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The 10 wealthiest entertainers in the world

The 10 wealthiest entertainers in the world

The 10 wealthiest entertainers in the world

Three sports men, four musicians and a DJ walk into a bar. The barman celebrates.

At least, he would if the selected group of drinkers came from the following Forbes list.

The money-minded publication has updated its list of highest paid celebrities (don't worry, they're all "entertainers", not people famous for being famous), and the top ten makes for an interesting read. 

There's one novelist, proving that it's still possible to make money the old fashioned way, a radio DJ, a footballer - all topped off by a boxer who earned more in mid-2014 to mid-2015 than positions two and three combined.

Have a click through the gallery below to see how the earnings stack up.

(Images: Rex)

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr

Yearly earnings: $300m (£190.7m)

After beating Manny Pacquiao in the 'Clash for Cash' in Las Vegas, Mayweather took home the highest ever annual sum for an athlete.


2. Manny Pacquiao

Yearly earnings: $160m (£101.7m)

He might not have won the fight, but a payday of over £100 million and the disputed title of the second-best pound-for-pound boxer in the world means Pacquiao still had a solid 2015. 


3. Katy Perry

Yearly earnings: $135m (£85.8m)

With 124 shows in the last 12 months, taking place in 27 countries, all helping stimulate over 100 million worldwide single downloads, it should come as no surprise that Perry was the biggest earning musician in the world.


4. One Direction

Yearly earnings: $130m (£82.6m)

The only group act in the top ten, One Direction saw digital sales of their fourth album Four, a film and a series of sell-out gigs earn them more money than is good for them. We've no idea how much of it Zayn saw.


5. Howard Stern

Yearly earnings: $95m (£60.4m)

So much for the death of radio. The face of America's Got Talent, Stern's radio show and various media partnerships make him the best paid talker in the world. 


6. Garth Brooks

Yearly earnings: $90m (£57.2m)

You mean you didn't buy any Garth Brooks songs in the past year? Well somebody did. 


6. James Patterson

Yearly earnings: $89m (£56.6m)

An author? In the top ten biggest earning entertainers of the year? