Joan Cusack and Robert Downey Jr. don’t get to count. That (awful) season the new producer of SNL thought it would be a good idea to hire *actors *instead of comedians. I think Randy Quaid and Anthony Michael Hall were in that cast too.
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Bill Murray, Artistic? Best Actor? LOL!
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Artistic, yes. Best Actor, sure, why the hell not? Don’t care that it bombed, his first serious performance in Razor’s Edge alone was Oscar worthy.
Was Phil Hartman a comedian?
Oh yes - member of LA’s Groundlings (the West Coast equivalent to Second City). Helped Paul Reubens create the Pee Wee Herman character. Also was a graphic artist, and created a few well known album covers.
I wouldn’t put him as most successful, but I think Christopher Guest oughtta be mentioned somewhere on the list too. He’s received tons of fans and critical acclaim for his films (both those he directed, such as Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind, and those he’s been in, such as The Princess Bride, This Is Spinal Tap, among many others). Plus he’s a freakin’ Lord and he gets to be married to Jamie Lee Curtis. That ain’t too shabby. 
(Admittedly, his title was inherited, so we can hardly ascribe it to SNL.)
Martin Short and Harry Shearer are doing pretty well, too.
I guess I have a different picture in my mind when someone says comedian versus actor. I think of a comedian as being of the stand up variety. The Groundlings strike me as a group of comedic actors. I’m probably the only one in the universe who makes the distinction though. It makes sense in my head at least.
Wait, why does a strict interpretation of who is a SNL alum exclude Senator Franken?
(financially, probably not in the top ten, granted)
ETA: AndyLee, that’s Jane Curtin.
Al Franken was hired as a writer and, if memory serves, was not listed as a cast member. He did occasionally do bits, like 'Stuart Smalley."
Yeah, Al was never in the credits, to my knowledge. In addition to solo bits like Smalley, he and Davis would occasionally appear in bits - actually, I used to look forward to the Franken and Davis stuff (hopefully I’m remembering correctly that they were on SNL).
Waiting For Guffman and Best In Show are two of my ten favorite comedies of all time, and Christopher Guest is clearly a very intelligent, very funny guy…
That said, apparently he is not known for his warmth or friendly demeanor, and seemingly “huge asshole” seems to be a common adjective when describing his personality type.
I don’t recall any specifics, but I wonder what people seem to find so offensive about him?
Harry Shearer with all that cartoon money is worth a nice 65 million , none too shabby
My guess would be Eddie Murphy. Granted his biggest successes were back in the 1980s with “Beverly Hills Cop”, “48 Hours”, “Trading Places” and “Coming to America”. But even with later movies, he has always been a steady, reliable drawer. Of course it could be that he “merely makes a good salary” instead of owning things that make money.
Look, financially it is not even close. Adam Sandler is far and away the richest.
Jim Belushi is probably pretty well off. He must have gotten paid pretty well for his sitcom, According to Jim, which ran for eight seasons. He was an executive producer, which means he was getting a cut of the profits above his salary as a performer.
ZOMBIE THREAD
…so a lot of the numbers and responses from the first page are old.
That being said, like Lemur866 says, financially, it’s still probably Sandler.
Hell, I’ve responded on older zombies than this.
The “new producer” that season was Lorne Michaels, returning after a 5-year break.
Was never a cast member.
The OP asks for the most successful SNL “alum.” To me, that includes writers, and Conan O’Brien at least deserves a mention. According to The Internet (which is never wrong), he has a net worth of $75 million.
But I think the most successful has to be Jon Lovitz. He’s worth 50—no, 500—no, 5 billion—yeah, that’s the ticket: 5 billion dollars. And he has his picture on the cover of Newsweek, every day. And he’s married to Morgan Fairchild. That’s the ticket!
Work is work. /Jon Lovitz - The Original 5 Timers Club sketch
My muffins!
Acting!