The prestigious magazine Forbes published the list of the highest paid personalities in the entertainment industry for 2021.
Musician Bruce Springsteen sold the copyright and publishing rights to all of his recorded music and written lyrics last year, including 11 multi-platinum albums and five gold singles, for nearly $500 million, sources said.
The buyer was Sony Music, the parent company of his longtime label Columbia Records. This venture put Bruce in second place on Forbes' list of the highest-paid "entertainers" in 2021 - right behind "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson.
He made $600 million after selling part of his visual effects company for $1,6 billion, also last year.
Jay-Z, Dwayne Johnson and Kanye West were also in the top five with hundreds of millions of dollars, most of which they earned not by rapping, producing or acting, but by selling champagne, tequila and sneakers.
Bob Dylan is in tenth place with earnings of 130 million, and right below him are the members of the band Red Hot Chilli Peppers with 116 million.
The woman who ranked best on this list is actress Reese Witherspoon with earnings of 115 million. The "Big Little Lies" star sold her production company Hello Sunshine to private equity firm Blackstone for $900 million in August; but it still has a stake. The actress also received $20 million in earnings from the 10-episode second season of "The Morning Show."
Taylor Swift, who came in at No. 25 with $52 million, made most of her money by re-recording an album she first released 10 years ago.
The twenty-five highest-paid entertainers thus earned a total of $4,4 billion before taxes and duties in 2021, the vast majority of which did so without creating anything new.
By comparison, in 2020, the 25 highest-paid people earned more than $2,2 billion in total.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
