Can you believe that a veteran musician earns more than the blockbuster earning director Steven Spielberg, film producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and sport stars Roger Federer and Tiger Woods?
No, it isn’t rap mogul and Beats entrepreneur Dr Dre, the highest paid musician of last year at $110 million, the Beatles-aided fortune of Sir Paul McCartney (worth around $570 million), or even top world tour earners like Bruce Springsteen, U2, and Coldplay.
Following on from revealing a list of the world’s exorbitantly paid DJs, business bible Forbes has unveiled the Top 20 Highest Earning Celebrities of 2013, which reveals that 55-year-old pop icon Madonna is at the top of the heap.
According to Forbes estimates, Madge squared away a whopping US$125 million between June 2012 and June 2013, putting the material girl and sometimes actor a cool $25 million ahead of Steven Spielberg, whose $100 million earnings placed him at #2 on the list.
Interestingly, Madonna’s twelfth and latest studio album in her 40-yearp-old discography, last year’s MDNA, was her weakest selling ever (chalking up ‘just’ 1.8 million units worldwide) but still put Madonna at the top of the charts in several regions, including the US, UK, and here in Australia, as WA Today points out. Her record figures may be lapsing, whether due to quality or the general dip in record-buying in recent years, but her live show and branding is where she makes the big bucks.
So while Madonna’s record figures may be lapsing, whether due to quality or the general dip in record-buying in recent years, her live show and branding is where the queen of pop made the big bucks. Her MDNA world tour generated the most revenue of any other in 2012 and raked in $228 million by the end of the year.
Continuing into 2013, and riddled with controversy including a cancelled Australian leg, the MDNA world tour eventually grossed an estimated $305.2 million from 88 sold out shows. Meanwhile, Madonna’s own Material Girl and Truth Or Dare line of clothing and fragrances and merchandise kept the millions rolling in, as well as her personalised fitness centre franchise, Hard Candy.
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Forbes also points out that Madonna’s 2012/2013 income is the most she’s ever made, topping her $110 million peak back in 2009, while estimates put her total fortune at around $650 million.
The only other appearance from the music world on the list (aside from pop TV manufacturer Simon Cowell at #3, but let’s discount him for now), was – fittingly – fellow pop sensationalist Lady Gaga, who hasn’t just mimicked her idol in the outrageous persona and conical bra stakes, but did her best to match Madonna’s fortune too.
The woman bron Stefani Germanotta came in at 10th place on the Highest Earning Celebrities of 2013 list, earning US$80 million for the 2012/2013 period, putting her just behind Hollywood honchos like Transformers director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Her huge revenue earnings shouldn’t be too much of a surprise considering Lady Gaga had one of the highest grossing tours of last year and an enormous following; her social networking site, Little Monsters, has 26 million followers, that’s more than the population of Australia.
Forbes calculates it annual list of celebrity earnings based on figures from agents, managers, producers, and industry figures, but does not reflect tax deductions, agent fees, or “the other expenses of being a celebrity.” You know, things like personal security, luxury items, and those oh-so-important outrageous stage costumes.
Highest Earning Celebrities Of 2013
Source: Forbes.com
1- Madonna (pop musician, actor) – US$125 million
2- Steven Spielberg (film director, producer) – US$100 million
3= E.L. James (author), Howard Stern (radio network owner/TV judge), Simon Cowell (TV producer) – US$95 million each
6- James Patterson (author) – US$91 million
7- Glenn Beck (TV / radio host) – US$90 million
8- Michael Bay (film director) – US$82 million
9- Jerry Bruckheimer (film producer) – US$80 million
10- Lady Gaga (pop musician) – US$80 million
11- Tyler Perry (actor, director, producer, writer) – US$78 million
12- Tiger Woods (professional golfer) – US$78 million
13- Oprah Winfrey (TV network owner, talk show host) – US$77 million
14- Robert Downey jr (actor) – $75 million
15- Dr Phil McGraw (TV talk show host, author) – US$72 million
16- Roger Federer (professional tennis player) – US$71 million
17- Dick Wolf (TV producer) – US$70 million
18- Rush Limbaugh (radio talk show host) US$66 million
19- Toby Keith (country musician) – US$65 million
20- Mark Burnett (TV producer) – US$63 million
