Forbes has released its annual Top 100 Highest-Paid Celebrities List for 2020.
From musicians to actors, sports stars and TV hosts, these are the celebrities that made the most money in the 12-month ranking period. Forbes stated that the 100 celebrities banked a cumulative $6.1 billion before taxes and fees, a $200 million drop from 2019 after the global pandemic shuttered stadiums and silenced performances around the world.
Kylie Jenner sits atop with $590 million. According to Forbes, “the reality TV star sold 51% of Kylie Cosmetics to publicly traded Coty, Inc. in January 2019 for $600 million; she pocketed $540 million, pretax”.
Well, in the 2nd spot is Kanye West, who earned $170 million, mostly from his Yeezy sneakers deal with Adidas.
Rounding up the Top 5 is tennis player Roger Federer who earned $106 million, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo who raked in $105 million, and fellow soccer player Lionel Messi $104 million.
According to Forbes:
Live shows drove career-best income for some of music’s biggest names, with Ed Sheeran’s Divide Tour drawing 8.9 million fans and grossing $776 million over two-plus years to surpass U2’s all-time record for a single tour. Others will take a hit next year as tours for everyone from Taylor Swift (No. 25, $63.5 million) to Paul McCartney (No. 93, $37 million) have been cancelled because of the pandemic.
In sports, Roger Federer (No. 3, $106.3 million) is the first tennis player to earn the top spot among athletes on the list, while soccer’s Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 4, $105 million) became the first team player to earn $1 billion during his career. Naomi Osaka set her own record at No. 90, bringing in $37 million income, the most money any female athlete has ever made in a single year.
Podcasting makes its first appearance in the voice of Bill Simmons (No.13, $82.5 million), who sold his podcast company The Ringer to Spotify in February for $206 million. Another newcomer: Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda (No. 62, $45.5 million), who added to his haul from the Broadway hit in February when Walt Disney paid $75 million for the rights to air the filmed version of his Founding Father musical. Miranda joined a chorus of celebrities using their fame to speak out after the killing of Floyd: “It’s up to us, in words and deeds, to stand up for our fellow citizens.” He’s one of a growing group of stars working to enact systemic change. More than a dozen on the Celebrity 100 have invested or otherwise worked with Andreessen Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund, which aims to expand investment opportunities and access to tech jobs among African Americans.