The Young and the Restless is an American soap opera that has been on the air since 1973 and is based in a fictional small town in Wisconsin named Genoa City. Originally the show focused on two core families, the Brooks and Foster families, but now since all of the original characters have come and gone, the show has expanded to introduce new families like the Newmans and the Abbotts. The Young and the Restless has won eight Daytime Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated daytime drama on American television. Here’s a look at some of the most popular current characters on the show and how much they are worth:
20. Amelia Heinle
Estimated Net Worth: $4 million. Amelia Heinle has pretty much dedicated her acting career to soap operas. She started out in 1993 working on the soap opera Loving as Stephanie Brewster. She has done a couple television movies and appeared in a music video by Everclear, but returned back to daytime television after working on Loving to appear on All My Children as Mia Saunders for four years. In 2005 she joined the cast of The Young and the Restless as Victoria Newman to replace Heather Tom — this career change has proven to be her biggest money maker and even won her two Emmy Awards! She also appeared for one episode each on CSI: Miami and Ghost Whisperer, but her main career focus has consistently remained daytime television, earning her an estimated net worth of $4 million.
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19. Peter Bergman
Estimated Net Worth: $10 million. Peter’s first job was working on a CBS series called Kojak, but his real success didn’t come until he got his first soap opera role on All My Children. Peter Bergman played the role of Dr. Cliff Warner on All My Children for a decade before jumping ship to join The Young and the Restless in 1989 as Jack Abbott. His credits outside of daytime television are extremely limited because he’s been so successful in his television roles, but he has done a few films like Fantasies, Money, Power, Murder, and Palamino. He’s also had guest appearances on shows like The Bold and the Beautiful and The King of Queens. His soap stardom has earned him an estimated net worth of $10 million.
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18. Sharon Case
Estimated Net Worth: $3 million. Sharon Case is well known for her roles on popular soap operas like General Hospital, As the World Turns and The Young and the Restless, but she was also a former model who even relocated to Japan for a while to pursue work. She relocated back to American in 1989 to work on General Hospital in a recurring role. She also appeared on popular series like Beverly Hill, 90210, Cheers, and had a regular cast role on Valley of the Dolls. Just before settling into her big career role she landed a recurring role on As the World Turns for a year, but since 1994 she’s been acting as Sharon Newman on The Young and the Restless and raking in big money! Her dedication to the role has earned her an estimated net worth of $3 million.
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17. Melody Thomas Scott
Estimated Net Worth: $7 million. Melody Thomas Scott has almost been on The Young and the Restless for the entirety of the show! The show began in 1973 and she joined the cast soon after in 1979 and has been steadily playing the role of Nikki Newman since! Despite her success in this role, she’s also had many other credits to her name in film and television. In many of her film roles she’s simply appeared as herself, but she’s also done some television guest appearances on series like Charlie’s Angels, The King of Queens, My Name is Earl and Castle. Most of her net worth has been from working on The Young and the Restless and is estimated at $7 million.
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16. Joshua Morrow
Estimated Net Worth: $1 million. Some might not know this about Joshua Morrow, but he used to be a pop singer! Before settling into his one and only acting credit with The Young and the Restless as Nicholas Newman in 1994, he was a singer in the musical group 3Deep alongside Eddie Cibrian. Besides appearing on daytime television, Joshua Morrow has also appeared on the World Poker Tour and in the television film My Stepson, My Lover. Other than that, Joshua Morrow focuses primarily on The Young and the Restless, and he’s doing just fine with that as he’s earned himself an estimated net worth of $1 million.
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15. Eileen Davidson
Estimated Net Worth: $3 million. Eileen Davidson is not only famous for being on the two biggest soap operas, Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless, but she was also a cast member of Bravo’s reality show, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She’s also appeared in a series regular role on The Bold and the Beautiful and a few small films, but nothing major. She did a guest appearance on The Phoenix, and was a series regular on Broken Badges and Santa Barbara. Eileen has expanded her income beyond the screen with a series of four soap opera novels. Despite all of this, Eileen is a veteran in the soap opera industry, and that’s where she makes her big bucks. We’re pretty sure her stint on Bravo’s Real Housewives raked in some good cash too, as a resul,t she’s sitting on an estimated net worth of $3 million.
