They may get criticized for lacking talent or offering up fraudulent versions of their lives and personalities, but the reality TV stars who help score the big ratings also bring in the big bucks.
Kris Jenner and her brood just earned $100 million for four more seasons of Keeping Up With the Kadashians. The imprisoned Teresa Giudice made $700,000 for her final year of filming The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Not bad salaries for a bunch of non-college grads who can't sing, act, dance or play sports, but you know what's really shocking?None of those folks are even in the top five when it comes to reality show earners.
Check out the list below to see who's really getting rich from what's arguably America's favorite kind of entertainment:
15. Melissa Gorga
Melissa Gorga may have to put up with a lot of crap from her Teresa Giudice, but at least she's well compensated for it. The Jersey Housewife rakes in a reported $350,000 per season.
14. Kandi Burruss
The drama is high on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, but so are the salaries. Kandi Burruss reportedly earned $450,000 last season.
13. Tamra Barney
She's been known to call herself the hottest Housewife, and while we're sure some of her co-stars would beg to differ, there's no denying that Tamra is one of the franchise's to earners. She reportedly pulls in $500,000 per season.
12. Teresa Giudice
Teresa WAS pulling in $700,000 per season on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Now she makes 12 cents an hour in the laundry room of the Danbury Correctional Institution. That's gotta sting.
11. Eileen Davidson
The soap-star-turned-Housewife certainly seems to be enjoying life as a fan favorite. She reportedly earned $750,000 for her first season as a Beverly Hills diva.
10. NeNe Leakes
NeNe is reportedly Bravo's top-earning Housewife with a salary of $1 million per season. Not bad, especially when you consider that the show is just one of several revenue streams for Ms. Leakes.
