Judge Judy

Judge Judy is the top-earning star on television with a high viewership and successfully syndicated courtroom show.

The highest-paid celebrity on television is even richer.

Judge Judy Sheindlin is earning $47 million for her syndicated daytime television show "Judge Judy." 

TV Guide Magazine just put out its annual highest-paid stars list Thursday, and according to its report, the New York state judge received a $2 million raise from last year to extend her contract on the show through 2017.

What makes Sheindlin's salary so high?

For one thing, people love the show. 

Ratings for the past month show "Judge Judy" averaging between 8-9 million viewers. That's a lot of eyeballs compared to other regularly syndicated shows.  

From the most recent TV ratings, 3 million tuned into "Dr. Phil" while an old episode of CBS' big ratings winner "The Big Bang Theory" had 9.4 million viewers.

When it comes to late-night TV ratings, "Judge Judy" demolishes the competition.

Here's a look at some of the most recent late-night numbers

"The Tonight Show": 3.8 million
"The Late Show with David Letterman": 2.2 million 
"Jimmy Kimmel Live!": 2.2 million
"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon": 1.8 million 

 Since many of those numbers were from repeat episodes, here's a sample of ratings from May 13-17:

"The Tonight Show": 3.6 million
"The Late Show with David Letterman": 2.7 million
 "Jimmy Kimmel Live!": 2.4 million
"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon":1 .8 million 

Not much of a difference.

Advertising is another huge factor for Sheindlin's salary.

TV Guide reports that according to Kantar Media "Judge Judy" brought in $230 million in advertising in 2012.

According to TV Guide, the show is also syndicated in 100 foreign markets.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that the celebrity judge gets paid a phenomenal amount for working such a relatively short time.

According to a 2010 USA Today profile, Sheindlin only works 52 days a year.

Do the math and that's more than $903,846 per work day which puts her above Ashton Kutcher who earns a reported $750,000 per episode for "Two and a Half Men."