# Highest-paid working characters on a sitcom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433 "2015-04-11T15:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/1 "2015-04-11T15:10:36Z")
Over in the [Big Bang Theory thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18281083&posted=1#post18281083), I wrote: > [@The Big Bang Theory, Season 8, Episode 20 (April 9, 2015) -- "The Fortification Implementation"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-20-april-9-2015-the-fortification-implementation/717246/47): > > The show contradicts itself whenever it feels like it, so no numbers can be absolutely right. Even so, they’re not starting out. They’ve been there for something like ten years. And it was established in one episode that they’re tenure track professors. It would be very hard to believe they aren’t making well over $100,000 by this point. Remember that they were planning on helping Stewart reopen his shop, and that requires a large six-figure investment. > > That would push Penny up to maybe $300,000. My belief has large cracks in it. And it would be in tiny pieces on the floor if Bernadette weren’t making far more than Penny, because we would hear about it otherwise every time she opened her mouth. That beings her and Howard’s salary close to a half million a year. > > Raj has always been wealthy. He was named one of the top 30 scientists under 30. Cal Tech would shower more money on him to keep him there. > > This may be the highest-paid group of working people ever to appear on a sitcom. I think I’ll start a thread on that. And this is the thread. Who else is in the running? Not _The Beverly Hillbillies_, because that was not a salaried wealth. It has to be people whose money goes away if the job does. A show about show business fits better. _30 Rock_ had a showrunner, probably a million dollars a year, two TV stars, also a million or more, and the head of the corporation, several million, but also some low-paid workers, like the NBC page. Maybe we should split this into show business and non-show business categories. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/2 "2015-04-11T15:14:37Z")
I wonder how much Gregory House made? I know he lived like he did when he college, but he seemed to spend a lot on music and (it was implied) hookers. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/3 "2015-04-11T15:21:10Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I wonder how much Gregory House made? I know he lived like he did when he college, but he seemed to spend a lot on music and (it was implied) hookers. Hardly a sitcom. Dr. Huxtable? Who knows how much he made, but combine it with his wife’s lawyering duties and it could be pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/4 "2015-04-11T15:30:07Z")
Mr Drummond on _Diff’rent Strokes_ was making a pretty penny. And the Dad in _Silver Spoons_ was running a toy company, I think? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/5 "2015-04-11T15:33:24Z")
**The Dick Van Dyke Show**. Rob was presumably paid well (by the standards of the time) as head writer. **Make Room for Daddy** has Danny as a successful nightclub comedian. **The Joey Bishop Show** (second season, after it was revamped) had Bishop as a talk show host; he lived in an upscale NY apartment in a “The Carlton Arms,” which clearly wasn’t rent controlled. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/6 "2015-04-11T15:43:25Z")
\*Seinfeld \*played himself. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/7 "2015-04-11T15:47:24Z")
😕 \*Penny \*is not making $300,000. I’m at a loss how you could think that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/8 "2015-04-11T16:13:48Z")
When he was working as Dr. Drake Ramoray on a soap opera Joey could have been pulling in as much as $5000 a week. Had he not been killed off and stayed on the show long enough maybe twice that. Barney on HIMYM was making well into 6 figures. His lifestyle would indicate at least 500K a year, but much of his income might come from investments, so he might have been a low end 250K a year Wall Streeter. It’s not clear how much Jay on Modern Family makes. He owns a successful business, has the lifestyle of a well off man, but occasionally grumbles about the costs of everything. I’m guessing his income is in the low 6 figures for salary but he has some substantial wealth also based on the value of his business. It was a substantially different environment in the 60s, but if Darren Stephen’s boss Larry Tate on Bewitched was an advertising agency executive today he would be making millions of dollars a year. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/9 "2015-04-11T16:23:16Z")
Frasier and Niles Crane were making well into the six figures as successful psychiatrists. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/10 "2015-04-11T16:38:40Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > 😕 \*Penny \*is not making $300,000. I’m at a loss how you could think that. Penny said on the April 9, 2015 show “The Fortification Implementation” that she made twice as much as Leonard. If Leonard makes well over $100,000 then she has to be close to $300,000. I said I didn’t believe it, and we’ll see if the show makes this canon. There are lots of shows where one or two characters are making that kind of money. BBT is rare in that every major character has a high income. Maybe Childrens Hospital, since almost every major character is a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![scoots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@scoots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scoots)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/11 "2015-04-11T16:46:13Z")
Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm? He’s enjoying his Seinfeld money and seems pretty wealthy. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/12 "2015-04-11T16:50:30Z")
How about the President played by Bill Pullman in the short-lived sitcom 1600 Pen? ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/13 "2015-04-11T16:56:14Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Penny said on the April 9, 2015 show “The Fortification Implementation” that she made twice as much as Leonard. If Leonard makes well over $100,000 then she has to be close to $300,000. I said I didn’t believe it, and we’ll see if the show makes this canon. Is Leonard making $100000+ actually established, or just inferred? When I was in school, it was a requirement that everyone on staff making more than six figures be publicly reported, and that list contained very few people below department heads (and only heads of major departments). The BBT guys are certainly higher than post-docs on the totem pole, but I don’t think any of them are close to being “head of the physics department”. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/14 "2015-04-11T17:26:17Z")
Barney on HIMYM was making a vague yet extraordinarily ridiculous amount. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/15 "2015-04-11T17:54:31Z")
How does Harold Finch make his money on _Person of Interest_? It seems he got a lot of money (or had) although it may not be salary and he’s off the grid. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/16 "2015-04-11T19:12:36Z")
Uncle Phil on _Fresh Prince_ had some serious cash to throw around. It’s hard to say a sum, but given that he had a mansion with live-in staff probably somewhere upwards of half a million per year. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/17 "2015-04-11T20:21:42Z")
In _To the Manor Born_ Richard Devere is described as a self-made millionaire who owns or owned a supermarket chain and another company called ‘Farmer Tom’. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/18 "2015-04-11T20:54:09Z")
The characters on _The Big Bang Theory_ might not even have a conventional income at all. They could be in “soft money” positions, meaning that their pay comes almost entirely out of grants. This can potentially be far more lucrative than being paid by the university, but it’s also highly variable, and they might well see a semester or two where their grants get turned down and they don’t get paid at all. To answer the OP, we really need to pin down what we mean by “working”. Does the CEO of a large corporation “work”? Does it matter if his compensation is in stocks instead of salary? If we push the definition of “sitcom”, then I think that Scrooge McDuck is the winner. All of his income seems to come from various forms of his own personal adventurism, and all of his wealth came from his own income, so I think we can call it a “job” for him. In an actual sitcom, there’s Montgomery Burns from _The Simpsons_, but there, one can question how much of his pay counts as being for “work”. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/19 "2015-04-11T21:11:05Z")
Wait, is somebody following Silicon Valley? Are those guys zillionaires yet? ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/20 "2015-04-11T21:46:00Z")
It’s hard to put numbers on it, but **Eliot Carlin** (Dr. Hartley’s misanthropic patient on _The Bob Newhart Show_) was a self-described “real estate tycoon” who was once referred to as “the bundle maker”. He was a minor character, but IMO one of the show’s high points. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433.md?page=2)