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Power Rank 1
Pay $260 mil
Category: Talking Heads
The media queen is poised to conquer prime time this fall with two reality shows for ABC. For those keeping score, the Oprah empire already includes a blockbuster daytime talk show, satellite radio show, magazine and Broadway musical ('The Color Purple'). Oprah also owns stakes in hit talk shows by protégé Dr. Phil McGraw and Rachael Ray. In January, the nation's richest African American, worth an estimated $1.5 billion, realized a long-held dream when she opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.
2. Tiger Woods
Power Rank 2
Pay $100 mil
Category: Athletes
Woods is the first athlete in history to bank $100 million in a year, thanks in part to a raise he finagled out of long-time endorser Nike. (The sneaker giant's Tiger-oriented golf division is now a $600 million-a-year business.) He also signed a new deal with Gillette and upped his usual lucrative overseas playing gigs, where he can command, on average, $3 million a pop. Wife Elin is pregnant with the couple's first child, due this summer.
3. Madonna
Power Rank 3
Pay $72 mil
Category: Musicians
Madonna crisscrossed the globe last year for her tour, 'Confessions,' which drew over 1 million fans and grossed $194 million, making it the top-earning tour by a female artist in history. NBC cut the Material Girl a hefty check to broadcast the 'Confessions' tour live last November, though ratings proved disappointing. In March, the always-fashion-forward singer linked up with retailer H&M for her own clothing line, M. (Rhinestones a-plenty, but no cone bras.) Generated a maelstrom of negative publicity last year for her adoption of a baby in Malawi.
4. Rolling Stone
Power Rank 4
Pay $88 mil
Category: Musicians
Still gathering no moss, the Stones had the highest-grossing tour in North America last year, bringing in $139 million. They doubled that abroad. The 'Bigger Bang' tour, which kicked off back in 2005, has grossed $437 million to date, making it the top-generating tour in history. This time around, Keith Richards, not Mick Jagger, dominated headlines thanks to his star turn in the recent Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, in addition to comments made this spring that he once snorted his father's ashes. (He later recanted.)
5. Brad Pitt
Power Rank 5
Pay $35 mil
Category: Actors
The hunky actor monopolized headlines for the last year thanks his new role as proud papa with stunning partner Angelina Jolie. She gave birth to their daughter last May; 10 months later, the pair adopted a Vietnamese boy. Earlier this year, the brood relocated to New Orleans—paparazzi in tow—where Pitt was filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This summer, he stars opposite pal George Clooney in Ocean's 13, followed by this fall's The Assassination of Jesse James, alongside Ocean's co-star Casey Affleck.
6. Johnny Depp
Power Rank 6
Pay $92 mil
Category: Actors
Never before has a Keith Richards impersonation proved this lucrative. Last summer's PiratesDead Man's Chest, was the third-highest-grossing film ever, with $1.1 billion worldwide at the box office. Depp's payout: over $60 million. Next year should prove equally profitable for the low-key actor. The third Pirates sequel, At World's End, is on its way to at least match its predecessor, having banked $344 million in its opening weekend. Next up: starring role as the blood-thirsty butcher in this winter's film adaptation of Sweeney Todd.
7. Elton John
Power Rank 7
Pay $53 mil
Category: Musicians
Between performances of his appropriately flamboyant Las Vegas show, 'The Red Piano,' Elton John grossed over $60 million in tickets for worldwide shows. This year, he celebrated his 60th birthday with his 60th concert at Madison Square Garden, a sold-out affair that drew A-listers like Bill Clinton, Jon Bon Jovi and Sharon Stone. Theatergoers still snap up tickets to hear his music in Aida, Billy Elliot and The Lion King. John's latest release, Rocket Man: Number Ones, debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard charts in April, selling 50,000 copies in its first week.
8. Tom Cruise
Power Rank 8
Pay $31 mil
Category: Actors
After being dumped by Paramount last summer, Cruise, who topped last year's Celebrity 100, plotted his comeback (with longtime producing partner Paula Wagner) as head of United Artists, the moribund studio under MGM. UA's lineup: Lions for Lambs, directed by Robert Redford, for release this winter; Valkyrie, a World War II thriller, in production now. Cruise stars in both. Word is he'll join comedy kingpin Ben Stiller in Hardy Men, a send-up of the Hardy Boys series. On the personal front, Cruise enjoyed a decidedly quiet year with his wife, actress Katie Holmes, and their toddler Suri.
