Michael King (with Jena)
March 5, 2001 With his brother Roger, Michael King manages King World Productions, one of the most powerful firms in television syndication. The Kings are accustomed to "running their own show," says Mel Karmazin, chief executive of CBS -- and that "show" includes politics as well as entertainment. Like Jeffrey Katzenberg (No. 58, $460,000) of DreamWorks and Lew Wasserman (No. 89, $352,597) of Universal Studios, the Kings came through for Al Gore and the Democrats during the last election cycle. Along with a third brother, Robert, the family donated $500,000 to the party and its candidates. When King's father Charles founded the syndicate in 1964, its only revenue-making show was "The Little Rascals." Today the company boasts annual revenues of $584 million through hits such as "Jeopardy," "Wheel of Fortune," "Inside Edition", "Hollywood Squares," and "The Oprah Winfrey Show." King World went public in 1986, joined Tribune Entertainment in 1996, and was bought by CBS for $2.5 billion in 1999. -- Jennifer Karlin | | |
