Music

Dr. Dre, Elton John, and Britney Spears are the only musicians on Forbes' "Highest-Paid Celebrities" list

by Aaron Zorgel

Forbes has just released their “Highest-Paid Celebrities List” for the period between May 2011 and May 2012, and surprise, surprise, you’d be in pretty sparse company if you were a musician on that list. The list is crowded with media and movie moguls, but only boasts 3 musicians out of 21.

Even though Oprah’s earnings fell a whopping $125 million from last year, she still tops the list with a cool $165 million earned. She’s followed closely by Michael Bay, who earned $160 million in Transformer money.

When it comes to musicians on the list, it might shock you to learn that Dr. Dre took the top spot, earning $110 million. It helps that he made one very lucrative deal for $100 million, selling off controlling interest in Beats Headphones to electronics company HTC. Rounding out musicians on the list, Elton John earned $80 million, and Britney Spears took home $58 million.

It’s interesting to note that ex-Idol pals Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest both made the list, earning $90 million and $59 million respectively. Isn’t it weird that two dudes with their cash flow rooted in the music industry actually make way more than most musicians?

You can check out the full Forbes list right here.

I’m starting to feel pretty bad about my bank account, and wishing that Forbes would make a list of the “Lowest-Paid Celebrities.” Who might make the list? I bet that once all of the Baha Men split up their annual royalties from their former-smash “Who Let The Dogs Out?” they have about twelve bucks each.

[via Forbes]