Oprah's Big Paycheck

Television Inflation

While television personality and actor salaries have always been inflated, there are some stars on TV who certainly rise to the upper echelon of paychecks. It’s no secret that Oprah Winfrey is rolling in dough, but TV Guide magazine's list of the top TV earners gives the hard dollar figure. It pays to be a celebrity!

Top Earners

Oprah, who climbed to success as host (and supervising producer) of The Oprah Winfrey Show, takes the top spot, earning $260 million each year. This puts her in the stratosphere of television salaries, because the next highest paid TV celebrity makes $45 million. That’s not chump change, to be sure, but Simon Cowell, who has made his fortune from being prickly and rude on American Idol, is still doing alright in the number two spot. Other big paychecks include:

• Judge Sheindlin (Judge Judy): $30 million
• Katie Couric (CBS Evening News anchor): $15 million
• Zach Braff (Scrubs): $6.3 million
• William Petersen (CSI: $500,000
• Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men): $350,000
• Mariska Hargitay (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
• Ellen DeGeneres: $5 million
• Tyra Banks: $3.5 million
• Matt Lauer: $12 million
• Meredith Vieira: $10 million

In June 2007, Forbes named Oprah the world's most powerful celebrity, reporting that overall, she was worth a whopping $1.5 billion.