How much money does Shonda Rhimes make from Grey’s Anatomy?
According to Forbes, in the early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, Rhimes made $30,000 per episode for writing and producing the series. By 2021, that ballooned to a whopping $250,000 per episode.
She told the magazine, however, that she had to fight for her pay despite bringing in an estimated $2 billion in revenue to ABC since her tenure on Grey’s began.
“It’s really startling to realize how much money your work is earning for a place and then to discover how much they think you’re worth versus that,” she said.
How much was Shonda Rhimes paid per episode?
In early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, Rhimes made $30,000 per episode as a writer and producer. In later seasons, her salary grew to $250,000 per episode of the series.
How much was Shonda Rhimes’ Netflix deal?
In 2017, Rhimes finalized a reported $100 million deal with Netflix. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the massive success of Bridgerton netted Rhimes a significant pay increase to $150 million in 2021, plus bonuses that could bring her into the $300 million to $400 million range.
How much does Shonda Rhimes make a year?
According to Forbes, Rhimes’ deal with ABC was for $10 million annually, plus 10% of profits generated from her series’ syndication on other channels and streamers like Netflix. Add that to her reported whopping $150 million Netflix deal and the bonuses reported to be within it, and you can see how her business savvy, combined with her creative genius, made her a very wealthy woman.
Looking specifically at 2021, Forbes estimated that Rhimes would earn close to $40 million from her Netflix deal that year (in part thanks to her Bridgerton bonuses); $8 million in producing fees for Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19; $17 million for her share of the profits from Grey’s, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder; and several million for her Shondaland projects (podcasts, web content, etc.). That would put her take-home in 2021 at about $70 million before taxes.
Forbes also reports that since her television career began, Rhimes has banked more than $350 million, pretax. And that was as of 2021. A lot of checks have come in since then!