It's that time of year again, when we find out how much more TV celebs make than you and I do. But this year is a huge surprise. The highest paid star on television right now is Carson Daly!
Just kidding.
Actually, it's Oprah Winfrey again, with $260 million. She wins every year. The second place celeb, American Idol's Simon Cowell, doesn't even come close, with a paltry $45 million. One thing I don't understand is, where are late night hosts like David Letterman and Jay Leno? I know they make more than some of these people but they're not on the list.
And you'll never guess who #5 is (though I'm not sure the math makes sense). The list after the jump!
1. Oprah Winfrey - $260 million a year
2. Simon Cowell - $45 million a year
3. Judge Judy - $30 million a year
4. Katie Couric - $15 million a year
5. Zach Braff - $6.3 million a year
6. William Petersen - $500,000 (per episode)
7. Charlie Sheen - $350,000 (per episode)
8. Mariska Hargitay - $350,000 (per episode)
9. Christopher Meloni - $350,000 (per episode)
10. Hugh Laurie - $300,000 (per episode)
Here's the full list, by category (daytime, prime time, news anchor, etc)
Seven greatest hand cannons in TV history
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-25-2007 @ 8:28AM
Tom said...
I think the math is wrong on Z.B.'s listing but even if you divide that by 22 (average # of episodes) that still puts him at #10 on the list.
So I say props to Zach Braff, if you can manage to be the 10th highest paid star on TV while starring in a show that has an ensemble cast and which ranked 87 in the ratings I say more power to you.
Plus...its not like Katie Couric is earning her salary either...
Reply
7-25-2007 @ 8:31AM
Bash said...
What kind of idiot composed this list?
"Two and a half men" had 24 episodes last year times 350k is 8.4 mil.
Jesus.
Reply
7-25-2007 @ 8:50AM
Mandy said...
"One thing I don't understand is, where are late night hosts like David Letterman and Jay Leno?"
It doesn't look like they have a late night category on this list. Maybe because there are fewer late nigt talk show hosts than there are prime time actors they didn't feel like it would be interesting enough.
Reply
7-25-2007 @ 8:51AM
Ben said...
If you click on the link, you'll see that # 6-10 on this list are actually the top 5 for network prime time.
They just didn't read the article that closely.
Reply
7-25-2007 @ 8:55AM
Bash said...
Ah I understand. Braff isn't employed directly by a network but rather by Buena Vista or what was it again? *scratches head*
Reply
7-25-2007 @ 11:38AM
MacGuffin said...
Is anyone surprised that Oprah Winfrey won again? $260 million, which I assume comes mostly from her eponymous show (although I know she also produces other shows).
If you watch her show, there is a commercial every 5-6 minutes for 2-3 minutes. Plus all the product placement.
Reply
7-25-2007 @ 1:37PM
Brooke said...
Judge Judy gets $30 mil a year to be a bitch and judge people on syndicated TV? I'll do it for 22.
Reply
7-25-2007 @ 9:49PM
Brent said...
Remember, Scrubs is an 18 episode show. And this post did not point out it mean per episode for the TV actors.
Reply
7-25-2007 @ 11:18PM
Garry said...
In looking at this list it's pretty obvious that the numbers are just plain wrong, or at least not representative of cash income vs. non-cash income. There is no way that Simon Cowell is making $45 mil per year - the economics of television in general and American Idol specifically aren't favorable enough to pay him at that level. The $45 million figure is most likely an unverifiable rumor.
Reply