Katy Perry pulled in $135 million to earn the No. 3 spot on our list. (Photo by Jamel Toppin for... [+]
Last week we launched the latest edition of our annual Celebrity 100 list--but for the first time since its inception in 1999, we ranked the list only by earnings rather than a mix of pay and power.
The result was a very different top ten from last year's version, with only three holdovers from 2014: Robert Downey, Jr., who jumped from No. 10 to No. 8 as his earnings edged up from $75 million to $80 million; Katy Perry, who soared from No. 9 to No. 3 and more than tripled her earnings of $40 million; and Floyd Mayweather, who vaulted from No. 7 to No. 1 while earning $300 million, more than double the previous record for an athlete.
How Katy Perry Became America's Top Pop Export: The Forbes Cover Story
Around the internet, the reactions rolled in from a wide range of outlets. "Katy Perry wants you to know that she didn’t think twice about putting on her dollar-sign blazer to the grace the cover of the latest issue of Forbes magazine for its Celebrity 100 list," wrote USA Today, weighing in alongside other outlets from BBC News to the Manila Standard.
Many of the stars themselves chimed in as well. Mindy Kaling congratulated Perry, while the singer herself wrote an explanation of what being on the cover meant to her:
Before accepting the offer to be on the cover of Forbes, I was told that a lot of women have previously shied away from doing it. I wondered if it was because they thought socially it would look like they were flaunting or bragging or it wasn't a humble decision. Ladies, there is a difference between being humble and working hard to see the fruits of your labor blossom, and your dreams realized. Hopefully this cover can be an inspiration to women out there that it's okay to be proud of hard earned success and that there is no shame in being a boss. Also... don't think that I didn't celebrate this moment by going straight to Taco Bell and getting my crunch wrap supreme."
Tacos weren't the only rewards related to the Celebrity 100 issue. This year we also offered a contest: guess the top ten earners, win a signed copy of Empire State of Mind, my biography of Jay Z (who landed at No. 28 this year with earnings of $56 million). The closest prediction came from reader jaris32, who accurately picked six of the top ten.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for deeper category-by-category breakdowns planned for the coming months, starting with top-earning authors, radio hosts and country stars this month.
Full coverage: The Celebrity 100
For more about the business of entertainment, check out my Jay Z biography and my latest one, Michael Jackson, Inc. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
