MTV
When the first episode of The Jersey Shore aired on MTV on December 3, 2009, no one could have possibly predicted its astronomical success. The series ran for six seasons and became MTV’s highest-rated series ever. The Guido Gang is back together, as Jersey Shore: Family Vacation premiered on April 5 and will follow the original cast around Miami.
With spin-off shows, club appearances, and various business ventures since the show ended, all members of the cast have pulled in a king’s ransom. RadarOnline reports that after receiving $400,000 in signing bonuses, $200,000 in end-of-season bonuses, and $150,000 for a reunion episode, Snooki, The Situation, and DJ Pauly D each made about $2.55 million for Season 6. And that doesn’t even include their per-episode rake ins.
Pauly D, who is a legitimate DJ and signed to 50 Cent’s G-Unit Records, is worth an estimated $24 million. Jenni “JWoww” Farley is worth an estimated $2.6-$3 million earning between $100,000 and $130,000 per episode on The Jersey Shore, $175,000 per episode for her spinoff show with Snooki, and proceeds from her clothing line “Filthy Couture.” Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino made an estimated $8.9 MILLION from 2010 – 2012, with help from a hefty $150,000 per episode payday for Jersey Shore Season 6.
But things weren’t always like that.
Before the show took off, MTV paid the cast not in money, but in gift cards.
Snooki recently told InStyle:
“We would get $200 a week from the Shore Store. I had never gotten that much in a week, like, every single week, because you usually get paid every two weeks.”
Snooki, the show’s fan favorite, ranked at the top of the show’s earning list–raking in $2.55 million dollars a season for Snooki, with bonuses included.
A true rags to riches tale.
[h/t InStyle]