Mino Monta is a rich, rich man

I noticed the following story on Japan Zone today:

But the undisputed champion is Mino Monta (61), and it’s now official. The latest issue of Forbes magazine mentions Mino in an article related to its annual Celebrity 100. The local media has picked this up as though he were the first Japanese to appear in the list of the world’s top stars. Of course, he doesn’t enjoy anywhere near the global celebrity status of Tom Cruise, Tiger Woods or even fellow countryman Watanabe Ken. But his incredibly gruelling schedule, that sees him working ten regular shows and has him on air a whopping 35 hours a week, makes him the country’s highest-paid TV star. Forbes reports his annual income as $10 million, though that is probably just for the regular shows and doesn’t include book royalties and TV commercials.

Wow, so it seems that Mino Monta, AKA “the Japanese Regis Philbin”, is doing a lot better than the real Regis.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Mino Monta’s morning show, and even his “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” are pretty popular?  Personally, I think he kind of sucks, and I watch FTV’s morning  show (Mezamashi TV) instead.  But I guess there are a lot of Mino Monta fans out there, sipping their Mino Monta beers and watching his TV shows….