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Celeb News: Forbes "Highest Paid Celebrities"
Member Since: 8/2/2010
Posts: 12,507
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Forbes "Highest Paid Celebrities"
Forbes just released the list of Highest Paid Celebrities between May 2011 and May 2012., did your fav make the cut?
The Highest-Paid Celebrities
20. Britney Spears
Quote:
$58 million
Conspicuously absent from our 2011 list due to limited touring, Britney blasts back into the top 20 this year with over 75 shows in the past 12 months. She also earns millions from endorsements and a fragrance line with Elizabeth Arden. Her latest album, Femme Fatale, earned platinum certification in the U.S. The pop princess still attracts plenty of tabloid attention, especially in the wake of her December 2011 engagement.
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19. Ryan Secreast
Quote:
$59 million
After signing on to host American Idol for at least two more years, Seacrest also recently inked a new deal with Comcast that extends his presence within the company from E! to NBC, where he'll cover news, sports and entertainment. Seacrest also produces TV shows like the Keeping up with the Kardashians franchise and his latest, Shahs of Sunset, about Iranian-Americans in Beverly Hills. Seacrest also endorses brands like Bing and Coca-Cola.
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18. Donald Trump
Quote:
$63 million
The Apprentice, now in its twelfth season, once again helped keep The Donald relevant while raking in extra cash. The real estate mogul also reaps millions from his books, speaking engagements, pageants, and ever-expanding portfolio of products. The Trump stamp can be found on products ranging from alcohol to neckties to high-end mattresses. Want to smell like The Donald? Now you can. This year, he launched a fragrance collection for men called Success by Trump.
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17. Dr. Phil
Quote:
$64 million
Despite ranking 17th on our list of the highest-paid celebrities, McGraw failed to make the cut for our Celebrity 100 this year. That's because in the "personality" category, he was pushed off by more famous folks like Kim Kardashian. But McGraw can cry all the way to the bank. He earned $46 million more than the reality star.
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16. Manny Pacquiao
Quote:
$67 million
Pacquiao was on the wrong end of a wildly controversial split decision in his June bout against Tim Bradley, his first loss in seven years. Pacquiao has become a pay-per-view stud, with five fights each generating at least one million PPV buys during the past four years. Pacman has expanded his endorsement reach by signing deals with Monster Energy and Hennessy. His longtime partners include Nike and Hewlett-Packard.
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15. Rush Limbaugh
Quote:
$69 million
Think Limbaugh is mellowing after 40 years on the radio? Fat chance. The conservative host demonstrated both his impact on the culture and his intemperance with his attacks on a female law student and birth-control advocate. The resulting boycott by many advertisers didn't have much of an immediate financial impact on Limbaugh, but it may cut into his earnings if sponsors remain skittish. He's on Twitter now, by the way.
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14. Dick Wolf
Quote:
$70 million
Law & Order's creator hasn't suffered in the earnings department despite the original detective drama going off air after 20 seasons in 2010. The former advertising copywriter's real cash cow, Law & Order SVU, remains on the air. While speculation of the show's demise has been rife since Christopher Meloni stepped down from one of its two starring roles, Mariska Hargitay is committed to the show for another year. Even when SVU does wind down, Wolf won't suffer: he's paid as a producer now, but he'll continue making money in residuals when his shows air as reruns on TNT or USA.
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13. Tom Cruise
Quote:
$75 million
Thanks to Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol , Cruise landed in the Top 10 of our Celebrity 100 this year. Cruise was all but written off after a string of incidents in 2005, including jumping on Oprah's couch and the subsequent "poor" performance of Mission: Impossible 3. This year proved that you should never underestimate Cruise's star power. Ghost Protocol earned $700 million at the global box office.
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12. Elton John
Quote:
$80 million
The 65-year-old pop-rocker is still going strong with over 100 shows in the past 12 months, including a lengthy Las Vegas stint. His animated film Gnomeo and Juliet brought in $200 million at the box office. He's also got his 34th album on the way. When he's not in the studio, his attention turns to new son Zachary, born in 2010 (Lady Gaga is the baby's godmother
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11. Glenn Beck
Quote:
$80 million
Who needs Fox News? Beck is his own network now. GBTV, his Internet-only video channel, already has more than 300,000 subscribers, making it the biggest component of his fast-growing multimedia empire, Mercury Radio Arts. The conservative host and "rodeo clown" -- his words -- also has his own book imprint with Simon & Schuster, a news website called The Blaze, a live political comedy act and, of course, "The Glenn Beck Program," syndicated by Premiere Radio.
