Ryan Seacrest Now Earns $55 Million Paycheck

USMagazine, Wednesday, May 11, 2011, 4:01pm (PDT)

Ryan Seacrest is rolling in the dough.

The 36-year-old "American Idol" host's salary tripled in 2009 -- skyrocketing from $5 million a year to $15 million -- when he signed a three-year deal with FOX and CKX, and now the Hollywood Reporter estimates he earns $55 million a year.

How'd Seacrest score such an enormous paycheck?

In addition to his $45 million American Idol compensation, he hosts his own KIIS-FM radio show and produces the Kardashian reality shows for E! and Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" for ABC.

Seacrest doesn't come cheap, but FOX can certainly afford him. Though operating costs for "American Idol" rose 17% in the last year, Forbes estimates the program earns $7.11 million every half-hour for News Corp.

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