The Highest-Paid Celebrities of 2015
- In 2015, Floyd Mayweather Jr. received the biggest payout in sports history - $300 million - all on the Manny Pacquiáo fight alone. That's a ridiculous amount of money for even a hedge fund manager or the founder of a major corporation, but this is what pay-per-view gets you when you're the world's foremost boxing champion. (A reported $20 million paycheck for appearing in Wrestlemania doesn't hurt things, either.)
Of course, #2 is the boxer who lost to Mayweather. Pacquiao's take-home from the fight (a fight that he lost) was also a bit wild, racking up earnings of $160 million. It's also strange to remember that he is also a Congressman in the Philippine House of Representatives. Though more likely than not, his wealth comes less from his political career and more from boxing.
- After her Super Bowl halftime show performance, which also introduced the world to Left Shark, Katy Perry had a fantastic year. Her Prismatic tour was a smashing success and her concert film of the same name made great sales. That her earnings have reached $135 million for the year is no surprise to anyone.
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In what's probably not a shocker, One Direction's earnings have been huge, reaching up to $130 million for the year. This is probably compounded by Zayn Malik's departure from the group, which more likely than not got anyone who'd yet to buy their albums to go out and do so. Their first track after Malik left immediately went viral, so that tells you something.- Photo:
Long-time radio shock jock and America's Got Talent judge Howard Stern has earned an eye-popping $95 million just for sitting behind a table and watching contestants perform odd tricks to see if they might receive a million dollars. And that's not even counting his lucrative deal with Sirius, for his radio show. That said, he's got one of the most recognizable voices in the world, so that may have something to do with the hefty paycheck.Garth Brooks has, since 1991, sold more albums than The Beatles. When Steve Wynn begged him to do a Las Vegas show, Brooks demanded all sorts of amenities, including a plane ride to his home in Oklahoma every night. So yeah, $90 million on the year? No one's shocked, there.
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- Susan Solie-Patterson
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 3.0
One of the biggest bestselling authors in modern fiction, Patterson's Alex Cross series has millions of devotees. He also has the Guinness World Record for being the first author to sell 1 million e-books. With over $230 million sales in his lifetime, and movie deals for a number of his novels, it's pretty clear how he's managed to make $89 million on the year.- Photo:
- The Iron Man star doesn't stay out of movie theaters for very long. Between Avengers: Age of Ultron, and critically-acclaimed darlings like 2014's The Judge (which he also produced), Robert Downey Jr.'s $80 million in earnings is no small feat. It doesn't seem like this train's going to slow down anytime soon.
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- David Shankbone
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY 3.0
Taylor Swift's transition to going full pop has been met with great commercial success, and her album 1989 saw excellent sales and an equally successful 1989 Tour. The bigger secret of her financial success is the result of not only being the performer on the album, but also the songwriter. The result is a takeaway of $80 million.
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- Many Americans have no concept of how huge soccer - ahem, football - is across the world. Ronaldo, the Portuguese footballer, plays for Real Madrid and serves as captain for the Portugal national team. Many have him as the greatest player today, and some consider him the greatest of all time. When you're also the spokesman for Emporio Armani, it's no wonder you're pulling in $79.5 million.
- The always sunny Ellen DeGeneres seems to only get bigger as her daytime talk show continues to gain in popularity. After being responsible for the most retweeted selfie ever, starting her own record label, and, oh right, that big talk show we were just talking about, DeGeneres's $75 million seems less like an aberration and more like a foregone conclusion, and it doesn't look like her success is going to deteriorate any time soon.
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- Nicolas Shayko/Connormah
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY 2.0
The acerbic and controversial talk radio host signed a contract with Clear Channel and Premiere Radio for $400 million back in 2008, the contract running through to 2016. Between this and his many other entrepreneurial endeavors, including a series of children's books, as well as his more politically-minded fare, it's no small wonder that he's taking home $79 million.- Photo:
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- Football.ua
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- CC-BY-SA 3.0
It's no big surprise that football has a lot of money behind it and sports stars in the football world make far more money on average than players in any American sports. Lionel Messi plays for FC Barcelona and serves as captain of the Argentina national team. He's also the global brand ambassador for Turkish Airlines, and has an endorsement deal with Gillette. All told, $74 million sounds about right when you add it all up.- Photo:
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The Eagles
Even now, The Eagles are selling lots of albums and are one of the highest-selling musical acts in the world. They've managed to leverage that popularity into cold hard cash. After the documentary The History of the Eagles was released, they embarked on a tour of the same name. The result? A $73.5 million payout. Sounds like they're taking it easy.- More popularly known as "Dr. Phil," McGraw has made a very good life for himself dispensing vague wisdom on national television. Combine that with endorsement deals for weight loss products, and numerous spin-off shows from his mainstay, Dr. Phil, and it becomes clear how he came to earn $70 million on the year.
