From music legends to Hollywood stars, there are plenty of household names out there who are taking home a fortune, and not just thanks to their careers in the entertainment industry. And it's not just actors and musicians: there are also TV producers and movie directors earning really big bucks.
From Reese Witherspoon and Ye to Dwayne Johnson and Taylor Swift, read on to discover the highest-earning entertainers and how they made their money. All financial figures are what the stars earned in 2021 according to Forbes, with all dollar amounts in US dollars.
Singer-songwriter sensation Taylor Swift banked a cool $52 million (£39.7m) in 2021. Swift evidently couldn't Shake It Off when her former label sold her music catalogue without her consent in a deal reportedly worth $300 million (£229m). Instead, she made a fortune from re-recording her old albums to take back control of her music.
The in-demand star also raked in cash from endorsement deals with the likes of Peloton and Starbucks.
While Taylor Swift made a fortune by re-recording her old albums, country singer Blake Shelton's payday moment last year came from selling the rights to his music catalogue.
He also reportedly earns $13 million (£9.9m) per season for his role as a coach on The Voice and also banked an additional $14.5 million (£11m) from his 15-city tour. Currently one of the world's highest-earning country music stars, Shelton pocketed $55 million (£42m) in 2021.
Perhaps one of the more surprising entries on Forbes' list, Californian music legends The Beach Boys made $64 million (£48.9m) in 2021 after selling a majority stake in their intellectual property to music executive Irving Azoff.
This means that Azoff now owns the group’s master recordings, the rights to The Beach Boys’ name and likeness, and a share of their publishing rights and memorabilia. Talk about Good Vibrations...
Last year, the shock rockers behind hits such as Girls, Girls, Girls and Home Sweet Home earned a cool $72 million (£55m).
Mötley Crüe cashed in big by selling their entire music catalogue to BMG in a deal that included the band's nine studio albums, as well as live and compilation albums.
Yet another veteran star to make a fortune from selling his music is former Fleetwood Mac legend Lindsey Buckingham, who earned $73 million (£55.8m) in 2021.
The legendary guitarist sold his entire catalogue to Hipgnosis Song Fund in 2021, including his credit on the fan favourite Fleetwood Mac hit Go Your Own Way.
While Greg Berlanti isn't a household name, you've most likely heard of his work. The showrunner is behind popular television shows such as Dawson's Creek, Riverdale, and the Arrowverse superhero franchise. The TV writer and producer has also collaborated with Netflix on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and You.
In 2021, he banked $75 million (£57.2m), largely thanks to a six-year production deal with the streaming giant.
Another icon to hop on the trend of selling their music rights last year was folk-rocker Neil Young. He sold 50% of his catalogue to Hipgnosos in a deal that included 1,180 songs composed by him.
As a result of the sale – which included hits such as Hey Hey, My My and Harvest Moon – Young's 2021 earnings were an impressive $80 million (£61m).
The force behind Netflix's hit period drama Bridgerton, TV showrunner and producer Shonda Rhimes banked $81 million (£61.9m) last year. She also collected hefty residual payments from her acclaimed medical drama Grey's Anatomy, which she created in the early 2000s and is now enjoying a new audience.
In 2017, Rhimes became one of the first-ever showrunners to sign an exclusive deal with Netflix, pocketing around $150 million (£114.5m). As of 2020, she is reportedly working on a dozen different projects for the streaming platform.
Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane were the showrunners behind the juggernaut 90s sitcom Friends, which wrapped for the last time in 2004.
In 2019, WarnerMedia spent $425 million (£324.2m) for the rights to stream the hit sitcom on HBO Max for five years. Friends: the Reunion, which aired in 2021, helped to further bump up the trio's income.
Howard Stern more than lived up to his self-proclaimed "king of all media" title by taking home a hefty $85 million (£64.8m) in 2021. The previous year saw the outspoken radio host sign a new five-year deal with SiriuxXM worth $500 million (£381.4m) to continue hosting his popular The Howard Stern Show.
Acclaimed television producer Dick Wolf is the man behind the behemoth Law & Order franchise, which has been going strong since 1990 thanks to various syndications and spin-offs.
Wolf earned an impressive $86 million (£65.6m) last year as a result of a lucrative profit-sharing deal with Universal Television.
Musician-turned-mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs still cashes in on his hip-hop hits, including I'll Be Missing You and Bad Boy For Life. However, most of his bucks come from booze: Combs has significant ownership stakes in both Cîroc vodka and DeLeón tequila.
