You’d be hard-pressed to find someone that hasn’t heard of David Letterman. His name is up in the television host Hall of Fame with personalities like Johnny Carson and Jack Paar. Letterman has led an extremely impressive and long-lasting career, beginning in 1982 and continuing up until 2015. His two most famous shows, “Late Night with David Letterman” and “The Late Show”, ran for 6,080 episodes. Letterman was even ranked as one of the 50 best television stars of all time by TV Guide.
In 2015, Letterman announced that he was retiring from television, much to the dismay of his fans. However, his massive net worth continues to expand as Letterman remains steadfast in his career. He now hosts “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” on Netflix and continues to make money through re-runs of “The Late Late Show” as well as “Everybody Loves Raymond”, for which his production company is responsible.
Judge Judy — $440 Million
Despite her small stature, Judge Judy has a big personality. So big in fact, that she’s been able to make a multimillion-dollar career out of it. The only woman in a class of 126 students at the Washington College of Law, Judith Sheindlin went on to become a judge in Manhattan family courts. She eventually transitioned into courtroom television in 1996 and the rest is history. Since its initial launch, 'Judge Judy' has continued to be one of the highest-rated programs on television.
In fact, Sheindlin makes $47 million per year because of her incredibly popular courtroom program. It’s hard to imagine, but Sheindlin and her bailiff, who makes $1 million per year, film all 260 episodes of Judge Judy in a span of 50 days. Talk about a hard day’s work! It must be stressful to film those episodes all in one sitting, but having the rest of the year to relax would certainly make it all more than worth it. No judgment here!
Stephen Colbert — $110 Million
Another television host known for his newsroom satire, Colbert is a man of many accolades, so it’s no wonder his net worth is so impressive. Initially working as an actor cast in serious television shows such as "Law & Order", Colbert eventually found his niche in the comedy and talk show sector. He’s become so successful that he’s actually won nine Emmys, two Grammys, two Peabody’s, and of course has amassed a net worth of $110 million.
Colbert began his career as a member of an acting troupe. Believe it or not, he was cast as an understudy for Steve Carell. Though he wasn’t a failure as an actor, Colbert wasn’t gaining the success he hoped for and ended up working as a writer for popular shows such as "Saturday Night Live" and "The Daily Show". It turned out Colbert was much more successful as a writer than as an actor and he was eventually asked to appear on "The Daily Show", which in turn launched "The Colbert Report". He currently hosts "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert".
Kylie Jenner — $750 Million
It’s hard to imagine what growing up on a reality television show would feel like. Jenner began showcasing her daily life to the world on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" when she was only 10 years old. It must not have done too much damage to her though, because at the young age of 21 Kylie Jenner has become the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.
Most of Jenner’s wealth has come from her immensely successful makeup line, Kylie Cosmetics. In 2018, Kylie Cosmetics had an 8% growth in revenue stream amassing to about $360 million. The company is valued at $900 million and is completely owned by Kylie Jenner. On top of that, Jenner has earned about $100 million from the business already, adding up to a fortune of $1 billion, which somewhat dropped in recent years.
Ellen DeGeneres — $520 Million
Today, the first thing that probably comes to mind when you think of Ellen DeGeneres is her famous television show, where she conducts interviews in front of a live audience. However, DeGeneres had quite a career before her well-known daytime show began. She started off as a comedian in the 1980s and eventually landed her very own sitcom, "Ellen".
The sitcom actually ended up being so successful that it was often called the “female Seinfeld.” Upon the success of "Ellen", DeGeneres began to rack up the cash and build a fortune that would eventually amount to an impressive $520 million. Not only has she starred in multiple successful television shows, but DeGeneres has also written four books, runs a record company, is the head of a production company, and manages her own lifestyle brand.