David Copperfield

David Seth Kotkin, born September 16, 1956, became David Copperfield and turned stage magic into stadium-scale spectacle. Through the 1980s and '90s he levitated over the Grand Canyon, escaped Alcatraz, made a Learjet disappear, and flew across stages for minutes at a time - illusions that earned 21 Emmys, 11 Guinness records, and a star on the Walk of Fame. By 2006 he had sold 33 million tickets and grossed over $4 billion, more than any solo entertainer in history; Forbes listed his 2015 earnings at $63 million. But in 2007 a federal investigation opened into sexual misconduct allegations, closing without charges, and in May 2024 The Guardian published accounts from 16 women accusing him of inappropriate behavior and misconduct from the late 1980s through 2014. Unsealed documents in early 2024 also identified him as an associate of Jeffrey Epstein, with photographs showing him alongside Ghislaine Maxwell. His legal team has denied all allegations.