The legendary comedian on how to be a better parent and why his kids are his toughest audience.

In Seinfeld, the show that made his name and his fortune, Mr Jerry Seinfeld played a character infamous for his commitment issues. He didn’t want to settle down, didn’t want to get married, never thought about kids. This, it turns out, wasn’t too far off reality. Throughout his thirties and early forties, Mr Seinfeld was solely focused on co-creating and starring in the most successful, most syndicated sitcom series of all time. (Now 63, he is the world’s wealthiest comedian with an estimated net worth in excess of $900m, according to Forbes.)

Enough, eventually, was enough, though. Mr Seinfeld reportedly turned down an offer of $100m, or $5m an episode, to make a 10th series, in order finally to concentrate on his personal life. Within a few months of the show wrapping in 1998, he met and fell in love with Ms Jessica Sklar. They married the following year and now have three children – a 16-year-old daughter Sascha, and two sons, Julian, 14, and Shepherd, 12.

When his first child was born, Mr Seinfeld was 46, and soon found babies come with lots of stuff. Ms Seinfeld had the bright idea of setting up an organisation called Baby Buggy to re-distribute essentials such as cribs, strollers/prams and high chairs to support struggling families. The charity has evolved over the years and is now called GOOD+ Foundation. “I have always been involved in Jessica’s work but it wasn’t until the organisation started focusing on the importance of fathers a few years ago that this work became very personal to me,” he says. Of the families they support across the US, 63 per cent live in a home with no father. Mr Seinfeld now leads the GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Leadership Council, made up of nearly 60 fathers, to help raise awareness and funds on initiatives that focus on engaging fathers with their children.

But it isn’t just parenthood and the charity that have kept Mr Seinfeld active since the end of his eponymous sitcom: following a much-hyped return to stand up in the late 1990s, he has kept his toe in, with semi-regular tours. He’s also made numerous special appearances and cameos, including with Seinfeld co-creator Mr Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm and a lead role in the 2007 animation Bee Movie (you could say he’s been a busy bee). In 2012, he began the web series Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, which has seen Mr Seinfeld chat with the likes of Mr Steve Martin in a 1966 Ford Mustang, Mr Jim Carrey in a 1976 Lamborghini Countach and President Barack Obama (a US president rather than a comedian, although the lines are increasingly blurry) in a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. This award-winning show has just been snapped up by Netflix in a reported $100m deal that also includes two stand-up specials.

We’re sitting having coffee, inevitably, overlooking the Hudson River in New York on the roof terrace above Vanity Fair photographer Mr Mark Seliger’s studio. Mr Seinfeld has changed back into his civvies of a New York Mets tracksuit top, blue jeans and white Nike Shox. But you’ll note that in the portraits that accompany this interview, Mr Seinfeld is wearing a simple white shirt. MR PORTER is proud to support GOOD+ Foundation this year by launching our “White Shirt Campaign” to donate the profits from a curated selection of white shirts sold on the site between now and Father’s Day on 18 June – shop the collection here. To make a direct donation, visit goodplusfoundation.org.