Highest Earning Celebrities: Directors, Actors, Actresses – List

Highest Earning Celebrities. Holy canoly, did you know that Oprah Winfrey made US$275 million in the last 12 months? We knew she makes lots of money but we didn’t realize she’s making LOTS and LOTS of money. Here’s the top 25 highest earning celebrities according to Forbes.com:

1. Oprah Winfrey: $275 million
2. George Lucas: $170 million
3. Steven Spielberg: $150 million
4. Madonna: $110 million
5. Tiger Woods: $110 million
6. Jerry Bruckheimer: $100 million
7. Beyonce Knowles: $87 million
8. Jerry Seinfeld: $85 million
9. Dr. Phil McGraw: $80 million
10. Simon Cowell: $75 million
11. Tyler Perry: $75 million
12-14. Bruce Springsteen: $70 million
12-14. Coldplay: $70 million
12-14. Howard Stern: $70 million
15-17. Harrison Ford: $65 million
15-17. Kenny Chesney: $65 million
15-17. Dave Matthews Band: $65 million
18-20. Rascal Flatts: $60 million
18-20. AC/DC: $60 million
18-20. James Patterson: $60 million
21-22. Adam Sandler: $55 million
21-22. Larry David: $55 million
23. Rush Limbaugh: $54 million
24. Toby Keith: $52 million
25. Bon Jovi: $50 million

For a list specifically for singers, check out our post on the Highest Paid Singers or Musicians.

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CHECK OUT THE UPDATES BELOW ON HIGHEST EARNING CELEBRITIES ACCORDING TO THEIR PROFESSION

Highest Earning Celebrities: Hollywood Actresses (posted: 04 February 2010). Who is the highest paid actress in Hollywood last year? According to Vanity Fair magazine, the highest paid actor is ………….. drumrolls please ……………… Emma Watson of the Harry Potter series.

Are you surprised that she topped the list? We gotta say we are. We knew she’s making a lot of money but we didn’t know she’s making more than the older and more established actresses.

Another surprise in the list would be Jennifer Aniston. Apparently, her endless woe-is-me story and endless fake romances with her co-stars is making her lots of money even if her movies aren’t really hits. How long is she going to annoy us?

Here’s the top Hollywood female earners in 2009 according to Vanity Fair:

1. Emma Watson, actress ($30million)
2. Cameron Diaz, actress ($27million)
3. Sarah Jessica Parker, actress ($24million)
4. Katherine Heigl, actress ($24million)
5. Reese Witherspoon, actress ($21million)
6. Angelina Jolie, actress ($21million)
7. Jennifer Aniston, actress ($20million)
8. Sandra Bullock, actress ($20million)
9. Kristen Stewart , actress ($16million)

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Highest Paid Movie Director: James Cameron at $350M (posted: 13 January 2010). Who is the highest paid movie director? The title used to belong to Peter Jackson but, currently, we should give the crown to James Cameron.

highest earning celebrities

According to Deadline Hollywood, Cameron will make US$ 350 million from directing the movie, Avatar:

My sources tell me that Cameron’s $350M take from Avatar also eclipses his reported $97M haul from the previous #1 biggest movie worldwide, Titanic. But that figure will go higher, too. Earlier this year, Cameron revealed that Titanic will be re-released in 3D in April 2012, in order to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the actual ship. In total, Cameron’s directorial efforts have grossed approximately $5.75 billion worldwide.

highest earning celebrities

Want more highest paid people? Check out these highest paid CEO in the world.

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Highest Earning Celebrities: Teen Actors (posted: 07 January 2010). Here’s a question about celebrity financial and money matters: Who is the highest paid teen actor in Hollywood?

highest earning celebrities - teen actors

According to Deadline Hollywood, it’s our imaginary teen boyfriend Taylor Lautner:

That’s right, the 17-year-old co-star of the Twilight Saga franchise who’s famous for his buff physique that is making girls scream when he takes off his shirt in New Moon, is getting $7.5 million for his next pic. It’s called Northern Lights, to be directed by John Moore (Max Payne) with a start date of April 1st.

Yay, for Taylor. But what are internet netizens saying about Taylor’s 7.5 million paycheck? Not unexpectedly, the debate is on.

Here’s a Taylor supporter:

The guy is BOTH good-looking as well as roaming the streets with an EIGHT-PACK? Pay the boy whatever he asks for, he is well worth it. Who cares what the haters think? He will be laughing all the way to the bank.

I’m always up for a story about a smart and gifted pair of lovers, instead of the usual lame story of dependent brainless females. Go Taylor! I hope this is true.

Tom Cruise has redeemed himself in my eyes.

And here’s from a shouting hater:

OH GIVE ME A BREAK. Has any one ever actually payed attention to anything other then this weasels little boy abs?

LIKE MAYBE HIS ACTING, OR THAT FACT THAT NO 12 YEAR OLD GIRL WILL WANT TO GO SEE HIM IN ANYTHING OTHER THEN A TWILIGHT MOVIE?!

Look at all of Pattinson’s other films… Um yeah, Little Ashes? BOMB.
How To Be? BOMB.

I say GOOD FOR YOU TAYLOR! CASH IN NOW BABY, BECAUSE WHEN THE TWILIGHT SAGA IS DONE, SO IS YOUR CAREER.

Where do we stand on the matter? Do we think Taylor deserves $7.5 million? But, of course!!! Any cute boy/teen star who is made to act with Tom Cruise should be given that amount.

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Highest Earning Celebrities: TV Actors (posted: 08 August 2009). We gave you the world’s highest paid comedian [Jerry Seinfeld], the highest paid singer [see above], and the highest paid American footballer [Eli Manning].

Now, who’s the highest paid actor on TV these days? According to TV Guide, it’s Charlie Sheen. He makes US$825,000 per episode (note: corrected to remove millions, thanks to commenter who noticed our mistake). That’s a lot of moolah, Charlie. What about sharing some of it with us aka the less fortunate.

Does Charlie deserve that much pay? If the overrated and annoying Jennifer Aniston can make US$1 million per episode at the height of Friends, we don’t see any reason why the more talented Charlie Sheen does not deserve $825,000 per episode. We just hope that Charilie’s co-stars in Two and a Half Men, which we really really enjoy watching, are being paid just as well.

Anyways, the second top-paying TV actor is Kiefer Sutherland who makes $550,000 per episode playing Jack Bauer on ‘24′. Hugh Laurie of ‘House’ and ‘Law & Order: SVU’ duo Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni each pick up checks for $400,000 per episode.

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Highest Paid European Actor: Dany Boon aka Daniel Hamidou (posted: 28 February 2009). Because he is the star of the multi-million Harry Potter blockbusters, we thought that Daniel Radcliffe is the highest paid European actor. It turns out that we are badly mistaken. Who is the highest paid actor in Europe then? It’s French star Dany Boon. According to news reports, he made US$33 million in 2008 from a smash hit he starred in and directed.

From an AFP report:

The director and star of France’s most successful film ever, “Bienvenue Chez Les Ch’tis”, has become the best-paid actor in European film history, an industry ranking showed Thursday.

Dany Boon netted €26 million (US$33 million) for the 2008 smash hit comedy, which makes light of prejudices against France’s bleak north, according to a chart of actor earnings published in Le Figaro newspaper.

Seen by more than 20 million viewers, the blockbuster grossed a total of 150 million euros at the box office, and is being remade by Hollywood actor Will Smith under the English title “Welcome to the Sticks.”

Highest Earning Celebrities From Actors, TV Stars, Movie Directors first posted 21 January 2009. Last update 18 November 2011.