The Amazing Johnathan's Net Worth At The Time Of His Death May Surprise You

On February 22, John Edward Szeles, a standup comedian and magician known as The Amazing Johnathan, died. The 63-year-old comedian had endured a long battle with heart disease prior to his death, per the New York Post. "My heart is broken," said standup comic Penny Wiggins in a Facebook post. "One of my best friends, one of the funniest humans I've ever met. I loved him so very much and will never forget this wonderful, amazing, kind, funny, great person."

Known as the "Freddy Krueger of comedy," The Amazing Johnathan first found mainstream success when he appeared on Criss Angel's television show "Mindfreak," in which he displayed his signature faux-gore comedy bits. Throughout the past few decades, The Amazing Johnathan had created an empire for himself, putting on multiple headlining shows in Las Vegas. 

The Amazing Johnathan's wife, sideshow stunt artist Anastasia Synn, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal of her tender moment with her husband just before his death. "The last thing I said to him was, 'I love you, honey, I'll be with you when you get up from your nap,'" Synn said. "We were feeding him oranges and strawberries. He was so peaceful. He said, 'Yay!' He had the most pure and sweetest look on his face." 

He never woke up from his nap.

After multiple decades of entertaining audiences with unusual comedic acts, The Amazing Johnathan had amassed quite a sizeable empire. In fact, according to Celebrity Net Worth, the comedian was worth approximately $15 million at the time of his death. The large net worth is largely due to the fortune that he amassed during his heyday when The Amazing Johnathan was headlining shows in Las Vegas and releasing specials like "Wrong on Every Level" and "The Amazing Johnathan Live." The Guardian reports that, during the early 2000s, The Amazing Johnathan was making around $3 million per year.

However, in 2014, the comedian's hopes for a long life were dashed when he was told that he only had a year to live, due to a heart condition called cardiomyopathy. "The greatest time of my life was spent here," The Amazing Johnathan said during an ENTSpeaks event at Inspire Theater in Las Vegas, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I made millions of dollars, I have two beautiful houses, and everything came crashing ... down. And I was told I have a year to live. It's not a joke." 

Despite this shocking prediction handed down from his doctors, The Amazing Johnathan lived another eight years performing sporadically and even becoming the subject of two documentaries — "Always Amazing: The True Story of the Life, Death and Return of The Amazing Johnathan" and "The Amazing Johnathan Documentary."