When Friends started in 1994, each of the 6 main cast members made $22,500 per episode. The show was immediately a hit with 24 million people watching the pilot episode.
Through the years, the cast banded together and demanded pay increases, eventually hitting the $1 million each per episode echelon. That money was in place for the 9th and 10th seasons.
Then came the syndication money. To this day, the 6 members each earn 2% of all syndication, domestic and foreign, each year.
The total estimated revenue is $1 billion per year! That gives Matt, Matthew, Jennifer, Courtney, Lisa and David an estimated $20 million per year each! How YOU doin??