Top 10 highest paid reality stars in 2010

Pauly D of “The Jersey Shore” may be the only one on this list who makes his money from the line of work her pursued before reality stardom came knocking. Granted, said stardom helped him demand a higher payday -- he’s rumored to charge up to $40,000 per gig now -- but we suppose we give him points for earning his $2 million this year.  (Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

The tabloids love talking about signs of strife between the Kardashian sisters. You can add unequal pay to the reasons for sibling rivalry: The youngest, tallest Kardashian made only an estimated $2.5 million in 2010, a far cry from sis Kim’s payday. Khloe gets her scratch from her TV shows, appearance fees, endorsements, book sales, business ventures, and sponsored tweets.  (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Kourtney is the oldest -- and least recognizable -- Kardashian sister. She can sooth the pain of being known as “The other one -- you know, not Kim, and not the tall one” with the estimated $2.5 million she made this year from her TV shows and endorsements.  (Andy Kropa/Getty Images)

The face -- or at least the abs -- of “the Jersey Shore” makes the most of any of his GTL compatriots. He’s also working his 15 minutes of fame while he can, charging appearance fees, lending his name to a book, and endorsing fitness products. He is also part-owner of the vodka brand Devotion, which contains protein. (No more empty calories while you get sloshed!) Earlier this year, some outlets reported he would be worth $5 million this year, but the Daily Beast puts the figure at a more modest $3 million -- after all, it takes a while for royalties to kick in.  (Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

The star of “ Kate Plus 8” reportedly makes $250,000 an episode, which has to help the bank balance. She also appeared on “Dancing with the Stars”, and pulls in quite a bit from the sales of her three (soon to be four) books. All told, that added up to about $3.5 million in 2010.  (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

The former co-star of “The Hills” will be heading up her own show (produced by reality guru Mark Burnett) on VH1 next year. She also gets paid for endorsements-- check out her shilling for Bongo Jeans at Kohl’s -- and all those sources of income added up to about $3.5 million in 2010.  (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

One of the most contentious Real Housewives on record spun her stint on “The Real Housewives of New York” into her own series, “Bethenny Getting Married.” Add in her book sales, her diet drink mixes, and her fees for appearing on “Skating with the Stars,” and she earned about $4 million in 2010.  (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

LC hasn’t been a fixture on reality TV for a while, but she got her start on “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills.” Now, the Daily Beast estimates she earned about $5 million in 2010 from a combination of book sales and her fashion line for Kohl’s.  (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)