Forbes, revelling in its identity as a beacon of online financial envy, is once again back to deliver a whole new summary of just how much the world’s most famous people actually earn, and once again, it’s enough to shake your head in equal parts disbelief and rage.
Of course, once again it makes for fairly baffling but not entirely surprising reading, and to almost no-one’s shock, it was reality TV star-turned cosmetics queen Kylie Jenner who blitzed the opposition this year, raking in more than half a billion dollars from her cosmetics brand. The arguments surrounding whether or not she’s ‘self-made’ will continue to rage on, but there remains no doubt that Kylie Cosmetics has made Jenner a very rich lady.
The rest of the top 20 remains a parade of the usual suspects, with athletes, actors, musicians and radio hosts dominating the list. Check out the top 20 highest paid celebs in the world below (and a brief rundown of how they made their cash), here.
1. Kylie Jenner
Earnings: $590 Million
How they earned it: While the most successful member of the Jenner/Kardashian clan still makes considerable coin from her reality TV career, it’s the Kylie Cosmetics brand, of which sold she 51% to Coty in January, that made Kylie Jenner by far and away the highest-earning celeb of 2020.
2. Kanye West
Earnings: $170 Million
How they earned it: Kanye had a particularly big 2020, with a presidential run the highlight (or lowlight) of a particularly chaotic year. The highest-earning man in music, most of his income now comes from Adidas’ Yeezy sub-brand, which sold $1.3 billion USD in stock in 2019.
3. Roger Federer
Earnings: $106.3 million
How they earned it: the highest-earning man in sport for 2020, the Fed Express’s lucrative sponsorship deals netted him more than nine figures.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
Earnings: $105 million
How they earned it: Just pipping long-time rival Leo Messi to the post as the highest-earning soccer player in the world, it’s Ronaldo’s extensive list of sponsorships that make up for the fact that he took a significant paycut to move to Italian giants Juventus.
5. Lionel Messi
Earnings: $104 million
How they earned it: Boasting one of the biggest contracts in soccer right now, the Barcelona legend also boasts a healthy array of sponsorship deals, earning fat paychecks from the likes of Adidas, Gatorade, Huawei, Mastercard, and Pepsi.
6. Tyler Perry
Earnings: $97 million
How they earned it: the most well-paid person in the movie biz, Tyler Perry owns 100% of his vast array of movie and TV properties, often writing and directing his own projects. The most successful of these, the Madea franchise, has grossed more than $660 million USD at the box office.
7. Neymar Jr
Earnings: $97 million
How they earned it: as the talismanic forward for oil-rich football giants Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar boasts the most lucrative contract in soccer, paying him $350 million USD over 5 years.
8. Howard Stern
Earnings: $90 million
How they earned it: Still the world’s highest-paid radio host, shock jock Howard Stern pulls in eight figures as part of his contract with digital radio station Sirius XM.
9. LeBron James
Earnings: $88.2 million
How they earned it: LeBron James’ contract remains one of the biggest in Basketball, but the commercial clout surrounding King James remains unrivalled. He pulled in more than $60 million from endorsement deals with 2K Sports, AT&T, Beats, Coca-Cola, GMC, KIA Motors, Nike, RIMOWA, and Walmart.
10. Dwayne Johnson
Earnings: $87.5 million
How they earned it: the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, The Rock commands perhaps the biggest pay packet in Tinsel Town to star in a project.
