The World’s Highest-Paid TV Hosts 2018: Judge Judy Presides With $147 Million
For the first year ever, Judy Sheindlin—more commonly known as Judge Judy—reigns supreme not only in her own courtroom, but also across all of television. Pocketing $147 million pretax last year, Sheindlin is the highest-paid television host, outearning all others.
“Many people, as I did in the beginning, get stuck with a job they don’t really like. … If you’re not doing something that you love to do, find something that you love to do, because it will make your whole life different,” Sheindlin said at 2017’s Forbes Women’s Summit. With a nine-figure check, it’s no surprise she loves her job.
The sharp-talking daytime judge takes the top spot thanks to her even sharper deal-making skills: Last year she sold the rights to her Judge Judy’s 5,200-episode library, as well as future episodes of the show, to CBS for an estimated $100 million. Between that paycheck and the $47 million she gets for hosting Judge Judy and producing Hot Bench, Sheindlin took in triple her typical annual paycheck. With that added to her bank account, she also became 48th-richest self-made woman in America, with a net worth of $400 million.
U.S. new home sales drop to more than 2-1/2-year low
WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Sales of new U.S. single-family homes tumbled to a more than 2-1/2-year low in October amid sharp declines in all four regions, further evidence that higher mortgage rates were hurting the housing market.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday new home sales dropped 8.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 544,000 units last month. That was the lowest level since March 2016. The percent drop was the biggest since December 2017.
September’s sales pace was revised higher to 597,000 units from the previously reported 553,000 units. New home sales have dropped in four of the last six months.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for about 9.4 percent of housing market sales, rising 3.7 percent to a pace of 575,000 units in October.
New home sales are drawn from permits and tend to be volatile on a month-to-month basis. They decreased 12.0 percent from a year ago.