Arnulf Rating grew up in Wuppertal and studied in Münster and Berlin. In Berlin in 1977 he founded together with Günter Thews Die 3 Tornados, which he belonged to the dissolution in 1990.
In 1990 Ratings joined Matthias Beltz, Achim Konejung, Heinrich Pachl and Horst Schroth in the Reichspolterabend. In 1992, together with Pachl, he brought out the program Where Others Pray.
Since 1993, Arnulf Rating has been performing solo programs. In 2007 he performed with Volker Pispers, Matthias Deutschmann, Hagen Rether and Martina Schwarzmann in the Cabaret Sampler: 3rd Political Ash Wednesday live in the Arena Berlin, the same-named CD was released in the same year. Although he disguises himself occasionally for single numbers, his stage presence is usually characterized by the appearance in a suit with briefcase. During the program, he removes a stack of newspapers from the suitcase, mostly the Bild newspaper, and comments on the current state of affairs on the basis of particularly striking headlines. In February 2013, he hosted the 9th Political Ash Wednesday cabaretists in Berlin, whose record was broadcast on 20 February in the Deutschlandfunk broadcast Querköpfe. In February 2016, he again hosted the Political Ash Wednesday of the cabaret artists in its 12th edition, which was broadcast online. Also in 2017, the Ash Wednesday of the cabaret artists was moderated by Rating.
Arnulf Rating received the most important German cabaret awards and is regularly seen in many cabaret shows on German television.
