Simon Cowell and Howard Stern both sat atop the Forbes list of highest paid entertainers by dragging in an astronomical $95 million in the past year. But the famously dour British creator of “American Idol,” “X Factor,” and “Got Talent” franchises was far and away the greatest money-maker because his vast fortune is created solely from television whereas all but $15 of Stern’s cash is made from “America’s Got Talent.” The rest is procured from his ultra-successful Sirius XM Satellite Radio show.
Keep these numbers in mind when checking out the list of the highest-paid black actors on TV and you’ll notice a wide chasm in entertainment earnings that persists in the new millennium.
