Forbes Unveils List Of America’s Highest-Paid Artists In 2022

The 25 highest-paid entertainers brought in a combined $4.4 billion before taxes and fees in 2021. That’s double the $2.2 billion the top 25 celebrities earned in 2020.

The list starts like this:

1. Peter Jackson ($580 million)

Director of The Lord of the rings he sold part of his visual effects firm Weta Digital to Unity Software for $1.6 billion in November, making him the third person in history to become a billionaire (after Steven Spielberg and George Lucas) making movies.

2. Bruce Springsteen ($435 million)

The Boss downloaded all of his work to his Sony Music label in December. The sale, estimated at nearly $500 million, included five decades of iconic songs, recordings and songwriting credits from 20 studio albums, multiple box sets and live recordings.

3. Jay-Z ($340 million)

Hiphop’s first billionaire showed off his business chops in 2021, when he cashed in stakes in music streamer Tidal and champagne brand Armand de Brignac.

4. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson ($270 million)

One of the few actors to do the ranking This year, The Rock made only about a quarter of his earnings from roles in movies like Jungle Cruise Y Red Noticeand most of its Jumanji-sized payday comes from its Teremana brand of tequila.

5. Kanye West ($235 million)

The billionaire rapper and producer now makes most of his money from a multi-year contract to design Yeezy sneakers for Adidas. His first Yeezys designed for Gap (a hoodie and jacket) arrived last year and quickly sold out. But the 52-year-old brand wants more and is reportedly frustrated by the slow launch.

6. Matt Stone and Trey Parker ($210 million)

shocking. Funny. And cheap to do. The creators of South Park, and its offshoots, oversee a cottage industry that now brings in more than $80 million a year. In August, they signed a six-year, $900 million deal with Paramount+.

7. Paul Simon ($200 million)

the musician of folk rock sold hundreds of song compositions, including Mrs Robinson, 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) Y The Sound of Silence to Sony Music Publishing for about $250 million in March.

8. Tyler Perry ($165 million)

The billionaire creator and do-it-all actor is bringing back the Madea franchise that made him famous. But everything he built is what makes most of his money, from a multi-year production deal with BET to the 330-acreCK production studio, where he works in Atlanta.

9. Ryan Tedder ($160 million)

In addition to the more than 500 songs he has written for his own band, the OneRepublic frontman has written hits for Beyoncé, Adele and Ed Sheeran. He sold a portion of the catalog to investment firm KKR in January.

10. Bob Dylan ($130 million)

The 80-year-old 2016 Nobel laureate transferred his recorded music and some future recordings to Sony in July for $150 million. That was on the heels of a $400 million mega-deal in 2020 to sell its publishing catalog to Universal.

The list continues with:

• eleven. Red Hot Chili Peppers: $116 million
• 12. Reese Witherspoon: $115 million
• 13. Chuck Lorre: $100 million
• 14. Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: $90 million
• fifteen. Dick Wolf: $86 million
• 16. Howard Stern: $85 million
• 17. The executive producers of friends: Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, David Crane: $82 million
• 18. Shonda Rhimes: $81 million
• 19. Neil Young: $80 million
• twenty. Greg Berlanti: $75 million
• twenty-one. Lindsey Buckingham: $73 million
• 22. Motley Crue: $72 million
• 23. Beach Boys: $64 million
• 24. Blake Shelton: $55 million
• 25. Taylor Swift: $52 million