He also owns music label Bad Boy Records as well as the fashion brand Sean John. All in all, he enjoyed earnings of $90 million (£68.7m) in 2021.
Showrunner Chuck Lorre receives millions of dollars each year from the syndication of his hit shows, which include Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. And despite earning $100 million ($73.3m) this past year, the "king of sitcoms" shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Lorre is currently working on numerous other projects, including the wildly popular The Big Bang Theory spin-off Young Sheldon, as well as Netflix's The Kominsky Method.
Reese Witherspoon reportedly earned a cool $20 million (£15.3m) in 2021 from her starring role in the second season of Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show. However, this impressive sum was just the tipping point of her earnings for the year.
In 2016, Witherspoon launched the media company Hello Sunshine as a joint venture with AT&T's Otter Media. In 2021, it was sold for around $900 million (£687.1m), and Witherspoon still retains a stake.
Responsible for tracks including Californication and Under the Bridge, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been going strong for over three decades now.
The Californian rock band sold their music catalogue to Hipgnosis in May 2021. Altogether, the band pocketed $116 million (£88m) in 2021.
The music legend raked in $130 million (£98.7m) in 2021 after transferring his recorded music and a selection of future recordings to Sony.
In 2020, Dylan also sold his publishing catalogue, which includes iconic songs like Mr. Tambourine Man, to Universal in a reported $400 million (£303.8m) deal.
Ryan Tedder is the frontman of pop-rock group OneRepublic, and a prolific songwriter. As well as having penned tracks like Apologize and Counting Stars for his own band, Tedder has also written tunes for other artists, including Beyoncé's Halo and Adele’s Rumour Has It.
In January 2021, he sold a portion of his music catalogue to investment firm KKR, and his earnings overall hit $160 million (£121.5m) last year.
Actor, director, and producer Tyler Perry rose to fame in the mid 2000s with his Madea comedy movie franchise, which has grossed over $556 million (£422m) at the box office.
Today, Perry is worth a staggering $1 billion (£758.9m) and he brought home $165 million (£125.2m) in 2021 alone. His fortune stems from having complete ownership of his content, as well as his vast 330-acre film studio, Tyler Perry Studios, which is located in Atlanta. He also owns a 25% stake in streaming service BET+.
Paul Simon is yet another star who profited handsomely from the sale of his music rights last year.
He offloaded hundreds of songs, including Simon & Garfunkel classics Mrs. Robinson and The Sound of Silence, to Sony Music Publishing. Simon reportedly earned $200 million (£151.7m) in 2021.
In one of the biggest deals in television history, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone signed a $900 million (£682.8m) contract with Paramount+ in August 2021.
The six-year deal will see the duo create new episodes of South Park for the streaming platform, as well as spin-off movies. Across 2021 as a whole, the controversial comedy duo pocketed a huge $210 million (£159.3m).
With a net worth of $1.8 billion (£1.4bn), self-proclaimed "genius" Ye is undoubtedly savvy when it comes to making money. After all, the artist, formerly known as Kanye West, managed to earn $235 million (£178m) in 2021.
Surprisingly, most of the rapper's money doesn't come from his music. Rather, it's from his Yeezy sneaker line with Adidas, which is estimated to have pulled in $1.7 billion (£1.3bn) in sales in 2020 alone.
Dwayne Johnson's bank account is looking rock solid following the incredible $270 million (£204.5m) that he made in 2021, and he's the highest-paid actor in our round-up.
Around a quarter of his mammoth income came from lucrative movie roles including Jungle Cruise and Red Notice, and Johnson reportedly takes home around $20 million (£15.1m) per movie. He also rakes in the cash from his tequila brand Teremana.
Hip-hop's first billionaire boasts a fortune of around $1.3 billion (£984.7m), and Jay-Z earned a jaw-dropping $340 million (£258.7m) in 2021 alone.
The hefty paycheque is thanks to his Armand de Brignac champagne and D'Ussé cognac liqueur brands, as well as his Roc Nation entertainment agency. He also boasts an impressive investment portfolio, which includes stakes in Uber and SpaceX.
Springsteen lived up to his nickname The Boss by banking $435 million (£329.4m) last year. In December, he sold his entire catalogue of songs to Sony Music Group, including classics like Born in the USA and Dancing in the Dark.
However, it's Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, who takes the top spot by a long shot.
Jackson banked an astonishing $580 million (£442.3m) last year after selling a chunk of his visual effects company Weta Digital to Unity Software for $1.6 billion (£1.2bn). The mammoth sale made him only the third filmmaker in history to become a billionaire, after Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
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