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14. Bryton James
Estimated Net Worth: $2 Million. At the age of 31, Bryton James is considered a soap opera veteran, having played Devon Hamilton for about 14 years now on the Y&R. He started his acting career on the highly popular sitcom Family Matters, but what some fans may not know about James is the extensive voice work he’s done for animated films and series. Some of the projects he’s worked on in the past include LEGO HERO Factory, Winx Club, and Young Justice.
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13. Melissa Ordway
Estimated Net Worth: $2 Million. While still rather new to the world of soap operas, Ordway has an impressive list of minor television roles she appeared on before she hit the Y&R, which include 90210, Melrose Place, How I Met Your Mother, and CSI: NY. Prior to hitting the small screen, Ordway was a model who participated in ad campaigns for Old Navy, Skechers, and David’s Bridal.
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12. Doug Davidson
Estimated Net Worth: $4 Million. Doug Davidson has been with the Y&R since May 1978 and is currently the longest-serving actor on the soap opera. He’s been nominated for a Daytime Emmy five times and took the statue home in 2013. While he’s predominantly spent his career on the Y&R, Davidson has had guest roles on television shows like the Nanny and Diagnosis Murder, and even hosted the New Price Is Right in 1994 for one year.
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11. Kristoff St. John
Estimated Net Worth: $4 Million. From Happy Days to Wonder Woman to The Cosby Show and a Different World, Kristoff St. John did a lot of television work before he hit the Y&R. He entered the land of Genoa City in 1991 and over the years has become one the most popular fan favorites on the show. St. John has earned two Daytime Emmys over the span of his 25 plus years in the industry.
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10. Lauralee Bell
Estimated Net Worth: $200 Million. Lauralee is best known for two things: playing Christine Blair on the Y&R and the fact that she is the daughter, Lee Phillip and William J. Bell, who created Y&R and The Bold and the Beautiful. Her career began with a small role as a model on Y&R in 1983, was offered a contract in 1986, and now years later her “Cricket” role has blown up into the legendary soap opera character it is known for today.
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9. Tracey E. Bregman
Estimated Net Worth: $7 Million. Tracey E. Bregman is best known for playing Lauren Fenmore, a role she’s portrayed on both the Y&R and Bold and the Beautiful; however, some Days of Our Lives’ fans may recall her brief stint on that soap opera, playing Donna Temple Craig from 1978 to 1980. Bregman not only dabbles in the land of daytime drama, she also released a yoga-inspired clothing line in 2004 that was showcased in L.A.’s Belle Gray boutique, a store owned by friend and fellow soap actress Lisa Rinna. In addition to that business project, she once launched the Tracey Bregman Collection, a jewelry line that was featured on The Shopping Channel and was on HSN acting as a spokesmodel for the (real-life) Jabot cosmetics line in 2011.
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8. Gina Tognoni
Estimated Net Worth: $9 Million. Tognoni had pretty big shoes to fill in 2014 when she entered the Y&R role of Phyllis Summer, taking the part over from fan favorite Michelle Stafford. Gina nailed the character and it’s really no surprise if soap fans really think about it. Tognoni is a soap opera veteran, entering the land of daytime drama in 1994 and appearing on shows like One Life to Life and Guiding Light. Over her incredible soap opera career, Tognoni has been awarded a total of three Daytime Emmys for her outstanding work on the small screen.
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7. Christel Khalil
Estimated Net Worth: $16.7 Million. While most fans are familiar with Khalil’s work on the Y&R, Christel has actually been appearing in movies and television shows since the age of six. In 2012, she took home a Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Younger Actress category and became the first and only minority actress to achieve this accomplishment to date.
