Oprah's raking in the cash
2007-07-25 07:16
Los Angeles - Talk might be cheap,
but Oprah is not, topping a list of the highest paid television
stars in the United States.
Oprah Winfrey, host and supervising producer of The Oprah
Winfrey Show, earns an estimated $260m a year,
according to a list in TV Guide magazine's July 23 issue.
Simon Cowell, the blunt and often contentious British judge
of American Idol, placed a distant second to Winfrey, with $45m for the music talent show and other projects.
Courtroom chief Judge Judy (Judith Sheindlin), CBS news
anchor Katie Couric and Scrubs actor Zach Braff round out the top five.
The list breaks down star salaries by category - prime
time TV, daytime, cable and news with a partial listing
below:
Top five (all salaries are per year)
Oprah Winfrey (The Oprah Winfrey Show): $260m
Simon Cowell (American Idol): $45m
Judge Judy (Judge Judy): $30m
Katie Couric (CBS Evening News Anchor): $15m
Zach Braff (Scrubs): $6.3m
Network Prime Time (all salaries are per episode)
William Petersen (CSI): $500 000
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men): $350 000
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU): $350 000
Chris Meloni (Law & Order: SVU): $350 000
Hugh Laurie (House): $300 000
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (New Adventures of Old Christine): $225 000
Ellen Pompeo (Grey's Anatomy): $200 000
Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives): $200 000
Daytime (all salaries are per year)
Judge Judy: $30m
Bob Barker: $10m
Maury Povich (per year plus profits): $7m
Ellen DeGeneres: $5m
Jerry Springer: $3m - $4m
Tyra Banks: $3.5m
News Anchors (all salaries are per year)
Katie Couric (CBS Evening News anchor): $15m
Matt Lauer (NBC Today co-anchor): $12m
Meredith Vieira (NBC Today co-anchor): $10m