Judge Judy: Her Show — and the Amazing Story Behind Her $480 Million Fortune

Judge Judy Sheindlin is currently worth an estimated $480 million, according to Forbes, but before the popular daytime decision-maker made it big on court TV, Sheindlin struggled to make ends meet.

"The majority of my life, I spent buying on the sale rack," she told PEOPLE in a November 2021 cover story. "I didn't bother going into [Neiman Marcus], [Bergdorf Goodman] and Saks [Fifth Avenue] because I couldn't afford it."

Sheindlin's days of worrying about money are long over. After 25 years on the air, her hit series Judge Judy came to an end in May 2021. That November, she launched a new show, Judy Justice, on Freevee (then called IMDb TV), Amazon's free premium streaming service, with new episodes airing every weekday.

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Not long after Judy Justice premiered, Sheindlin dipped into her fortune and donated $5 million in full scholarships to 10 women attending the judge's alma mater, New York Law School. The scholarship fund covers all tuition and book expenses, and the 10 women will be offered summer fellowships once they've completed their first year of law school.

In May 2023, Judy Justice received a season 2 renewal and was Freevee's top original program based on hours watched, according to Deadline. The first season also won the 2022 Daytime Emmy for outstanding legal/courtroom program.

Additionally, Sheindlin created two more series for Freevee — Tribunal Justice and Justice on Trial — which she also executive produces. Tribunal Justice premiered on June 9, 2023, and features a panel of three judges collectively adjudicating real cases. The docudrama Justice on Trial will explore the American criminal justice system and notable cases through re-enactments based on actual court transcripts. The shows are helping to expand Sheindlin's successful run in the court TV realm after moving to the streamer.

"We left on top, which is perfect," Sheindlin said about the end of Judge Judy. "Amazon had the confidence in me to say, 'Let's do it in streaming. Let's let you do your thing in a fresh version with new people.' And I'm excited!"

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When she got her start as a lawyer back in 1972, the Brooklyn native prosecuted child abuse, domestic violence and juvenile crime cases in New York's family court. She later became a judge in 1982 and a supervising judge in 1986.

Her tough reputation earned her media buzz, first in a 1993 Los Angeles Times profile and later that year in a 60 Minutes segment that caught the attention of a CBS production company.

Judge Judy premiered on Sept. 16, 1996. "I was hoping we would have a three- or four-year run and that my husband and I would be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment one block off the beach in Florida as a retirement place," she recalled. "We were civil servants. We had five kids that were all educated, most went to graduate school. We tried to see to it they weren't burdened with a lot of debt."

In early seasons, Sheindlin engaged in serious salary negotiations, but as the show's ratings skyrocketed, she demanded paydays to match.

"We should be partners," she said she told CBS executives after a decade on-air. "I can do this program without you. Good luck, you can't do it without me."

In subsequent negotiations, Sheindlin would slip her bosses dollar figures in sealed envelopes across the table. Her annual earnings grew to a reported $47 million, making her one of the highest-paid people on TV.

Her plainspoken advice for anyone negotiating for better pay? "You have to make yourself indispensable — and that is irrespective of what you do," she said. "Once you've done that and have leverage, make a reasonable demand and know what the commodity is worth."