9. Jay-Z
Power Rank 9
Pay $83 mil
Category: Hip-Hop Impresario
While most of us pine for retirement, the native New Yorker couldn't stand the view from the sidelines following his 2003 farewell Black Album. Despite a busy schedule as chief of Def Jam, his comeback album, Kingdom Come, debuted at the top of Billboard's pop and rap charts. Owns a small stake in the New Jersey Nets, plus two locations of his 40/40 clubhouse. In March, he sold his Rocawear apparel label to Iconix for $204 million. Did we mention Beyonce?
10. Steven Spielberg
Power Rank 10
Pay $110 mil
Category: Directors/Producers
Produced Clint Eastwood's World War II epics last year, Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers. The critical hits performed only modestly at the box office, grossing a combined $173 million worldwide. Spielberg's big take on movie grosses (reportedly up to 50%) insures success with nearly every project he works on. Not that he shouldn't make a mint off his next films—sequels to Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park. He's also developing three games for Electronic Arts, and co-produced On the Lot, a reality filmmaking show, with Mark Burnett ( Survivor).
11. Tom Hanks
Power Rank 11
Pay $74 mil
Category: Actors
12. Grey's Anatomy Cast
Power Rank 12
Pay $33 mil
Category: Actors
13. Howard Stern
Power Rank 13
Pay $70 mil
Category: Talking Heads
14. Angelina Jolie
Power Rank 14
Pay $20 mil
Category: Actress
15. David Beckham
Power Rank 15
Pay $33 mil
Category: Athletes
16. Phil Mickelson
Power Rank 16
Pay $42 mil
Category: Athletes
17. David Letterman
Power Rank 17
Pay $40 mil
Category: Talking Heads
18. Bon Jovi
Power Rank 18
Pay $67 mil
Category: Musicians
19. Dunald Trump
Power Rank 19
Pay $32 mil
Category: Personalities
20. Celine Dion
Power Rank 20
Pay $45 mil
Category: Musicians
21. Simon Cowell
Power Rank 21
Pay $45 mil
Category: Personalities
22. U2
Power Rank 22
Pay $30 mil
Category: Musicians
23. Kobe Bryant
Power Rank 23
Pay $33 mil
Category: Athletes
24. Michael Schumacher
Power Rank 24
Pay $36 mil
Category: Athletes
25. Shaquille O'Neal
Power Rank 25
Pay $32 mil
Category: Athletes
26. Jay Leno
Power Rank 26
Pay $32 mil
Category: Talking Heads
27. Nichole Kidman
Power Rank 27
Pay $28 mil
Category: Actors
28. Ben Stiller
Power Rank 28
Pay $38 mil
Category: Actors
29. Alex Rodriguez
Power Rank 29
Pay $29 mil
Category: Athletes
30. Dr. Phil McGraw
Power Rank 30
Pay $30 mil
Category: Talking Heads
31. Ronaldinho
Power Rank 31
Pay $31 mil
Category: Athletes
32. 50 Cent
Power Rank 32
Pay $33 mil
Category: Hip-Hop Impresario
33. Brian Grazer/Ron Howard
Power Rank 33
Pay $70 mil
Category: Directors/Producers
34. Justin Timberlake
Power Rank 34
Pay $20 mil
Category: Musicians
35. Michael Jordan
Power Rank 35
Pay $31 mil
Category: Athletes
36. Rush Limbaugh
Power Rank 36
Pay $33 mil
Category: Talking Heads
37. Tim McGraw
Power Rank 37
Pay $37 mil
Category: Musicians
38. Roger Federer
Power Rank 38
Pay $29 mil
Category: Athletes
39. Jerry Bruckheimer
Power Rank 39
Pay $120 mil
Category: Directors/Producers
40. George Clooney
Power Rank 40
Pay $25 mil
Category: Actors
41. Kimi Raikkonen
Power Rank 41
Pay $40 mil
Category: Athletes
42. Jerry Seinfeld
Power Rank 42
Pay $60 mil
Category: Comedians
43. Sean Combs (Diddy)
Power Rank 43
Pay $23 mil
Category: Hip-Hop Impresario
44. Jennifer Aniston
Power Rank 44
Pay $14 mil
Category: Actors
45. Adam Sandler
Power Rank 45
Pay $30 mil
Category: Actors
46. Oscar De La Hoya
Power Rank 46
Pay $43 mil
