Madonna tops Forbes 2013 List of Top-Earning Celebrities
Madonna tops Forbes 2013 List of Top-Earning Celebrities
Despite the disappointing performance of her most recent album, MDNA, Madonna has topped the Forbes 2013 List of Top-Earning Celebrities.
Thanks in large part to the massively successful tour the singer launched to go along with her new album, Madonna had an insanely profitable 2013. The tour grossed $305 million and earned her the Top Touring Award at the Billboard Music Awards. In addition, the singer boasted strong merchandise sales, a new clothing line, fragrance and other investments in companies like Vita Coco brought Madonna's earnings to $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013.
Coming in second on the list is Steven Spielberg, who raked in $100 million thanks to his extensive film library. Films like E.T. and Jurassic Park are always playing somewhere on TV, and that means lucrative residuals for Spielberg. The director is also fresh off one of his biggest critical and commercial successes, as Lincoln raked in $275 million on a budget of $65 million. Spielberg's Dreamworks is starting to show strength in television as well, with Under the Dome standing as one of the biggest successes of the summer.
Meanwhile, Howard Stern, Simon Cowell and author E.L. James all tied for third place with $95 million each. James' 50 Shades trilogy has sold 70 million copies worldwide and a film adaptation is currently in the works at Universal. Stern makes his big bucks from his lucrative Sirius/XM contract and his commitment to the Got Talent franchise on NBC. Similarly, Simon Cowell makes loads of money as creator of the Got Talent series, in addition to his role as creator of the worldwide talent franchise, The X Factor.
Check out the full list below via Forbes:
1. Madonna ($125 million)
2. Steven Spielberg ($100 million)
3. TIE: Howard Stern, E.L. James and Simon Cowell ($95 million)
6. James Patterson ($91 million)
7. Glenn Beck ($90 million)
8. Michael Bay ($82 million)
9. Jerry Bruckheimer ($80 million)
10. Lady Gaga ($80 million)
11. Tyler Perry ($78 million)
12. Tiger Woods ($78 million)
13. Oprah Winfrey ($77 million)
14. Robert Downey Jr ($75 million)
15. Dr. Phil McGraw ($72 million)
16. Roger Federer ($71 million)
17. Dick Wolf ($70 million)
18. Rush Limbaugh ($66 million)
19. Toby Keith ($65 million)
20. Mark Burnett ($63 million)