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How much do the Kardashians earn from Keeping up with the Kardashians?

Photo credit: E!
Photo credit: E!

From Digital Spy

Keeping up with the Kardashians is about to return for its sixteenth(!) series – something that spells out $$$ for the Kardashian fam.

We've already brought you the monstrous figures that make up the Kardashian/Jenners' net worth, but what about whipping out those calculators to see how much they earn through their reality show?

Photo credit: E! Entertainment - NBC Universal
Photo credit: E! Entertainment - NBC Universal

Related: 9 of the most obscene Kardashian diva demands to play out on screen

Let's start with the most recent numbers.

In 2017 it was widely reported that the family had signed a contract for at least another five seasons, likely taking us to the end of 2019 / early 2020.

According to The Blast, this deal was valued at an estimated $150 million (a tidy $30 mill per season), although Variety reported a slightly more modest figure somewhere "below $100 million".

Photo credit: E!
Photo credit: E!

The number of KUWTK episodes varies quite drastically per season, so it's hard to work out a salary per TV slot. It's also worth pointing out that the deal was believed to include promotions around the show, and that it's not known how the earnings might have been split between the family members (their screen time varies depending on the drama that's unfolding in their lives, after all).

Either way, we'd argue that it's not a shabby amount to take home – particularly when you consider that the show is far from their only source of income.

Photo credit: E!
Photo credit: E!

KUWTK came from the brains of Kris Jenner and Ryan Seacrest, landing on our screens in 2007. He still acts as an executive producer, along with Kris and her three eldest daughters Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian.

When Keeping up with the Kardashians first hit our screens back in the mid-noughties, Kim was a fairly new name on the celebrity scene. She'd been clearing out the closet of BFF Paris Hilton and dating American rapper Ray J (and we all know how that played out).

Kim had also filmed a cameo for MTV's hit reality show The Hills but, somewhat ironically, never made the final cut.

Photo credit: PhotoNews International Inc. - Getty Images
Photo credit: PhotoNews International Inc. - Getty Images

Related: The Hills reboot: Cast, New Beginnings, is Lauren Conrad returning and all you need to know about the MTV show

Kim, Kourtney and Khloe's late father Robert Kardashian was part of the defence team for family friend OJ Simpson, and mother Kris Jenner married revered Olympian Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner).

So although they had nothing on the present day Kardashians, they were hardly plucked from obscurity either.

These days, love her or hate her, Kim-KW is one of the biggest names on the planet. Her sisters have also gone on to become bona fide celebs in their own rights, all overseen by momager and matriarch Kris ("You're doing great, sweetie").

So has their reality TV rate gone up since its slightly more humble beginnings?

Photo credit: E! - NBC Universal
Photo credit: E! - NBC Universal

Well, the contents of their very first deal seems to be a highly kept secret.

But by 2012, six seasons in, the Kardashian family had broken numerous ratings records for E!, which spelled a big three-year deal that would bring us seasons seven, eight and nine.

According to a TMZ report, the deal stood at $40 million and was described as the 'richest deal ever in reality TV' at that time.

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

What's more, it rumoured that Kim, Kourtney, Khloe got the 'lion's share' along with their mother and step-father, all being paid equally.

Kendall, Kylie and Rob were reported to have got a lesser amount, but all three were paid equally to one another.

As ever, E! did not disclose or confirm the nitty gritty when announcing its renewal of the much-loved show.

In 2015 E! signed another deal, this time reported to be worth around $80 million, for Keeping up with the Kardashians to stay with the network into its 14th season (taking us up to March 2018).

It's hard to know how accurate these figures are. But, if in the right ball park, the show has unsurprisingly become more and more valuable with time.

Now all we need is the call for our cameo...

Keeping up with the Kardashians airs on E!


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