Judy Sheindlin is known for being queen of her courtroom on her long running show, Judge Judy, and now, the 76-year-old is also the ruler of TV personalities. Forbes crowned Judy the highest-paid television host of 2018, thanks to the whopping $147 million that she earned this past year.

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Although her show has been on the air for more than 20 years, this is the first time Judy has taken home the top earnings spot. Forbes accredits this to the savvy judge selling the rights to all the past and future Judge Judy episodes to CBS for an estimated $100 million—which more than tripled her typical yearly earnings.

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The publication adds that she has also accumulated $47 million from hosting Judge Judy and producing Hot Bench. Her latest salary brings her net worth up to a whopping $400 million!



The judge can also thank her loyal fanbase for the big payday. More than 10 million people tune in to watch Judge Judy every single day, which attracts advertisers to the show as well.

Judy isn't the only woman in her industry making the big bucks, either. Ellen DeGeneres took home the second spot on the Forbes list, with an income of $87,500,000. Rounding out the top five were: Dr. Phil McGraw, Ryan Seacrest, and Steve Harvey, who each earned $77,500,000, $74,000,000, and $44,000,000, respectively.

According to Forbes, these pretax estimates are from June 1, 2017-June 1, 2018, and do not include payments to managers, agents, and lawyers. Even after those fees, these five hosts are certainly cashing in.

Jennifer Aldrich Editorial Assistant Jennifer Aldrich was the editorial assistant for CountryLiving.com.

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