Steve Harvey has built a media empire. From hosting multiple versions of Family Feud and his courtroom comedy show, Judge Steve Harvey, to running a daily radio program, a clothing line, and numerous other investments, the 68-year-old has become a ubiquitous presence in entertainment.
However, his current success, with an estimated net worth of $200 million, stands in stark contrast to his past. For nearly three years, Harvey was homeless, living out of his Ford Tempo on just $50 a week. He used an Igloo cooler to store food and survived on bologna sandwiches.
Harvey views that grueling period as a formative experience that taught him to focus on the future. “Because today is temporary; if it all goes right, today will be called yesterday,” Harvey explained in a recent interview on The Pivot Podcast. “If you can understand that it can change for you tomorrow, it’ll give you the fortitude to hang in there today because all you got to do is wake up.”
Even after achieving global recognition, Harvey emphasized that maintaining success is a constant challenge. “It’s hard to make money, man, and it’s hard to make a lot of money,” he said. “But if you think it’s hard to make money, it’s way harder to keep it and to add to it.” He likens financial success to a feat of physical strength, noting that while it may take years to be able to do 100 push-ups, it is even more difficult to maintain the shape required to do so consistently. “To stay successful, guess what you got to do? You got to lock and hold,” he added.
Born in West Virginia to a coal miner father, Harvey’s early life was a search for stability. After attending both Kent State and West Virginia University, he dropped out and cycled through a series of jobs, including mailman, insurance salesman, and auto-plant worker. A layoff from General Electric just before Thanksgiving was a particularly difficult blow. The turning point arrived when Harvey was 27; after winning $50 at a comedy club, he decided to quit his sales job and pursue comedy full-time—a gamble that would redefine his life.
This history of instability is what drives him to manage so many ventures today, ensuring that the loss of one job would not leave him destitute. “I’ve been running from poverty so long because I was in it for so long,” he told the podcast. “I guess I am kind of afraid of it going bad.”
Harvey’s core advice for those seeking success is to discover their unique gift rather than focusing on their resources. He encourages embracing difficulty as a catalyst for growth. “You gotta get comfortable with being uncomfortable if you ever wanna be successful,” he has said. “Start putting some pressure on yourself.”
