I don’t know why I feel outraged when Forbes‘ list of the highest paid celebrities comes out each year. It’s usually the same folks every single year, as wealth generally begets more wealth. But I always end up feeling slightly disgusted with the majority of people who dominate the list: Reality-show people, talk show hosts, and conservative talk radio people. I mean, it’s kind of sad that we reward the very people responsible for some of the worst television, and some of the most divisive people in entertainment. What does it say that Tom Cruise is one of the least offensive people on the list? Sure, he’s a wackjob, but at least he produces pretty solid entertainment. Some of them are not so bad (Dr. Dre, Steven Spielberg, Dick Wolf — who is raking it in on Law & Order reruns), but it’s mostly a list of people that I associate with the worst in entertainment.
At least there aren’t any Kardashians on the list. Yet. Here’s the 20 Highest Paid Celebrities:
Oprah Winfrey — $160 million
Michael Bay — $160 million
Steven Spielberg — $130 million
Jerry Bruckheimer — $115 million
Dr. Dre — $110 million
Tyler Perry — $105 million
Howard Stern — $95 million
James Patterson — $94 million
George Lucas — $90 million
Simon Cowell — $90 million
Glenn Beck — $80 million
Elton John — $80 million
Tom Cruise — $75 million
Dick Wolf — $70 million
Rush Limbaugh — $69 million
Manny Pacquiao — $67 million
Dr. Phil — $64 million
Donald Trump — $63 million
Ryan Seacret — $59 million
Britney Spears — $58 million
Tiger Woods — $58 million
(Source: Forbes)
