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Comedian and writer Nick Kroll is at the top of his game with a net worth of $20 million, but he’s just one successful man on his over-achieving family tree.
His father, 80-year-old, Jules B. Kroll has a net worth of $2 billion after amassing a fortune as the CEO and founder of Kroll, Inc., a corporate investigation company he developed in 1972 and brother, Jeremy has followed in dad’s footsteps as Co-founder and CEO of K2 Integrity, a similar corporate investigation company.
How did the Kroll family amass such a fortune and what does the future hold?
The One Who Started it All: Jules B. Kroll
Fortune names Jules Kroll as the man who invented the corporate investigation industry. Nearly five decades ago he began establishing a new way of investigating and mitigating risks in the corporate world.
Through old-fashioned detective work, Kroll, Inc. helped Nokia and Motorola find and recover $2.7 billion, stolen by Turkey’s Uzan media empire. The corporation has uncovered numerous fraud and corporate schemes, investigated unknown potential business partners and worked with clients around the world. They consulted on both American and international business dealings and caught issues before a partnership was formed, becoming a go-to in the corporate world.
Jules Kroll sold Kroll, Inc. in 2004 to insurance company Marsh & McLennan for $1.9 billion, but he didn’t stop there. He watched as bond rating companies repeatedly graded sub-par companies with an A+ rating, and then collapse under corruptive practices. The eldest Kroll is now the CEO of Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc., investigating corrupt corporations and saving American’s millions in investments and partnerships with the wrong firm.
Like Father, Like Son: Jeremy Kroll
Also in 2009, not long after selling his first business, Jeremy Kroll and his father launched K2 Intelligence of which Kroll is Chairman and Jeremy is CEO and Co-founder.
On the K2 side, the work is very similar to what Kroll, Inc. was doing, but Jeremy is bringing an updated, technology focused addition. According to Fortune, Jeremy Kroll is building a social network that allows the company to tap into foreign expertise on an as-needed basis. He’s also working with online identity verification and ways to make those verifying factors more secure and reputable.
In a world where carbon credits and bitcoin are rising in popularity, Jeremy’s knowledge is helpful in bringing K2 to the top of the heap when it comes to selecting an investigative firm for your corporate needs. Jules told Fortune, “I don’t think my level of creativity is anywhere near where it was when I was Jeremy’s age and he’s living in a world of ideas that is frankly more modern than the one I’m living in.”
Both K2 and Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc. are currently raking in billions annually and topping the pyramid of investigative companies for corporations.
A Different Path: Nick Kroll
Chances are, if you aren’t familiar with Nick, once you hear the list of television shows, films and stand-up routines he’s written for, you will. Son of Jules and brother to Jeremy, Nick Kroll is the most well-known Kroll among Hollywood and certainly took a different path than his family members.
Nick fell into the world of comedy as he landed his dream job of writing for the “Chappelle Show” along side one of his best friends, comedian John Mulaney, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He went on to roles in popular television shows like “The League”, “Community,” “Parks and Recreation” and others and was romantically linked to comedian Amy Poehler for two years.
He’s had roles in big screen films such as “Date Night”, “Get Him to the Greek,” and “I Love You, Man.” He was also known for his offbeat characters on “The Kroll Show” for three seasons on Comedy Central.
Today, Kroll writes, produces and lends his voice to Netflix’s animated series “Big Mouth”, and will be touring this summer for his stand-up comedy show, “Nick Kroll: Middle-Aged Boy” and the accolades just keep coming.
In 2009, he was nominated for the Denver Film Critics Society Award. In 2015, he was nominated for a People’s Choice Award and in 2017, he was nominated for an Anti-Award for lending his voice in the “Captain Underpants” film. In 2019, the comedian was nominated for Gotham Awards for his work on “Big Mouth” and in 2020, Kroll was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for outstanding animated program, “Big Mouth”, according to Daily Record.
Not only is his career soaring, Kroll’s personal life seems better than ever. In Nov. 2020, he married landscape architect, Lily Kwong and welcomed a baby boy this past January.
Though he might not be in the billionaire status like his father and brother, Kroll has made a name for himself doing what he loves.
Sources: Fortune, Celebrity Net Worth, Daily Record