Oprah Winfrey tops Forbes’ celebrity pay list for fourth year
August 27, 2012 7:42PM
Oprah WInfrey. Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images
Updated: September 29, 2012 6:15AM
ATM, ATM at the mall, who’s the richest celeb of all?
Oprah Winfrey.
Even though we keep hearing about financial struggles at her cable channel, Winfrey still raked in piles of money from May 2011 to May 2012, according to Forbes’ new list of the highest-paid celebrities.
She has her hand in shows starring Dr. Phil McGraw, Rachael Ray and Dr. Mehmet Oz, along with her magazine and satellite radio station. But Forbes says this is the last year syndication money will be counted, so she may drop next year.
In the meantime, she ranks No. 1 for the fourth year in a row with $165 million in earnings.
At No. 2 is director Michael Bay, who earned $160 million for “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and all that went with it.
Usual suspects Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer took No. 3 and No. 4 spots.
New to the list at No. 5: Dr. Dre, whose Beats by Dr. Dre headphones company brought him a deal that took his earnings to $110 million.
Other names on the list include: Tyler Perry, Howard Stern, James Patterson, Glenn Beck, Elton John, Tom Cruise, Rush Limbaugh, Donald Trump, Ryan Seacrest and Britney Spears.
Gannett News Service