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10. Simon Cowell
Quote:
$90 million
Hits like American Idol don't grow on trees, as Simon Cowell discovered this year. The British music producer and TV impresario made headlines when he promised his new show, The X Factor, would at least match his old talent show in the ratings. It didn't, but the U.K. version of the show minted a breakout act, One Direction, for Cowell's label, Syco Records
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9. George Lucas
Quote:
$90 million
Thanks to the massive success of the Star Wars franchise, Lucas earns more money just by waking up in the morning than many people will see in a lifetime. But Lucas plows much of that money back into his company Industrial Light and Magic, which provides effects for movies like Battleship and The Avengers. Lucas' passion project, Red Tails about the Tuskegee airmen, fizzled at the box office, bringing in only $50 million.
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8. James Patterson
Quote:
$94 million
There's a reason Patterson's earnings just keep going up: Every year, he seems to write more books. In 2011, he released 14 titles, a group that includes adult thrillers and fantasy/sci-fi novels aimed at younger readers. A platoon of co-writers help to supplement his output. An adaptation of his "I, Alex Cross" is in the works, with Tyler Perry stepping to the role previously played by Morgan Freeman.
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7. Howard Stern
Quote:
$95 million
Dwelling in the walled garden of satellite radio has been good for Stern's bank account, and it's probably spared him some FCC fines, but you can tell he misses being part of the broader culture. A new role as a judge on America's Got Talent gives him some extra visibility, along with a reported $15 million a year. It also gives him something to do with the free time he gained after signing a new contract that pays him less money in exchange for fewer days on the radio. Stern's relationship with Sirius appears to be cooling, and his defeat in a lawsuit against his employer over unpaid bonuses won't help.
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6. Tyler Perry
Quote:
$105 million
Perry continues to be a busy, well-paid director/producer/writer/actor. His low-budget films, like the recent Good Deeds have built-in audiences and don't need to earn a ton of money to become profitable. Perry's most successful film was 2009's Madea Goes to Jail, which earned $90 million. He also has a successful TV empire that includes House of Payne, Meet the Browns and For Better or Worse.
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5. Dr. Dre
Quote:
$110 million
The ageless super-producer's latest hit isn't a song, but rather a line of headphones. In August handset maker HTC paid $300 million for a 51% stake in Beats by Dr. Dre, the headphone company he co-founded with Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine in 2006. Each owned about a third of the company, pocketing about $100 million apiece, before taxes, from last summer's deal.
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4. Jerry Bruckheimer
Quote:
$115 million
Bruckheimer's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was one of the highest-grossing films of 2011, bringing in $1 billion at the global box office. That was a nice change from 2010 for Bruckheimer, when his two big films, Prince of Persia and The Sorcerer's Apprentice stumbled at the box office. In the new Hollywood, though, even Bruckheimer can't get away with an out-of-control budget. Disney made everyone take big cuts for The Lone Ranger.
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3. Steven Spielberg
Quote:
$130 million
Spielberg's DreamWorks moved into television in a big way this year with four new shows, including Terra Nova and Smash. On top of that, the prolific producer stepped back into directing with two movies that hit theaters last Christmas, The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse. Both films were nominated for Oscars.
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2. Michael Bay
Quote:
$160 million
Bay nabs the title of top-earning director this year thanks to Transformers ark of the Moon. The 3-D film brought in $1.1 billion at the box office. Bay has a great deal on the films, taking a solid chunk of the profits. He also earns big from Transformer toys. Adding to Bay's coffers this year: a Transformers ride at Universal Studios in Hollywood. Bay has earned the right to finally do a small film. Pain & Gain has a budget well under $50 million.
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1. Oprah Winfrey
Quote:
$165 million
The media mogul's earnings fell by a staggering $125 million from last year. However, even with the drop, she remains the highest earner on the list, just inching out director Michael Bay. It's been a challenging year for Winfrey, who signed off from her 25-year syndicated show and immediately turned her attention to struggling cable network OWN. The bulk of the earnings dive comes from lost income on The Oprah Winfrey Show, but her diversified portfolio includes O: The Oprah Magazine, spin-off shows like The Dr. Oz Show and a radio deal with Sirius. She does not earn a salary at OWN, which has faced ratings disappointments and financial issues since it premiered in Jan. 2011. As chairman and CEO of the joint venture with Discovery Communications, she hopes a recent restructuring, new programming and a distribution deal with Comcast will turn the network around.
