Kim Kardashian and her family will now make a record-breaking $US25 million ($32m) per season for their popular reality show after signing a four-year deal worth $US100 million.
The deal with Comcast and E! Entertainment was organised by the matriarch and manager of the family, Kris Jenner. It includes her daughters Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian as well as Kylie and Kendall Jenner.
The father of the younger two Jenner girls will not be part of the show with Kris and Bruce Jenner filing for divorce in 2014. Jenner has signed his own deal with E! for a reality program that will follow his transition from male to female.
Kim's husband Kanye West is also not included in the $US100 million deal.
The new deal is believed to be the largest deal ever signed for a reality program. Keeping up with the Kardashians follows the family through their everyday life and is about to screen its 10th season.
Until now Kim earned $US80,000 per episode, raking in a total of $US1.6 million, according to TheRichest.com, but the breakdown of the new earning percentages is unknown.
The bulk of Kim's fortune however comes from public appearances and her family's clothing line, which makes upwards of $US600 million, and a video game which reportedly made her $US85 million last year. As a reality TV star she only ranks No.13 among the highest earners (see the top 10 below), behind Nicole "Snooki" LaValle (at No.12) and Gordon Ramsay (at No.11).
Each season of Keeping up with the Kardashians runs for 20 episodes, so the six women are now earning around 12 million cumulatively per episode, putting them among the best renumerated television talent ever.
Charlie Sheen earned $US1.8 million per episode in Two and a Half Men, as did Ray Romano in Everybody Loves Raymond.
The cast of Friends, and also Jerry Seinfeld earned $US1 million per episode, as will the cast of The Big Bang Theory from this season on.
Top 15 richest reality stars in 2015
1. Simon Cowell – The X Factor – $US95 million salary
The American Idol founder, who then went on to create X Factor, Got Talent and The You Generation franchises, earns $95 million for each season that he appears on The X Factor. American Idol alone is worth around $US550 million. And the music mogul helped create One Direction on Britain's The X Factor in 2010.
 
2. Judith Sheindlin – Judge Judy – $US45 million salary
Having begun in 1996, Judge Judy is one of the longest-running reality shows of all time, with plans to continue into 2017. So far Sheindlin has earned $200 million from the show.
 
3. Tyra Banks – America's Next Top Model – $US18 million salary
Ex-model and America's Next Top Model founder earns $US18 million per season and the success of the show spawned True Beauty and talk show The Tyra Banks Show, which ran for five seasons.
 
4. Jennifer Lopez – American Idol – $US17.5 million salary
By returning as a judge on American Idol for its 13th season, the Latina singer has raked in $US17.5 million from Fox. JLo left the show in 2013. It's a drop in the ocean when you compare it to what she has earned in movie deals and music sales over the years (they you're talking billions).
 
5. Howard Stern – America's Got Talent – $US15 million salary
Despite being mostly know for his shock jock antics on Sirius radio, by singing with the Got Talent franchise, Stern makes a cool $US15 million a year from the show.
 
6. Ryan Seacrest – American Idol – $US15 million salary
His one-year contract for the current season of American Idol puts him in equal position to Howard Stern, however Seacrest too makes the bulk of his money elsewhere. Aside from being host of various programs for E!, his production company produces shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Married to Jonas and Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. He earned $US61 million last year.
 
7. Adam Levine – The Voice – $US10-$12 million salary
The Maroon 5 frontman makes somewhere between $US10 and $US12 million as a coach for each season of the US talent show.
 
8. Pharrell Williams – The Voice – $US8 million salary
Just behind Adam Levine in pay on the coaching/judging panel of The Voice is Pharrell Williams who replaced Cee Lo Green in 2014.
 
9. Blake Shelton – The Voice – $US6 million salary
You might say who? But clearly The Voice pays well, including for Blake Shelton, who happens to be one of the highest-earning country stars in the US.
 
10. Keith Urban – American Idol – $US5 million salary
And let's not forget the most famous and among the wealthiest country music stars Keith Urban, who may not command JLo's pay cheque but still earns about $US75 million a year through his music.
 
*The figures quoted come from TheRichest.com
