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While there are some reality shows where contestants only make a few hundred, or don’t even earn anything if they don’t win the competition, there are others that shell out million-dollar salaries. Below, we take a look at some of the reality shows and stars that make the most per episode and season.
Dancing with the Stars - $360,000+
There are a lot of celebrities who’ve appeared on Dancing with the Stars, but it’s not always lucrative. However, for those who manage to win the Mirror Ball Trophy, it does pay off literally. In 2020, it was reported that year’s trophy was going to be accompanied by a $360,000 prize. That number is likely only higher in recent seasons.
Bethenny Frankel - $40,000/Episode
During her time as a main cast member on The Real Housewives of New York, Bethenny Frankel was making $40,000 per episode. This means she easily was making close to half a million per season, even though Bethenny previously admitted to making only $7,250 during her first season on the hit show.
Bethenny appeared in 8 of Housewives’ 13 seasons. She’s also had a number of Bravo spin-off shows, including Bethenny Ever After (2010 -2012) and Bethenny & Fredrik (2018), plus other T.V. stints like The Big Shot with Bethenny (2021) and Bethenny (2013-2014).
Altogether, Bethenny’s reality television career has helped her amass a fortune of $80 million.
Teen Mom Cast - $500,000/Season
MTV’s Teen Mom franchise has undergone many makeovers and have various spin-offs. The network recently merged its two original shows into one known as Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, but many of the original cast members are likely making hundreds of thousands.
It's been reported that cast members who’ve been with the franchise since the beginning (or close to it) have been paid $500,000 per season, such as Teen Mom 2’s Kailyn Lowry, Maci Bookout, and Briana DeJesus.
Newer cast members, like Jade Cline, likely earn slightly less. But they may still be easily making hundreds of thousands.
However, now that the shows have been merged into one, the salaries have probably fluctuated. The cast members likely get paid according to how much screen time they get, which puts pressure on them to create an intriguing storyline.
Still, given that many of the cast has been with the franchise for over a decade, their salaries certainly won’t be chump change.
Lisa Vanderpump - $500,000/Season
Lisa Vanderpump has become a favorite in the reality television sphere. She was a regular cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills from 2010 to 2019. Reports say that she earned $500,000 per season or $50,000 an episode.
She may no longer be part of the Housewives cast, but Lisa is still a main cast member on her show Vanderpump Rules, which focuses on her and her staff. Lisa also had another spin-off show named Vanderpump Dogs in 2021, which focused on her dog rescue foundation.
While Lisa’s exact salary for the spin-off shows remain unconfirmed, she’s likely making a similar amount to what she did on Housewives, especially given her seniority in the entertainment world. Together, this has helped contribute to her $90 million net worth.
Nene Leakes - $2.85 Million/Season
Nene Leakes was such a popular cast member on Real Housewives of Atlanta that she reportedly earned $2.85 million for season 12. She was a regular cast member for 10 seasons from 2008-2015 as well as 2017-2020, before announcing her surprising departure.
Since then, Nene has gone on to file a lawsuit against the show’s production team, accusing them of racism and supporting a hostile work environment.
Caitlyn Jenner - $5 Million/Season
Caitlyn Jenner got started on reality television with Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but soon stopped appearing on the show following her divorce from Kris Jenner. However, she made a total of $5 million for starring in her own reality T.V. series I AM Cait in 2015.
Katy Perry - $25 Million/Season
Katy Perry may not have released new music recently, but she’s busy being a judge on American Idol, where she reportedly was paid $25 million for a single season. She’s not the only one on the show to have a million-dollar salary. Ryan Seacrest was reportedly making somewhere between $10-15 million in 2017.
The Kardashian-Jenners - $100 Million
The Kardashian-Jenner family got their fame largely from reality television, so it’s no surprise they’re still raking in a fortune from their family’s show. It’s unknown how much each member makes per episode, or even how much it costs to pay the family’s salaries each season. But it’s likely in the hundreds of millions.
For example, a report in 2017 said E! paid $100 million to renew Keeping Up with the Kardashians for three more seasons. Debuting in 2007, the show had 20 seasons before its final episode aired in 2021.
But it wasn’t long before the family signed onto a new reality show, this time with Hulu. The Kardashians aired its first season in 2022 and it already has 3 seasons. It’s been reported that the family is being paid at least $100 million for the widely streamed show.
However, the money may not be split equally. It’s likely that certain family members get paid more for higher screen time. But given how tight knit the Kardashian-Jenners are, it’s unlikely fans will ever know their individual salaries.
Sources: Style Caster, Insider, Celebrity Net Worth, Page Six, Life & Style,