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Quote:
Oprah Winfrey may have retired her namesake talk show for good in 2011, but she's still rollin' in the dough as the titular head of her own TV network.
The daytime legend has topped Forbes' list of the highest-paid celebrities for the fourth year in a row with $165 million earned between May 2011 and May 2012.
The news comes even after OWN, her fledgling eponymous cable channel, has faced disappointing ratings
That prompted her to rethink OWN's lineup—like deciding to pull the plug on The Rosie Show in March. Winfrey later admitted to pal Gayle King on CBS' The Early Show, "If I were writing a book about [running a network], I could call the book 101 Mistakes."
While she's still queen of the bling, breathing down Oprah's neck is a guy famous for making a trilogy based on a line of toy robots in order to sell…a line of toy robots.
The magazine listed Michael Bay in second place with $160 million during the same period, largely on the box office strength of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which grossed more than $1.1 billion worldwide and for which he had major back-end points.
After his twofer of War Horse and Tintin, Steven Spielberg took the third spot with $130 million in revenue—a large portion of which comes from residuals from his movies as well as various DreamWorks-produced TV shows (Smash, Terra Nova anyone?).
Mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer proved his Tinseltown worth netting $115 million, courtesy of more than $1 billion in ticket sales from last year's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. We imagine he'll likely tally even better next year with his remake of The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the titular hero.
Rounding out the top five moneymakers was rap mogul Dr. Dre, who raked in $110 million, much of that from his Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, which generated some controversy at the London Olympics a few weeks back.
Other celebs making the top 10 were filmmaker Tyler Perry, Howard Stern and Simon Cowell. It's also notable that out of the top 21, 19 of them were men. The only other woman to make the cut besides Oprah was Britney Spears, coming in at 20
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Member Since: 12/19/2011
Posts: 14,246
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Manny Pacquiao is considered a celebrity?
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Member Since: 11/6/2011
Posts: 4,475
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Britney 
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Member Since: 11/2/2009
Posts: 19,838
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Quote:
Originally posted by coolcristobal
Manny Pacquiao is considered a celebrity?
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My first thought.
I ain't mad at him tho.
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Member Since: 11/22/2009
Posts: 11,092
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Britney being the only female on the list  i can't !
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Member Since: 5/9/2012
Posts: 38,050
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Quote:
Originally posted by vamp
Britney being the only female on the list i can't ! |
Oprah is number one sis 
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Member Since: 1/27/2006
Posts: 51,546
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LMFAO. I've never seen a picture of Michael Bay, I expected he looked like Michael Moore or something.
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/8/2008
Posts: 21,933
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Member Since: 12/2/2011
Posts: 52,765
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Quote:
Originally posted by vamp
Britney being the only female on the list i can't ! |
Britney being dead last and overlooked by Queen Oprah i can't
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Member Since: 8/11/2012
Posts: 5,375
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Oprah should have started OWN a little earlier but she still had her show. But seems like the network is taking a turn for the better lately, she's putting in work.
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Member Since: 6/15/2011
Posts: 41,028
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Quote:
3. Steven Spielberg
2. Michael Bay
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A damn shame.
Britney 
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Member Since: 12/6/2010
Posts: 4,317
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Are people not tired of these Forbes threads containing the same info but in a different presentation.
What would it be next, Highest paid Left handed Celebrities
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Member Since: 4/25/2011
Posts: 41,661
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Britney the only pop girl in the list. After 14 years. Who else
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Member Since: 12/25/2003
Posts: 13,870
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See, good looks don't equal success. 
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Member Since: 11/22/2009
Posts: 11,092
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hunter_13
Oprah is number one sis |
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Member Since: 11/22/2009
Posts: 11,092
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Quote:
Originally posted by KingsOfLeon1994
Britney being dead last and overlooked by Queen Oprah i can't |
Why are you so pressed?
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Member Since: 8/3/2012
Posts: 8,030
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Great list
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Member Since: 5/18/2012
Posts: 20,576
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She might even make more next year. 
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Member Since: 3/30/2012
Posts: 8,824
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the only female singer on the list 
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Member Since: 3/27/2012
Posts: 4,950
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hunter_13
Oprah is number one sis |
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