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6. Michael Muhney
Estimated Net Worth: $3.5 million. Michael Muhney has an extensive resume with tons of acting credits for appearing on popular television series; however, his biggest roles have been as Sheriff Don Lamb on Veronica Mars and more recently as Adam Newman on The Young and the Restless. Michael Muhney was fired and replaced with fellow actor, Justin Harley, but from 2009 until 2014 he was a big soap star. The most popular shows Muhney’s appeared on have been ER, Charmed, Without a Trace, Numb3rs and CSI: Miami. He’s done a few films, but nothing big, so the majority of his income comes from his time as a series regular on Veronica Mars and The Young and the Restless, earning him an estimated net worth of $3.5 million.
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5. Jeanne Cooper
Estimated Net Worth: $8 million. Wilma Jeanne Cooper had an extensive list of acting credits to her name, but she was best known for her role on The Young and the Restless from 1973 up until she passed away in 2013. When she passed she was on a list of the longest-serving soap opera actors in the United States! She’d been acting in films from the ’50s up until as late as 2009 appearing in over 30 films, some of her most notable performances were The Redhead from Wyoming, 13 West Street, The Intruder, Black Zoo, and many more. She also had extensive experience on the small screen, appearing in big series like The Bold and the Beautiful, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, The Twilight Zone and Perry Mason. Her most valuable role was most definitely Katherine Chancellor on The Young and the Restless and, at the time of her passing, she was worth an estimated $8 million.
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4. Steve Burton
Estimated Net Worth: $3 million. Steve Burton is an American actor who is well recognized for his role on General Hospital as Jason Morgan. In 2013, he moved on to The Young and the Restless to play the character of Dylan McAvoy and he has also worked as a voice actor for various video games. Before he worked on General Hospital he appeared on Days of Our Lives and Who’s the Boss? He also directed and wrote the film Laws of Gambling. Today, most of Burton’s earnings come from his voice work and his leading soap opera roles leaving him with an estimated net worth of $3 million.
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3. Justin Hartley
Estimated Net Worth: $5 million. Justin Hartley is a well-recognized face on the small screen with roles on Passions, Smallville and as Adam Newman on The Young and the Restless. Justin’s career started out well working on Passions from 2002 until 2006. He then immediately moved on to Smallville and even directed and wrote two episodes for the show. After that he did some guest appearances on big shows like CSI: NY, Cold Case, Castle, Melissa & Joey, Revenge, and Mistresses. He’s also appeared in a few small films like Red Canyon, Spring Breakdown, and Another Time. The majority of his income comes from his time on Smallville and The Young and the Restless, but he’s since left Y&R to star on the NBC show This Is Us! He’s worth an estimated $5 million.
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2. Daniel Goddard
Estimated Net Worth: $16.7 million. Daniel Goddard is an Australian actor who has made an incredible career for himself working on soap operas and as a model. His first big break was on a popular Australian soap called Home and Away. Right after he got a lead role on the Canadian series BeastMaster and was given the opportunity of writing six episodes for the show. He was soon recognized for his good looks and offered some high profile modeling opportunities for big brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein. His next huge opportunity was joining the cast of the American soap opera The Young and the Restless in 2oo7 as Cane Ashby, a role he continues to fulfill today. His popularity and good looks even got him a brief modeling stint on the CBS game show series, The Price is Right. Aside from a few small films, Goddard’s big bucks have come from his soap opera experiences and modeling contracts earning him an estimated net worth of $16.7 million.
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1. Eric Braeden
Estimated Net Worth: $25 million. Eric Braeden has played the iconic role of Victor Newman consistently since 1980! His dedication to this role has been incredible, but he’s also done a ton of other projects in between filming for The Young and the Restless. He’s appeared on other popular series like The Bold and the Beautiful, How I Met Your Mother, Kojak, Gunsmoke and Hawaii Five-O. His film credits include Titanic, Escape from the Planet of the Apes and starring roles in 100 Rifles and Colossus: The Forbin Project. Despite his other credits his role as Victor Newman is the one that makes him the big bucks. He’s well respected in the soap opera industry and widely recognized for his role that has earned him an estimated net worth of $25 million.