100 Top Celebrities

[IQ]

Derek Jeter

#58

The Yankee captain is baseball's second-highest-paid endorser. (Japan's Ichiro Suzuki is first, thanks to cash earned in Asia.) His portfolio of deals includes Nike, Ford, Gatorade and a memorabilia contract with Steiner Sports. But it's Jeter's baseball contract that pays the bills. He is in the sixth year of a ten-year, $189 million contract that nets him $21 million this year.


Pay $27 million
Power Rank 58
2005 Rank: 38

Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
58 Derek Jeter 27 65 Physically Fit Talented

[IQ]

Adam Sandler

#57

One of Hollywood's highest paid funnymen, he earned a huge payday for the soon-to-be-released "Click," about a man who uses a remote control to fast-forward and pause his life. He settled for a much smaller paycheck for the upcoming drama "Empty City," about a man who loses his family in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The press-shy actor generated headlines this year with the birth of his first child.


Pay $29 million
Power Rank 57
2005 Rank: 50

Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
57 Adam Sandler 29 2 Funny Talented

[IQ]

Paris Hilton

#56

The celebutante has amassed her personal fortune mainly through licensing deals. Her name is attached to a perfume, watches, nightclubs and a new videogame. The "That's hot!" heiress is a master of the photo opportunity, grabbing countless press mentions thanks to a slew of high-profile flings, fallings-out (most recently with Lindsay Lohan) and fashion hits and misses. She boasts the most Web hits of anyone else on the Forbes Celebrity 100, although she's also the only lister with her own highly publicized (and downloadable) porn tape. Stay tuned for the upcoming album release and two film appearances.

Pay $7 million
Power Rank 56
2005 Rank: 55

Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
56 Paris Hilton 7 89 Over-Exposed Sexy

[IQ]

Ray Romano

#55

Go figure, but everybody still loves Raymond. A year after ending its nine-season run, Romano's sitcom is a top earner in syndication dollars, yielding him $30 million last year. He pocketed another $2 million for the sequel to Fox's animated flick "Ice Age," which made $600 million at the box office worldwide. Though he's not officially touring, he has reclaimed his standing as a stand-up comic thanks to ultra-lucrative gigs in Las Vegas and a handful of private appearances.

Pay $34 million
Power Rank 55
2005 Rank: 44


Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
55 Ray Romano 34 21 Funny Talented

[IQ]

Jodie Foster

#54

Last year's highest-earning actress in Hollywood . Foster, 44, banked big coin thanks to the stellar box office performances of "Flightplan" and "Inside Man." She'll appear next in another thriller, "The Brave One," in which she plays a woman dealing with a brutal attack

Pay $27 million
Power Rank 54
2005 Rank: NR

Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
54 Jodie Foster 27 12 Talented Intelligent

[IQ]

Ronaldinho

#53
The soccer legend captured his second straight FIFA Player of the Year award last season. He stars in an eye-popping Nike ad that has the "futbol" genius masterfully handling the soccer ball as though he were born with it. Fans buzzed all over the Internet debating the ad's veracity, before Nike fessed up that the spot's soccer ball trickery was digitally altered. No matter, since the spot had already been viewed online 12 million times since its fall release. Nike, along with fellow sponsors PepsiCo and Lenovo, are banking on Ronaldinho's emerging a bona fide star from this year's World Cup as he leads Brazil in its attempts to capture a sixth title.

Pay $26 million
Power Rank 53
2005 Rank: NR

Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
53 Ronaldinho 26 23 Talented Physically Fit

[IQ]

Tom Brady

#52

The NFL's golden boy cashed in last year when he signed a new contract that paid $26.5 million in bonuses during its first year. Brady soared from sixth-round draft choice to become the first quarterback in NFL history to win three Super Bowls before his 28th birthday. His unprecedented streak of playoff victories finally ended at ten this year when the Patriots fell to the Denver Broncos. Brady turns down many more endorsement deals than he accepts, but still finds time to pitch for Nike, Sirius and Visa.




