According to the publication, the 76-year-old host raked in $147 million pretax last year — out-earningEllen DeGeneres($87.5 million), Dr. Phil McGraw ($77.5 million),Ryan Seacrest($74 million),Steve Harvey($44 million), and more.
Helping Sheindlin reach the milestone was her 2017 deal with CBS, in which she soldJudge Judy‘s 5,200-episode library, as well as rights to future episodes of the syndicated program, for an estimated $100 million,Forbesreports.
For hostingJudge Judy— which is now in its 23rd season and garners more than 10 million viewers daily — and producingHot Bench,the panel-based court show that debuted back in 2014, Sheindlin makes $47 million,Forbesreported.
In total, Sheindlin boasts a net worth of $400 million, according toForbes, making herthe 48th richest self-made woman in America.
In March 2016, Sheindler candidly opened up about her rise to stardom and why her $47 million-a-year salary is justified while testifying in a lawsuit against talent agent Richard Lawrence and his company Rebel Entertainment Partners, who alleged that CBS and CBS Television Studios’ production company Big Ticket Television had denied the talent agency profits from the show.
“They can’t find another one. They’ve tried to find another Judy. If they find another Judy, good for them. So far they haven’t,” she continued. “And until they do, they have their local news on all their O&Os [owned-and-operated stations]. They have international, which we’re involved with the — theJudyprogram is all over the world, and even though they had to take a deep breath, they paid the money because they know otherwise. I’d take the same people with me that are producing the show now and I’d go and do it myself.”
“We go to the Grill on the Alley with the president of the company,” she said. “We sit across the table, and I hand him the envelope and I say, ‘Don’t read it now, let’s have a nice dinner. Call me tomorrow. You want it, fine. Otherwise, I’ll produce it myself.’ That’s the negotiation.”
source: people.com
