Jimmy Kimmel wows Washington's 'Nerd Prom.' What's he get paid for that?
Jimmy Kimmel was pretty much en fuego on Saturday night, wasn鈥檛 he? As our own publication鈥檚 report said of his appearance as headliner at the White House Correspondents鈥� Dinner, he had them 鈥渞olling in the aisles鈥� of the huge Hilton ballroom.
We鈥檙e pretty sure that鈥檚 a figure of speech. They cram so many tables into that event you couldn鈥檛 roll a foot without knocking a waiter into Lindsay Lohan鈥檚 lap.
Anyway, Kimmel was bipartisan in his targets. Of failed GOP hopeful Rick Santorum, he said, 鈥淚 guess it just wasn鈥檛 Rick鈥檚 year. Rick鈥檚 year was 1954.鈥� He said libertarian Ron Paul 鈥渓ooks like the guy who gets unhooded at the end of every Scooby Doo episode.鈥� Prior to telling a risque joke about the Secret Service, he told President Obama to cover up his ears, 鈥渋f that鈥檚 physically possible.鈥�
Looking out over the assembled journalists, government officials, lawmakers, lobbyists, and celebrities, he sighed and said, 鈥淓verything that is wrong with America is here tonight.鈥�
Very nice. Maybe "The Colbert Report" will be able to work you in, Jimmy. But here鈥檚 our nerdish question: How much did Kimmel get paid for that? Is it lucrative to fly to DC and entertain a roomful of former student body vice presidents, and their guests?
Looks like it is to us. The exact amount of Kimmel鈥檚 pay isn鈥檛 public, or at least not yet. But you can get a pretty good idea of the financials of this whole dinner by leafing through the paper the WHCA has to file with the IRS. (Tax-exempt groups file a Form 990 that鈥檚 available to the public.)
We figure he made around $50,000, give or take ten grand.
In 2009, the latest year for which that form is available, the White House Correspondents鈥� paid $43,233 for the entertainment at their annual dinner. Since the headline comedian is the main entertainment, we鈥檒l assume they get most of that.
In 2009, that comedian was Wanda Sykes, who was also pretty funny. But Ms. Sykes is not as big a star as Kimmel. Her talk show got canceled. His 鈥淛immy Kimmel Live!鈥� appears to be going strong. So we鈥檒l guess that Kimmel got a bit more than she did, a few years ago. That鈥檚 where our $50,000 estimate comes from.
The dinner expense data from 2008 and 2007 confirm this general estimate. Overall, the entertainment at the journalists鈥� dinner gets paid more than many journalists.
The dinner itself is a big financial deal. Gross receipts are about $600,000, which is more than twenty times what the WHCA takes in from other sources. About half of that pays for the room and meals, though, and $200,000 of it is used for journalist scholarships and other charitable endeavors.