Pay $29 million
Power Rank 52
2005 Rank: NR

Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
52 Tom Brady 29 39 Physically Fit Talented

[IQ]

Dave Matthews Band

#51

Last year's release of "Stand Up," the band's eighth studio album, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts before going on to sell 1.4 million copies in the U.S. Longtime fan Julia Roberts appeared in the video for "Dreamgirl." DMB's tour was among the highest grossing last year. (The band donated $1 million it earned on the road last year to Hurricane Katrina victims.) Through its Web site, called the Warehouse, DMB has cultivated a loyal fan base that gets early access to concert tickets and is permitted to record live shows.

Pay $30 million
Power Rank 51
2005 Rank: NR


Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
51 Dave Matthews Band 30 NA NA NA

[IQ]

half way done
Dick Wolf


#50
Brain trust behind "Law & Order," the longest-running dramatic series on television. NBC relies on "L&O" and its spinoffs for at least eight hours of prime-time television programming per week. And on any given night, channel surfers can likely find reruns of the franchise on TNT, Bravo or USA. But are viewers overdosing on the hit crime series? Wolf's most recent spinoffs, "Trial by Jury" and "Conviction," were both yanked after one season.

Pay $70 million
Power Rank 50
2005 Rank: NR


Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
50 Dick Wolf 70 54 Talented Intelligent

[IQ]

Will Smith

#49

One of Hollywood's most bankable stars. He lined his pockets last year with a share of profits from DVD sales of his hit movie "Hitch." Smith also had a big payday for the upcoming movie "The Pursuit of Happyness," which co-stars his son Jaden.

Pay $25 million
Power Rank 49
2005 Rank: 13


Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
49 Will Smith 25 3 Funny Talented

[IQ]

Alex Rodriguez

#48


A year of historic firsts for A-Rod. On top of his $25 million salary, he pocketed a $1 million bonus for winning his second Most Valuable Player award last year. Last year, at 29, he became the youngest player in Major League history to hit his 400th home run. He also set a Yankee record for the most home runs in a season by a right-handed hitter. The certain first-ballot Hall of Famer has endorsement deals with Nike, PepsiCo and Topps.


Pay $29 million
Power Rank 48
2005 Rank: 48

Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
48 Alex Rodriguez 29 84 Physically Fit Talented

[IQ]

Neil Diamond

#47

The 65-year-old crooner made a remarkable comeback last year when he paired with producer Rick Rubin--better known for cultivating hits for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica--to produce "12 Songs," which sold 514,000 copies in the U.S. to date. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Diamond has sold 48 million albums in the U.S. over the course of his career. Diamond's tour was one of the highest grossing last year, trouncing more contemporary acts like Green Day and Coldplay.


Pay $35 million
Power Rank 47
2005 Rank: NR

Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
47 Neil Diamond 35 46 Talented Distinctive Voice

[IQ]

COME ON GUYS WE NEED MORE THAN 47 VOTES FOR THIS THREAD. STEP IT UP :0

[IQ]

LeBron James

#46
James, 21, led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the playoffs for the team's first time in eight years. He finished second in the MVP balloting. Lebron-mania hit a peak this spring when the Cavs, on the back of King James, came within a game of knocking the powerhouse Pistons out of the playoffs. To commemorate James' first playoff appearance, chief sponsor Nike had T-shirts emblazoned with the brand's iconic swoosh and the word "Witness." The $20 shirts sold for more than $100 on eBay during the Pistons series. His Cavs contract expires next year, and speculation is rampant over whether he'll resign--league rules prohibit the Cavs from offering an extension until July--or move to a bigger market. Look for James to pad his wallet with a blockbuster endorsement deal with a yet-to-be-named technology company in the near future.

Pay $26 million
Power Rank 46
2005 Rank: 53

Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
46 LeBron James 26 38 Physically Fit Talented

[IQ]

Andrew Lloyd Webber

#45Rank Name Pay ($mil) E-Score Top Attribute Secondary Attribute
45 Andrew Lloyd Webber 56 77 Talented Intelligent