You'd guess that Simon Cowell makes a ton of money off of "American Idol" and rightly so - it's his baby. He's the judge and producer and final say of what happens on the hit show. But can you imagine making $36 million (GBP11.9 million) a year for watching someone else give their all on live TV?
It sounds like his fellow judges think that's way out of whack - consider they are taking home much smaller paychecks.
The show's former executive producer Nigel Lythgoe did some talking recently to Forbes magazine and even defends Cowell's high fee.
But he also admits that it causes some bad blood and jealousy between Cowell and his counterparts, judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.
Lythgoe says, "There is always jealousy in every job. Why is he getting more than the other two judges? Because it is believed that he brings more to the table."
"He has actually handled his negotiations quite brilliantly. He's only ever negotiated by the year. And now he is getting something like $22,000 per minute."
You'd think with all that money that Simon could afford another t-shirt.
