worth of $500 thousand. He was born Paul Gladney on August 4, 1941 in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the age of seven, the family moved to Oakland, California. He was raised by his grandmother, Aimay Ealy, whom they called “Mama,” and who coined the nickname Mooney.

Mooney worked as a ringmaster with the Gatti-Charles Circus where he started writing comedy and telling jokes. This landed him his first professional work as a writer for Richard Pryor. He wrote some of Pryor’s routines for his Saturday Night Live appearance. He also co-wrote his material for several of Pryor's albums, as well as his film  Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling.

Paul Mooney was responsible for the careers of then stand-up comedians Robin Williams, Sandra Bernhard, Marsha Warfield, John Witherspoon, and Tim Reid. He credits his works to the greatest comedians of all time including Redd Foxx, Flip Wilson, George Carlin, Pryor, George Lopez and Eddie Griffin, who he considers his to be biggest influences. His material is mostly based on the subject of racism in the United States.