- Throughout the course of his tennis career, with a number of years spent at number one in the rankings, Federer has managed to pull in over $92 million - and that's just off of prize money alone. Combine that with his endorsement deals with companies like Nike and Rolex, his takeaway of $67 million comes as no surprise. Not to mention that his deal with Mercedes-Benz has expanded into a global agreement, it looks like Federer's going to be living in luxury for quite some time.
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The Scottish singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ has had his handiwork featured on a number of different artists' records, including some of the highest-paid pop stars who appear elsewhere on this list. He has the most number-one hits from a single album on the UK's charts, and has endorsement deals with Coca-Cola, Giorgio Armani, Kia, and more. He's pulling $66 million now.
- King James is raking in the dough, no doubt. The Cleveland Cavaliers captain has his hands in a number of business enterprises. When he's not perfecting his jump shot, he's appearing in Beats By Dre ads, taking roles in well-received comedy films, and producing a sitcom for Starz. All told? He's bringing home $65 million.
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- Drew de F Fawkes
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY 2.0
JT could've coasted after 'N Sync for the rest of his life, but that was never the multi-talented artist's style. After winning Grammys and Emmy awards and breaking records with his neo-soul album, The 20/20 Experience, Timberlake has been making restaurant endorsement deals, starting the fashion line William Rast, becoming part-owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, and more. The result? He's taking home $63.5 million.
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- David Copperfield (owner), Homer Liwag (photographer)
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
No, it's not an illusion. David Copperfield is still making money out there. He's the most commercially successful magician in history and over the years, he's sold over $4 billion in tickets. He performs over 500 shows throughout the world a year, making him one of the hardest-working people in the business. Pulling down $63 million in 2015 seems to be no mean feat for him.
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- Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has always had a penchant for diversifying. Not only is he a recording artist, but he founded Bad Boy Records, which signed classic acts like The Notorious B.I.G. Following that, he started popular clothing line Sean John, which was well-received in the fashion world. He also gets 50 percent of the profits for developing Ciroc vodka's brand. Pulling in $60 million for 2015 seems about right.
Remember when Gordon Ramsay wasn't on TV? If not, no one would blame you. With his Hell's Kitchen cooking competition series contracted for 16 seasons, that alone should earn him a spot on this list. But then, he's also the owner of a number of restaurants in both the United Kingdom and in America and has teamed up with folks like David Beckham to open up cafes in London. All told, he's bringing home $60 million in 2015.
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- © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com
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- CC-BY-SA 4.0
After a number of years as the host of American Idol, Seacrest is also now the host of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, as well as Knock Knock Live. He's expanded out into radio, taking over KIIS FM's morning show, now called On Air with Ryan Seacrest, and produces hit television series like Keeping Up with the Kardashians and all its spin-offs. Keeping that busy has earned him $60 million on the year.- Photo:
Fleetwood Mac
It turns out that going your own way has quite a few perks. The venerable band has had a number of hits over the years, and with the recent return of Christine McVie, the band's been working toward their final tour. With the end near, fans have been clamoring for at least one more show before the band finally calls it quits. After years of hits and successful tours, the band's clocking in for 2015 at $59.5 million.The Little Monsters come out in force for their queen. Lady Gaga's continued success has been hand-in-hand with her philanthropy and activism, including her Born This Way Foundation. All her work's been met with an even more dedicated fan base, and a surprise appearance at the 2015 European Games netted her $2 million for a six-minute performance. Oh, and lest we forget, she went on tour with Tony Bennett, because she just wanted to. When you add it all up, her $59 million take is just what you'd expect.
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- Jim Pietryga
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 3.0
Rolling Stones
They just never stop touring. Like, ever. After over 50 years of this, you'd think they'd be tired! Just in 2014, they performed an historic concert in Israel, the first they'd ever done. So when the tally for 2015 is $57.5 million, no one seems to be blinking an eye. They're certainly getting some satisfaction out of this whole music career they've built for themselves.- Photo:
- The English recording artist exploded out onto the music scene, and despite having only started in 2008, it feels like he's always been around. He crossed over in 2012 appearing on Taylor Swift's album, Red, as well as getting some songwriting credits for a few One Direction tracks. It also turns out that, according to Spotify, he's the most streamed artist in the world. That $57 million haul sounds about right!
- It's no surprise that Hova makes the list. With a number of top-charting records, Shawn Carter has never let up on the gas, co-creating the clothing line Rocawear, and getting into sports by starting up the Roc Nation Sports agency (he's even a licensed agent for the NBA and MLB). He also holds the record for most number one albums. Put all that together, and he's got $56 million coming home with him.
- It's no wonder that Queen Bey is on this list. The recording artist has charting albums, Top 40 singles, plenty of endorsement deals, and a highly successful touring career. In 2015, she earned $54.3 million, a figure that actually seems kind of low when you consider just how often she's in the limelight.
- Durant's going to be a free agent in 2016, so he's got a lot of work to do in order to keep making that money, but the 26 year old doesn't seem concerned about that as he is trying to avoid "getting cussed out by Russell Westbrook." The small forward and six-time NBA All-Star, between his salary and endorsement deals, has earned $53 million over the course of the year.
