The list of the highest paid figures in entertainment has been revealed, and some of the top slots might come as a surprise.
Rock legends Genesis, fronted by Phil Collins, came out as the biggest earner on the list which looks at famous people's earnings to see who made the most money. The list, which was created by Forbes, takes into account celebrities pretax earnings, minus fees for representation - managers, lawyers, agents, etc - into account.
Despite the group being too frail to tour, Genesis took the top spot after selling their catalogue for $300 million apiece, putting them ahead of Sting. While Sting had a guest appearance on Hulu's Only Murders In The Building alongside Selena Gomez, Genesis took the top spot thanks to their estimated $27 million earnings from their remaining tour dates.
Sting also picked $300m before fees after selling his back catalogue to Universal Music Group in February 2022. This amounted to $210m (£173m) after deductions, according to the report.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's close friend Tyler Perry took the third slot on the list after earning a reported $175m (£144m) through a series of lucrative deals. The comedian and actor appeared in the Sussex's Netflix documentary, and revealed that he is the godfather to their daughter Lillibet after helping the couple out following their move to America.
South Park and Book of Mormon creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone came in next with $160m (approximately £131m). Following on the cartoon theme, The Simpsons creators James L. Brooks and Matt Groening took home $105m - roughly £86m.
The hit cartoon was created 34 years ago and ranked well in the top ten, thanks to a 2019 streaming deal that migrated all 30 seasons to Disney+ and put a previously unreported $105 million in their pockets annually.
The second actor to make an appearance as a high earner was Hollywood A-lister Brad Pitt for the first time since 2009. This comes after he sold a majority stake in his production company, Plan B, to European media conglomerate Mediawan in a December deal that valued the business at $300 million.
His roles in Bullet Train, Babylon, and The Lost City accounted for an estimated third of his income.
The Rolling Stones ranked in at seventh place after earning £80million thanks to their European Sixty Tour, celebrating 60 years of the iconic band.
James Cameron made his return to the top 10 after a decade out of the list. This comes after his Avatar sequel, The Way of Water, grossed over $2.1 billion in the box office to date since its December release.
The only woman on the list was pop sensation Taylor Swift after the release of her tenth studio album, Midnights, who earned an impressive $92 million. The 33-year-old’s back catalogue made up an estimated 70% of her pay, including profits from streaming and album sales.
This is the sixth time the Bad Blood singer has made the cut of top paid entertainers, after previously taking the top slot in 2019 following the release of her seventh studio album Lover.
Newcomer to the top ten is Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who sold $400 million worth of tickets for his US tours, according to concert tracker Pollstar. The tours were an expensive affair, and due to that Bad Bunny took home $88m in earnings.
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