Tied for #4: Tying for fourth place on our
highest-paid list is Ellen DeGeneres who earned $53 million between May 2011
and May 2012. With Oprah Winfrey off of daytime TV, DeGeneres is quickly
becoming the most popular syndicated talk show host. Like Winfrey, DeGeneres is
building her own roster of protégé hosts with their own shows. She's started
with Bethenny Frankel, whose show had a six week test run this summer.
DeGeneres is also one of the smartest business people around. JC Penney paid
her a reported $20 million to be the face of the company's new, hipper image.
Tied for #4: Pop princess Rihanna ranks fourth
with $53 million. The Barbados-born singer debuted on our Celebrity 100 list
this year in fourth place. The celebrity list measures a mix of money and fame
that includes each star's presence in social media. Rihanna ranked second
overall in social media, thanks to her 26 million Twitter followers and 60
million Facebook fans.
#3: Our third ranked woman, Taylor
Swift, also makes plenty of money off of touring. She earned an estimated $57
million between May 2011 and May 2012. At 22, Swift is the youngest woman on
our list. The country music/pop crossover star has an amazing ability to churn
out hits. Her two most recent singles, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back
Together" and "Safe & Sound" have both gone platinum.
#2: Britney Spears earned an estimated
$58 million between May 2011 and May 2012. Television and music were the best
ways for women to make our highest-paid list this year and Spears earns from
both. As the newest judge on "The X Factor," Spears is earning praise
for her tough criticism of early contestants but she hasn't helped the ratings.
The show's premier earlier this month was down 32% from last year's premier.
Spears signed on to "The X Factor" for an estimated $15 million after
our time frame so the $58 million she brought in is mostly from touring and
album sales which are still lucrative for the 30-year-old pop star.
#1: Although she's no longer on syndicated
TV, Oprah Winfrey still seems to be everywhere. She's got three shows on her
still struggling OWN Network, her face still graces the cover of every O
magazine and she recently appeared on the cover of our Forbes 400 issue. Now
she tops our list of
has an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion, earned an estimated $165 million
between May 2011 and May 2012.
