Madonna shadows all other celebrities for annual earning

Madonna is the world's top-earning celebrity after raking in an estimated $125m (£80m) in the past year, according to a Forbes list released on Monday.

The pop star made most of the money from her $305m-grossing MDNA tour, but was helped by sales of clothing, fragrance and various investments.

Steven Spielberg, who had a big hit last year with his latest film Lincoln, was a distant second with earnings of $100m in the year ended June 2013. Most of the director's earnings came from his catalogue of past hits such as E.T. and Jurassic Park.

Forbes reporter Dorothy Pomerantz said: "Madonna's success, at age 55, just goes to show the incredible power of a successful music career." Pomerantz noted that the 10th celebrity on the list, pop singer Lady Gaga, 27,was often said to be channelling Madonna's four-decade-long career.

"The young star is certainly emulating Madonna when it come to raking in money," Forbes said, with Gaga's $80m in earnings largely from her Born This Way Ball world tour.

Forbes compiles its annual list of celebrity earnings using input from agents, managers, producers and others to calculate its estimates for each celebrity's entertainment-related earnings. The figures do not reflect tax deductions, agent fees or "the other expenses of being a celebrity".

Madonna's top spot compares with her previous peak of $110m in 2009, but falls short of the $165m taken in by Oprah Winfrey in the previous year, Forbes said.

Talk show queen and media mogul Winfrey took a big pay cut this year according to Forbes, falling to No 13 on the list with earnings of $77m.

At number three, with earnings of $95m in the past year, there was a three-way tie between 50 Shades of Grey author EL James, radio shock jock Howard Stern and music and television producer Simon Cowell.

Others in the top 10 earners included TV host Glenn Beck, director Michael Bay of the Transformers franchise and thriller novelist James Patterson, who Forbes said was now the best-selling author of all time.


/The Guardian/