Late Night Has a New Highest-Paid Host…

With TV Guide’s annual survey of star salaries comes news of a new “king of late night.” For the first time, The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart tops the list of highest-paid late night hosts, making an estimated $25-30 million per year.

Behind him with $20 million per year a piece are the former late night leaders the Tonight Show’s Jay Leno and the Late Show’s David Letterman. Their third network rival Jimmy Kimmel is a distant fourth with $10 million per year.

Just last year, TV Guide published a similar list that showed Letterman in the lead with $28 million, Leno second with $25 million and Stewart third with $16 million. If anything, the dynamic shift proves the ascendance of cable over broadcast, with Comedy Central able to outspend NBC and CBS to keep Stewart as host of The Daily Show through 2015. And as if being the highest-paid late night star wasn’t powerful enough, the host just took the whole summer off.

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