Lorne Michaels Net Worth - Pulptastic

What is Lorne Michaels’ Net Worth and Salary:?

Canadian-American television producer and writer Lorne Michaels has a net worth of $500 million, largely due to his creation and production of the iconic comedy program “Saturday Night Live”.

Michaels is also known for producing the “Late Night” series and “The Tonight Show”.

Lorne Michaels’ Income Sources and Deals

Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of Saturday Night Live (SNL) and several other shows for NBC, earns a significant amount of money every year. However, his income is not a simple annual amount as he signs overall deal contracts with studios and companies for film development and television production.

For three decades, Lorne had a film development contract with Paramount, which produced many successful movies such as “Wayne’s World,” “Tommy Boy,” and “A Night at the Roxbury.” Starting in 1999, every SNL cast contract included a clause that required the actors to give SNL Films, Lorne’s production company, the first option on the actor’s first three movies.

As a television producer, Lorne has been based with NBC/Universal/Comcast and produced shows such as “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “30 Rock,” “A.P. Bio,” and “Late Night with Seth Myers.” In April 2018, he signed a film development deal with NBC Universal, which made him 100% under the NBC umbrella for all producing duties.

According to a source, Lorne earns the equivalent of $30-40 million per year if you were to back into an annual number. However, NBC pays him a large percentage of his total deal value upfront, so he doesn’t necessarily earn a significant salary every year. For instance, if Lorne earns the equivalent of $30 million per year and has a 5-year contract, his total deal value would be $150 million, paid upfront and over the years as milestones are reached.