According to Vanity Fair and Forbes, Ray Romano makes $18 million a year from his favorite show, Everybody Loves Raymond.
In 2012, seven years after the sitcom ended, both media outlets reported the staggering amount.
Vanity Fair noted that Romano’s revenue comes from syndicated transactions.
At the time, Vanity Fair named Romano one of the highest-paid actors on television, even though Everybody Loves Raymond was no longer on the air.
Other male actors on the list include Ashton Kutcher, Tim Allen, Patrick Dempsey, Hugh Laurie, and Mark Harmon, all of whom appeared on popular shows at the time.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Romano’s current worth is $200 million.
The 68-year-old actor played sportswriter Ray Barron for all nine seasons of the CBS sitcom, co-starring Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, and Peter Doyle.
In the show’s final season, Romano collected approximately $2 million per episode, setting a Guinness World Record for highest-paid television actor per episode.
Behind-the-scenes drama erupted over Romano’s salary, as Garrett led the rest of the cast in negotiating a raise after learning Romano was making much more than them.
“It was inevitable,” Romano told the Daily News in 2003. “When my paycheck appeared in the paper, I knew something was going to happen.”
The Emmy winner admitted he would have done “the same thing” as his co-stars, who received a raise in the final season.
“I don’t have any grudges against anyone, neither the cast nor CBS. I’m loyal to both,” Romano said. “I wanted it resolved, but I also knew it had to be resolved.”
The cast of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” including Romano, Garrett and Heaton, reunited in November for the show’s 30th anniversary special honoring the late Roberts and Boyle.
A few months ago, Romano exclusively told the Post at another 30th anniversary event for the show that there would be no reboot.
Romano said that since both Roberts and Boyle are deceased, there is no point in resurrecting the series.
“We’re all heartbroken. They’re an important part of the show and it’s dynamic,” he told the Post.
Romano added, “I don’t know what the dynamics would be without them. We love this show too much and respect this show too much to even try to do it.”
