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Alex Trebek Earns a Hefty Paycheck Thanks to ‘Jeopardy!’ — See the Longtime Host’s Net Worth

Kelly Braun

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DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS, LOS ANGELES, USA
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Reed Saxon/AP/Shutterstock (6378443a) Alex Trebek Alex Trebek holds the award for outstanding game show host, for his work on "Jeopardy!" backstage at the 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS, LOS ANGELES, USA

There’s no doubt Alex Trebek has had one of the most iconic careers in Hollywood. The longtime Jeopardy! host makes $18 million each season and has an impressive net worth of $75 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

As Deadline reported, Alex makes about $391,000 for each taping day, while bringing home around $78,000 per actual episode. The TV personality is said to pocket this large amount thanks to the program’s schedule of taping 46 days each year and filming five episodes per every shoot day.

Jeopardy! - 1984
Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Abc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock (5876679e) Alex Trebek Jeopardy! - 1984 ABC-TV USA Television Abc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock

Although fans of the Emmy winner saw no end in sight to his decades-long career, Alex might have to say goodbye to Jeopardy! sooner than we thought. Since he revealed he’s been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in March 2019, Alex has been extremely open with his adoring fans regarding his health battle.

“Now, I’d be lying if I said the journey was an easy one,” he confessed during a previous episode of the show. “There were some good days, but a lot of not so good days.”

Despite the fact that Alex previously mentioned his health was improving amid his battle with cancer, the TV personality revealed in late September that doctors were putting him back on chemotherapy. His physicians hoped Alex would respond well to immunotherapy but were faced with the stark reality of this terrible disease when his numbers went “much higher than they were when” he was first diagnosed.

46th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, Arrivals, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Los Angeles, USA - 05 May 2019
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety/Shutterstock (10227841ag) Alex Trebek and Jean Currivan Trebek 46th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, Arrivals, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Los Angeles, USA - 05 May 2019 Michael Buckner/Variety/Shutterstock

“I was doing so well. And my numbers went down to the equivalent of a normal human being who does not have pancreatic cancer. So we were all very optimistic,” he candidly shared during an interview on Good Morning America, adding doctors knew something was wrong when he dropped 12 pounds in one week. “And my numbers went sky high. So, the doctors have decided that I have to undergo chemo again and that’s what I’m doing.”

Fans are hoping Alex will overcome his battle with cancer considering he’s insisted many times he has no interest in retiring. While chatting with Closer Weekly in a previous interview, the former The Wizard of Odds host — who has been receiving endless support from wife Jean Currivan Trebek on his road to recovery — gushed about his longtime gig.

“I’ll keep hosting as long as my skills haven’t diminished and I still enjoy it. The thought of retiring occurs to me every so often, but so far I am still enjoying it,” he exclusively told Closer. “Over 50 years ago, I hosted a local quiz show in Toronto called Reach for the Top, and now I am hosting one of the biggest game shows in television history. There isn’t anything out there that I would trade for this job.”

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