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Kevin Hart: From Growing Up In Philly To Making Millions

3,550 views · Published 31 October 2018 · 1:19 · Indexed 21 October 2026

Channel: CNBC Make It · 2018 · News & Politics

As one of the country's most successful comedians, Kevin Hart lives in a megamansion these days. But it wasn't always that way.

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Hart lived in a "little apartment that we had when I was growing up," he tells CNBC Make It in September, while sitting in a 268-square-foot tiny house he curated in partnership with Booking.com. "This is honestly probably along the same size," Hart says.

"We didn't have a lot of space, and it definitely wasn't this clever," Hart says referring to the amenities of the tiny house (like Amazon Alexa and Diptyque candles) but "it brings back memories."

Hart grew up poor in Philadelphia. His father was addicted to drugs so he was raised by a single mother. He slept in a bunk bed in the hallway of the one-bedroom apartment that he shared with his mom and older brother, Rolling Stone previously reported.

"We had a hallway, and there was my mom's side and there was me and my brother's side," Hart tells CNBC Make It.

Professionally, Hart also faced hurdles. In the beginning of his career, he commuted daily from Philadelphia to comedy clubs in New York, sometimes not getting home until 4 a.m., Variety reports, and he survived a number of canceled pilots.

Still, he never gave up and eventually skyrocketed to success, starring in hit movies including "Ride Along," "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and most recently, "Night School" with Tiffany Haddish. Forbes pegs his earnings for 2018 at $57 million, making him one of the highest paid celebrities in America.

Now, Hart lives in a mansion within a luxurious gated community in Tarzana, California, according to a 2015 Rolling Stone report.

But for Hart, tiny apartments and houses make him feel at home for another reason too: He's 5-foot-4.

"The whole movement of the tiny house is one that I support because I'm a tiny man," Hart jokes.

The tiny house Hart curated is now part of Tiny Estates resort in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and can be rented.

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How Kevin Hart went from sleeping in the hallway of a one-bedroom apartment to making millions | CNBC Make It.

Kevin Hart: From Growing Up In Philly To Making Millions

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