BILL COSBY – $400 M

Bill Cosby is a comedian and producer well-known for creating and starring in his show, The Cosby Show. Due to the show’s popularity, he became the highest-paid television actor at the time. Bill would earn a total of $4 million per episode, which would be equivalent to making $8 million today. Including the royalties he would get from the show, Cosby would use these as investment money for his real estate portfolio and art collection, which would be worth at least $250 million combined.

Outside of the show, he’d perform stand-up comedy shows, eventually giving him a chance to perform in programs like The Dick Van Dyke Show and I Spy, for which he got three Emmy Awards. According to Forbes, Cosby was the highest paid artist in the world in the mid-1980s, earning more than $80 million. Today, Cosby faces more and more attorneys’ fees. Some speculate that civil cases will deplete his property and bankrupt him.