Category: Athletes
47. Cast of Desperate Housewives
Power Rank 47
Pay $16 mil
Category: Actors
48. LeBron James
Power Rank 48
Pay $27 mil
Category: Athletes
49. J.K. Rowling
Power Rank 48
Pay $32 mil
Category: Authors
50. Jerek Jeter
Power Rank 50
Pay $28 mil
Category: Athletes
51. Maria Sharapova
Power Rank 51
Pay $23 mil
Category: Athletes
52. Matt Damon
Power Rank 52
Pay $24 mil
Category: Actors
53. Gisele Bundchen
Power Rank 53
Pay $33 mil
Category: Models
54. Vince Vaughn
Power Rank 54
Pay $25 mil
Category: Actors
55. Bill Clinton
Power Rank 55
Pay $7 mil
Category: Speakers
56. Gore Verbinski
Power Rank 56
Pay $37 mil
Category: Directors/Producers
57. Will Smith
Power Rank 57
Pay $31 mil
Category: Actors
58. Valentino Rossi
Power Rank 58
Pay $30 mil
Category: Athletes
59. Judge Judy Sheindlin
Power Rank 59
Pay $30 mil
Category: Talking Heads
60. Jessica Simpson
Power Rank 60
Pay $7 mil
Category: Personalities
61. Tyra Banks
Power Rank 61
Pay $18 mil
Category: Personalities
62. Anthony Robbins
Power Rank 62
Pay $30 mil
Category: Self-help/pitchmen
63. Cate Blanchett
Power Rank 63
Pay $13 mil
Category: Actors
64. Regis Philbin
Power Rank 64
Pay $21 mil
Category: Talking Heads
65. Sandra Bullock
Power Rank 65
Pay $10 mil
Category: Actors
66. Rachael Ray
Power Rank 66
Pay $16 mil
Category: Chefs
67. Alan Greenspan
Power Rank 67
Pay $16 mil
Category: Speakers
68. Julia Roberts
Power Rank 68
Pay $9 mil
Category: Actors
69. Serena Williams
Power Rank 69
Pay $14 mil
Category: Athletes
70. Michelle Wie
Power Rank 70
Pay $19 mil
Category: Athletes
71. Keira Knightley
Power Rank 71
Pay $9 mil
Category: Actors
72. Hilary Duff
Power Rank 72
Pay $12 mil
Category: Personalities
73. George Lopez
Power Rank 73
Pay $26 mil
Category: Comedians
74. Kate Moss
Power Rank 74
Pay $9 mil
Category: Models
75. Barbara Walters
Power Rank 75
Pay $12 mil
Category: Talking Heads
76. Ryan Seacrest
Power Rank 76
Pay $14 mil
Category: Personalities
77. Scarlett Johansson
Power Rank 77
Pay $5 mil
Category: Actors
78. Jessica Alba
Power Rank 78
Pay $9 mil
Category: Actors
79. Daniel Radcliffe
Power Rank 79
Pay $15 mil
Category: Kid Stars
80. Reese Witherspoon
Power Rank 80
Pay $7 mil
Category: Actors
81. Larry the Cable Guy
Power Rank 81
Pay $20 mil
Category: Comedians
82. Deepak Chopra
Power Rank 82
Pay $22 mil
Category: Self-help/pitchmen
83. Annika Sorenstam
Power Rank 83
Pay $10 mil
Category: Athletes
84. Heidi Klum
Power Rank 84
Pay $8 mil
Category: Models
85. J.J. Abrams
Power Rank 85
Pay $17 mil
Category: Directors/Producers
86. Dan Brown
Power Rank 86
Pay $10 mil
Category: Authors
87. Emeril Lagasse
Power Rank 87
Pay $9 mil
Category: Chefs
88. Wolfgang Puck
Power Rank 88
Pay $13 mil
Category: Chefs
89. Dane Cook
Power Rank 89
Pay $9 mil
Category: Comedians
90. Jack Welch
Power Rank 90
Pay $11 mil
Category: Speakers
91. John Grisham
Power Rank 91
Pay $9 mil
Category: Authors
92. Jeff Foxworthy
Power Rank 92
Pay $10 mil
Category: Comedians
93. Rhonda Byrne
Power Rank 93
Pay $12 mil
Category: Authors
94. Dakota Fanning
Power Rank 94
Pay $4 mil
Category: Kid Stars
95. Danica Patrick
Power Rank 95
Pay $5 mil
Category: Athletes
96. Mitch Albom
Power Rank 96
Pay $6 mil
Category: Authors
97. Emma Watson
Power Rank 97
Pay $4 mil
Category: Kid Stars
98. Hayden Panettiere
Power Rank 98
Pay $2 mil
Category: Kid Stars
99. Paula Deen
Power Rank 99
Pay $4 mil
Category: Chefs
100. Bobby Flay
Power Rank 100
Pay $2 mil
Category: Chefs sequel,
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