Howard Stern edged out Rush Limbaugh as the world's highest paid radio host, raking in $90 million in Forbes magazine’s latest rating compared to the conservative talk show host’s $84 million, which got a lot of help from a "Trump bump."
Conservatives reigned in the Forbes top six, including Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck.
Stern, host of the long-running "Howard Stern Show" on SiriusXM, hit his total (before taxes and management fees), over the rating period ending June 1 and now has a net worth of $450 million, Forbes said. And, after renegotiating his contract in December 2015, he now has an additional income stream from digital distribution channels like apps and video streaming.
Limbaugh was helped by a "Trump bump" during the year: a 21 percent increase in listeners, Forbes said. Limbaugh's listeners had surged to 14 million as of September, Talkers Magazine estimated.
At third was "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, also co-host of the newly branded morning talk television show "Live! With Kelly and Ryan," who pulled in $58 million through hosting his radio show on Premiere Networks, Forbes said.
Rounding out the list was O'Reilly at $37 million, Hannity at $36 million, and Glenn Beck at $10 million. Forbes noted that Beck made the cut after laying off 20 percent of his staff at TheBlaze news organization, a possible sign of trouble ahead for staying in the big bucks race.
"The future of radio as primarily AM/FM institution is rapidly approaching its expiration date as it, like so many other iconic media, moves to the digital space," Talkers founder Michael Harrison said.
"In the online world of the 21st century, many styles of talk radio will continue to thrive. I'm afraid I cannot say the same thing about music radio."
Stern's nationally syndicated radio show originated and was broadcast from WXRK in New York City for 20 years before he took to a leap into satellite radio in 2006, signing a then $500 million, five-year deal with Sirius, TV Guide reported.