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 $260 million a year, according to a list in TV Guide magazine’s July 23 issue.
Music producer Simon Cowell, the blunt and often contentious British judge of American Idol, placed a distant second to Winfrey, with $45 million for his role on the Fox network’s smash hit 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
1. Oprah Winfrey (The Oprah Winfrey Show): $260 million per year.
2. Simon Cowell (American Idol): $45 million per year.
3. Judge Sheindlin (Judge Judy): $30 million per year.
4. Katie Couric (CBS Evening News Anchor): $15 million per year.
5. Zach Braff (Scrubs): $6.3 million per year
Network prime time
1. William Petersen (CSI): $500,000 per episode.
2. Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men): $350,000 per episode.
3. Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU): $350,000 per episode.
4. Chris Meloni (Law & Order: SVU): $350,000 per episode.
5. Hugh Laurie (House): $300,000 per episode.
6. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (New Adventures of Old Christine): $225,000 per episode.
