Getty Image / Rob Carr
Are you ready to feel extremely poor? I certainly feel that way after reading about how wealthy the top 10 richest celebrities in America are. The list is topped by two directors which isn’t at all surprising once you see their names.
Also on the list are two rappers, a magician, an author, a Reality TV show star, and then we’ve got Oprah. I’m not quite sure what category she falls into but since she initially came to fame as a talk show host and that’s what she’s best known for I figured that was the safest category to lump her into despite also being an insanely successful author, public speaker, publisher, and everything else a mogul does.
Combined, America’s 10 richest celebrities have a net worth of $5.4 billion. I’m a bit confused when and where Forbes decides someone is and isn’t a celebrity. For instance, you could argue that Elon Musk is first and foremost a celebrity these days. I guess you could also argue that he’s not American because he has a South African passport despite living in the USA and paying (??) taxes here. Here’s their methodology:
This list uses net worth earnings previously published for the Forbes 400, Billionaires list and ranking of America’s Richest Self-Made Women. Celebrities not on those lists were valued through private company stakes and publicly traded assets. Real estate, art and other assets were also factored in where applicable. For entertainers without such holdings, we based estimates on net lifetime earnings after taxes and spending. Eligibility was limited to American citizens who’ve gotten rich off their fame, rather than become famous for their wealth. (via)
Got it? It’s all an estimate. There’s no such thing as an exact science when trying to tally up billions in net worth because there are so many assets to combine with fluctuating values. Still, it’s insane to see Kylie goddamn Jenner at #5 on this list tied with Jay-Z, and Beyoncé isn’t even in the top 10.
1. George Lucas
Net worth: $5.4 billion2. Steven Spielberg
$3.7 billion3. Oprah Winfrey
$2.8 billion4. Michael Jordan
$1.7 billion5. (tie) Kylie Jenner
$900 million5. (tie) Jay-Z
$900 million7. David Copperfield
$875 million8. Diddy
$825 million9. (tie) Tiger Woods
$800 million9. (tie) James Patterson
$800 million
There was a time when Tiger Woods was a billionaire, a time before his divorce and subsequently getting dropped from almost all of his major sponsors. It looks like times are changing and Tiger Woods is slowly climbing back up the list. I suspect within the next 10 years he’ll be the #1 athlete on this list ahead of Michael Jordan.
At some point the world has to stop spending money on David Copperfield, right? He has massive real estate holdings and performs exclusive shows at his islands in The Bahamas as well as the residency in Las Vegas but it’s not like millennials give a shit about him. David Blaine will certainly take the mantle at some point, won’t he?