Dr. Dre, Britney Spears Top Forbes’ List Of Richest Celebrities

Forbes has released its annual list of the Top 20 Highest-Paid Celebrities and in a surprising turn of events Dr. Dre is the top-ranking musician on the list. Following Oprah Winfrey, Michael Bay, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer, the rapper, who hasn’t released a new album since 1999, comes in at No. 5 with $110 million.Cheap Beats By Dre.
. As it turns out Dr. Dre has earned his many millions not from making music but from his line of headphones, Beats By Dre. Forbes notes, “In August handset maker HTC paid $300 million for a 51% stake in Beats by Dr. Dre, the headphone company he co-founded with Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine in 2006. Each owned about a third of the company, pocketing about $100 million apiece, before taxes, from last summer’s deal.” Score.Beats By Dr Dre.
. Other musicians on the list include Elton John, who comes in at No. 12 with $80 million, and Britney Spears, who clocks in at No. 20 with $58. John’s cash comes largely from his live performances, including a stint in Las Vegas, as well as his animated film Gnomeo and Juliet. Spears, for her part, earned some of her income by playing 75 shows in the past year. But much of Spears’ dough comes from endorsements and a fragrance line with Elizabeth Arden.
. Those three are the only actual musicians on the list (are you surprised by the lack of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga?) but also on the list are The X Factor leader Simon Cowell, who earned $90 million in the last year, and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest. You can check out the full list here.
. Did you expect that Dr. Dre would be a higher earner than most of these celebs? To be fair he only tops the list because he pocketed the cash from his headphones deal in the last year, but still we didn’t realize the rapper was worth so much. What do you think of Forbes’ list? Do you wish you have that many millions of dollars? Tell us in the comments.

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