American painter, graffiti artist, graphic novelist, and muralist David Choe networth is $300 million. Graffiti artist David Choe is frequently associated with the bucktoothed whale and is widely renowned for his figure works. He has contributed to publications like Ray Gun, Vice, and Hustler. In 2008, David Choe took part in an exhibition for the documentary “Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe.” He has written books for publishing houses such as “Slow Jams” (1999), Choe” (2002), Bruised Fruit: The Art of David “Cursiv” (2003), and “David Choe” (2020). Moreover, he was part of the television shows “Better Things” (2019), “Vice” (2014), and “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” (2013), and “The Mandalorian” (2021).
Facebook Payday
David’s graffiti work drew the attention of Facebook President Sean Parker in the early 2000s. Parker hired Choe to create wall art for Facebook’s Silicon Valley offices. When the time came to negotiate the price, Choe told Parker he was looking for sixty thousand dollars.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg agreed after chatting with Sean but suggested that Sean take business shares rather than cash. It was a sage suggestion. David did not get a certain amount of Facebook shares, and at this point, his ownership is not significant enough for the company to report on its financial statements. However, we can conclude with some degree of certainty that David Choe’s portion was worth around $200 million at the time of Facebook’s IPO. It’s quite probable that he had interests worth $300–500 million at various times, considering the surge in value of Facebook’s shares after its first public offering.
Childhood
David Choe was born in Los Angeles, California, on Apr 21, 1976. His parents are Korean immigrants who were brought up in Los Angeles’ Koreatown district after being converted to Christianity. David learned how to draw scenes from “Star Wars” and “G.I. Joe” throughout his early years. When he first started painting graffiti in 1990, Los Angeles-based artists Hex and Mear One served as inspiration.
Following the 1992 L.A. riots, which wrecked his parents’ real estate firm, Choe dropped out of high school and hitchhiked around North America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East for two years. At 21, David returned to California and enrolled in the California College of the Arts, although he only stayed for two years.
Career In Art
David Choe returned home with his parents after spending a week in prison for his graffiti, and he started writing and illustrating for many magazines, including “Vice.” Furthermore, from 2007 to 2010, he appeared in the “Vice” web series “Thumbs Up!”, which followed David and his best friend Harry Kim as they hitched across China and the U.S. and took trains.
Around the time he began working with “Vice,” Choe made ties with the pop-culture journal and shop “Giant Robot.” Following the lack of interest from art galleries, David displayed his paintings at Double Rainbow, a Melrose Avenue ice cream restaurant. Customers loved the work so much that the company allowed him to show it for two years, adding a new piece every time one was sold.
The graphic novel “Slow Jams,” which he self-published in 2006 and gave away at Comic-Con in 1998, was initially produced in 200 copies. After submitting it for an Xeric Grant, Choe was awarded $5,000 to self-publish an expanded version in 1,000 copies. The graphic book, first published in 1999 for $4 on the cover, sold for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
“Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe,” a film produced in 2008, is an “intense portrait of David Choe, a young near-schizophrenic street artist that shows some criminal ways. More than ten years ago, his documentary was shot by Harry Kim. The Santa Rosa Museum of Contemporary Art hosted Choe’s solo exhibition in 2005 after several solo exhibitions in San Francisco and San Jose.
The following year, he debuted in the U.K. with “Murderous Heart,” his first solo exhibition, which was shown at the Lazarides Gallery in Newcastle and London. His first solo show in New York, “Gardeners of Eden,” occurred at Chelsea’s Jonathan LeVine Gallery in 2007. Between 2013 and 2017, David had watercolor exhibits at Koreatown’s “The Choe Show,” an invitation-only show, and Mexico City’s Museo Universario del Chopo. In addition, Choe created the artwork for the 2004 Jay-Z and Linkin Park EP “Collision Course” and provided the voice of the lead character in the animated film “We Are The Strange” from 2007.
Personal Life
Choe has made donations to many nonprofit organizations. Rainn Wilson, the star of “The Office,” and his husband, author Holiday Reinhorn, formed The LIDÈ Haiti Foundation, through which he has painted with at-risk youngsters and assisted in raising funds for Wyclef Jean’s Yle Haiti. At the start of the 2000s, David was imprisoned for three months after striking a Tokyo undercover security officer. The incident took place as a result of the linguistic barrier. Choe created more than 600 drawings using “the one pen his cell was allowed” and erotic paintings with tea, soy sauce, urine, and blood while he was imprisoned. After being set free, he was advised to leave the country and never return.
When David said on his podcast in 2014 that he had participated in “rapey behavior” with a masseuse, it caused a stir. Then he said that the podcast was a fictional creation. Artist Jasmine Wahi, who helped organize a performance in front of the painting, said, “By raising awareness of the issue, we hope to provoke widespread rejection of the continued normalization of rape culture.” In 2017, some artists expressed their displeasure with Choe’s commission to paint the Bowery Mural Wall. David said sorry for his statement and mentioned that he had never sexually assaulted someone. I really regret if someone felt hurt by the early comments. Jokes regarding the rape are definitely not amusing or appropriate.
Assets
In 2010, David invested $3.1 million to buy a 6,500-square-foot home in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. David listed this home for $6.9 million in September 2022.
Note: All people’s net worth is calculated using data from publicly available sources. When available, we also consider candid endorsements and remarks by celebrities or their representatives. Unless otherwise stated, our numbers are simply estimates even though we take great care to ensure their accuracy.
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