You wouldn’t believe how much “Leonard” gets paid just for Big Bang Theory reruns

Johnny Galecki was once the second highest paid TV actor in the world, behind only his The Big Bang Theory co-star Jim Parsons. Galecki played the role of one of the series’ four lovable geeks, Leonard Hofstadter. Although Galecki’s breakthrough role was in the classic comedy Roseane, TBBT made him a star overnight.

Since the end of the series in 2019, Galecki has not acted in Hollywood. He and his ex-girlfriend Alaina Meyer welcomed a son in November 2019 and he has been focusing on life as a father during this time. In 2024, he welcomed a daughter with his wife Morgan Galecki. Despite stepping away from the spotlight, Galecki has managed to maintain his massive net worth.

How much did Johnny Galecki make per episode of The Big Bang Theory?

Johnny Galecki’s success as David Healy in Roseane brought him several opportunities in Hollywood. He appeared in the iconic horror film, I know what you did last summerand in comedies Bounce and The opposite of sex. He also appeared in Rowan Atkinson’s film Bean and Tom Cruise Vanilla Heaven.

In 2007, he was propelled to new levels of fame and stardom with his appearance in The Big Bang Theory. He was originally offered the role of Sheldon Cooper, but later got the role of Leonard Hofstadter. The show has amassed a huge fortune for the actor.

Longtime fans know that Galecki and Jim Parsons made an unaired pilot of the show. Galecki landed the series regular role with a reported salary of $60,000 per episode (via Celebrity Net Worth). From the second to fourth seasons, Galecki was paid $250,000 per episode. His per-episode salary was increased to $350,000 from Season 5which would continue until Season 7.

Of Season 8 of the show, the cast including Galecki, Parsons and Kaley Cuoco teamed up to negotiate their salary as a group, a method popularized by FRIENDS. Thus, the show’s three stars earned $1 million per episode, which added them to the list of the highest-paid TV actors in the world.

In the last two seasons, the three main stars, along with Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, have reduced their salaries to increase the salaries of Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch. Galecki’s per-episode salary for those two seasons was reduced to $900,000. Here are Galecki’s per-episode salaries for each season of The Big Bang Theory:

According to Forbes, Galecki pocketed $25 million in the 12 months to June 1, 2018, and became the second-highest-paid TV actor behind Parsons.

Johnny Galecki’s income The Big Bang Theory Reruns?

Johnny Galecki barely played in his post-Big Bang Theory career. However, the show still pays him a lot, helping him maintain his huge net worth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Galecki and her co-stars negotiated back-end deals for the show. The contracts entitled him to earn at least 1% of the show’s net worth.

The star wins US$ 10 million annually from reruns of the show, given his 1% equity calculations. However, fans may not be happy to know that the FRIENDS cast negotiated a 2% equity deal a decade before the TBBT cast and each of them earns at least $20 million annually. This also means that Galecki earned at least $50 million from TBBT after leaving the role.

Galecki returned as David Healy in an episode of Roseane and the spinoff series, The Conners. He also became a producer, working behind the camera on the show. Living Biblically.

What is Johnny Galecki’s net worth?

In addition to his film career, Galecki owns 360 acres of land in Santa Margarita, California. His ranch was destroyed in a wildfire in 2017. Galecki also owned an $11.9 million home in the Hollywood Hills, which he used to rent for $45,000 a month. He sold the property after TBBT rushes to move to Nashville, where he enjoys life away from the cameras.

His salary from the sitcom and his annual back-end benefits, combined with his real estate holdings, contributed to his current net worth of $100 million. The enormous fortune helps him stay off the map as it continues to grow without him doing anything. However, it appears that Johnny Galecki has some unfulfilled plans he can turn his attention to.

He was once developing a ’90s-set workplace comedy at CBS alongside John Quintance of Will and Grace fame (via Deadline). The project was titled OKhowever, no further updates have been released regarding the series.

Johnny Galecki’s Net Worth Compared to Others TBBT Stars

When comparing net worth to his co-stars, Johnny Galecki is in a great position considering he has the fewest projects after TBBT. Melissa Rauch has the lowest net worth among the main cast at $20 million (via Yahoo! Finance). For Rauch, The Big Bang Theory It was her big break and the show cast her as the second main female character.

She earned $175,000 during her initial episodes and $200,000 per episode during later seasons. The other actors took a pay cut to balance their salary, which resulted in their salary being $425,000 per episode in the final seasons. Meanwhile, the same change also resulted in Mayim Bialik’s salary increasing from $175,000 to $425,000 per episode from her first appearance to her last appearance of the season. Bialik has an estimated fortune of US$25 million.

Both Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar were unhappy that Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki were paid a million for their later seasons. Helberg and Nayyar were paid $600,000 during this period. There were some discussions about BTS and the studio finally reached an agreement to pay each of them a million, as well as their co-stars.

Helberg has a net worth of $55 million, while Nayyar’s estimated net worth is $45 million. Galecki’s net worth is much higher than Helberg and Nayyar’s, but slightly less than Cuoco’s. With her continued success in Hollywood, Cuoco has managed to accumulate a net worth of $110 million. Jim Parsons’ Net Worth Is Above Yours TBBT co-star with $160 million, thanks in part to his producing role on Young Sheldon.

The show also earned Galecki several accolades and nominations, including the Satellite Award for Best Actor. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and later for a Golden Globe for Best Actor. He also received six SAG Award nominations for his role as Leonard.