The 15 Best-Paid Celebrities

To compile the list of Hollywood's top 15 best-paid celebrities, we looked at the top-earning producers, actors, writers, musicians and talking heads in the industry. We then talked to managers, agents and other Hollywood insiders to come up with estimates on their earnings between June 2008 and June 2009. For the sake of this list, we did not include musicians who perform as a group. So although Coldplay earned $70 million during our time frame, Chris Martin does not make the list.

Oprah Winfrey
$275 million
Oprah cannot be stopped. She has her own television show, magazine, radio station and in the works: OWN, an entire cable network dedicated to all things Oprah. A cover story in Newsweek questioning the efficacy of Oprah's medical advice didn't even dent the doyenne of daytime TV.

George Lucas
$170 million
In 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was the third-highest grossing movie in the U.S. and earned $787 million at the worldwide box office. That only helped to line Lucas' pockets. The writer/director/producer still makes plenty of money off of Star Wars toys and his old movies.

Steven Spielberg
$150 million
After an ugly breakup with Paramount, Spielberg's DreamWorks studio finally found a home at Disney, and the studio recently raised the $325 million it needed to get matching funds from Indian bank Reliance. The fourth Indiana Jones' $787 million box office performance helped make this a good year for Spielberg.


Madonna
$110 million
An ugly divorce, another adoption and freaky arms helped keep Madonna in the tabloids this year, but the Material Girl can laugh all the way to the bank. Her Hard Candy tour was the best-selling of 2008, grossing $280 million with 58 shows in 17 cities around the world. The tour has been extended so Madonna can hit cities in Europe she missed the first time around.

Celine Dion
$100 million
Clearly, the world was waiting for a new Celine Dion album. In 2008 the Canadian singer released Taking Chances, her first English-language album since 2003. Her world tour to promote the album was 2008's second-highest grossing tour behind Madonna's Hard Candy tour.

Jerry Bruckheimer
$100 million
Bruckheimer is a master at producing both movies and television shows. His Pirates of the Caribbean series has grossed $2.7 billion at the worldwide box office, and his trio of CSI shows regularly top the ratings. Up next: a show for NBC about a team chasing fugitive criminals.

Beyoncé
$87 million
At 28 Beyoncé is the youngest person on our list. Her latest album, I Am … Sasha Fierce spawned the catchy hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)", which became Beyoncé's fifth No. 1 single. The singer also has a burgeoning acting career. Last year she starred as Etta James in Cadillac Records and as a jealous wife in Obsessed.

Jerry Seinfeld
$85 million
More than a decade after his eponymous sitcom went off the air Jerry Seinfeld still earns millions from syndication. Last year he went back on the road with a stand-up comedy act and shilled for Microsoft in an odd ad that costarred Bill Gates. Up next: Seinfeld reunites with his old cast on Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Phil McGraw
$80 million
Oprah's No. 1 protégé earns millions on his own with his hit talk show that still posts strong ratings despite some recent declines. Now McGraw is taking a lesson from the book of Oprah with his own spin-off show, The Doctors, which is produced by McGraw's son Jay.

Tyler Perry
$75 million
The writer/star/producer has a golden deal with Lionsgate. He covers the (very low) production costs on his movies, and Lionsgate charges him a low distribution fee, allowing Perry to take home a huge chunk of his films' profits. This year's Madea Goes to Jail earned $90 million at the box office.

Dick Wolf
$75 million
Wolf found his formula when Law & Order debuted in 1990, and he's been milking it ever since. He's grown the show into a franchise that includes Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent. Despite a messy lawsuit with NBC, Wolf still manages to be one of television's highest-paid producers.

Simon Cowell
$75 million
Idol's meanest judge is also its richest and could be about to get richer. Cowell is currently negotiating a new contract and could walk away with $45 million for the next season. Cowell also earns big bucks from shows he produces, like Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor.

Bruce Springsteen
$70 million
The boss turns 60 this month, but he's showing no signs of slowing down. His last tour earned $166 million from 1.6 million tickets sold. After fans trying to get tickets found themselves directed to a resale Web site, Springsteen spoke out against the pending Live Nation Ticketmaster merger saying the deal will be bad for fans.

Howard Stern
$70 million
Stern is heard by fewer people than when he was on terrestrial radio, but he still makes gobs of money. The King of all Media earns $100 million annually from Sirius Radio (though some of that goes to covering production costs). Still, he insists he's considering quitting when his five-year contract is up in 2011.

Harrison Ford
$65 million
It took a lot of money for Harrison Ford to put back on Indiana Jones' fedora. The actor was part of a deal with producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to split a big share of the film's profits after Paramount recouped its production costs. The film's $787 million worldwide box office helped him earn $65 million.

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