You'll Never Guess Who the Highest-Paid TV Host of 2018 Is

Forbes released its list earlier this week

The ruling is in: Judge Judy is the world's highest-paid TV host for 2018.

Forbes released its final list on Monday and reported that the TV court star, otherwise known as Judy Sheindlin, earned $147 million pretax last year. 

According to the publication, Sheindlin sold the rights to Judge Judy's 5,200-episode library and future show episodes to CBS for an approximate $100 million. She also reportedly raked in about $47 million for hosting Judge Judy and for producing the Hot Bench.

So, who got second place? This prize went to Ellen DeGeneres, who reportedly earned $87.5 million pretax last year. Per the magazine, The Ellen DeGeneres Show host made history when she became the first woman to receive $20 million from Netflix for her stand-up special. She also produces several shows, including Splitting Up Together, and has licensing deals with several major retailers, including Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Dr. Phil McGraw came in third place with an estimated pretax earnings of $77.5 million. Not only does he host Dr. Phil, but he also is an executive producer for several shows, including The Doctors. In addition, Forbes noted he cofounded the Doctors on Demand app.

Next up was Ryan Seacrest, who reportedly made pretax earnings of $74 million last year. In addition to hosting American Idol and Live With Kelly and Ryan, Seacrest is a producer for Keeping Up With the Kardashians. 

Steve Harvey capped off the list with estimated pretax earnings of $44 million. The TV star makes bank from hosting both Steve and Family Feud.

Forbes based its earnings estimates on pretax figures for the June 2017 to June 2018 year. These numbers were calculated based on a number of sources, including Nielsen, IMDB, Box Office Mojo and "industry insiders."