Bruno Tonioli has been working in Hollywood for decades, choreographing for films such as “Ella Enchanted,” music videos like Michael Jackson’s “Give in to Me,” and tours for the likes of Tina Turner, per ABC. However, most fans will recognize him from “Dancing with the Stars” as he’s judged every season since its launch in 2005 — that’s over 440 episodes, per IMDb.
Even more impressive is that he simultaneously judged Britain’s version of the show, “Strictly Come Dancing,” from its 2004 debut through 2020. According to Hello!, the latter earned him between £200,000 and £249,000 (between $277,000 and $345,000) in 2018 and, even though he took a 50% pay cut in 2020 because he couldn’t appear in-person, Daily Mail calculated that he earned £125,000 (about $173,000) for 3 minutes and 46 seconds of screen time. That comes out to a whopping £33,185 (or $46,000) per minute. It’s no wonder he was “gutted” to be replaced in 2021 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions (via Chronicle Live). He’s not short on cash, though, as he continues to earn an estimated $30,000 per episode for the U.S. show.
And while Tonioli has splurged on real estate, buying a $2.825 million mansion in West Hollywood, he’s all about saving. Speaking with This Is Money, he shared how his parents “instilled in me a great respect for money, because it was always very scarce, and you had to manage it correctly.” That good management resulted in a $16 million net worth.