Highest-Paid Celebrities: Forbes List Ranks Oprah, Hollywood Directors Highest

Which Celebrity Is The Top-Earner?
U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey reacts during an interview in a session at the Jaipur Literature Festival in Jaipur, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, India, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey reacts during an interview in a session at the Jaipur Literature Festival in Jaipur, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, India, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

2011 was the year of the director, according to Forbes' Highest-Paid Celebrities list.

While Oprah took the top-earning slot, bringing in an estimated $165 million in the last year, she was followed by a slew of both "in-the-moment" directors and legendary standbys, like "Transformers" director Michael Bay and Steven Speilberg, who pulled in an estimated $160 million and $130 million respectively between May 2011 and May 2012. (Click over to Forbes for the full list)

The obscene amounts of cash that celebrities pull in don't just come from film, television and music projects. Many stars have endorsement contracts (some believable, some not), and some, like Britney Spears, oversee multi-million dollar product lines.

What we're really wondering is why Tom Cruise earned $75 million for another "Mission: Impossible" sequel.

5. Dr. Dre

The Highest-Paid Celebrities

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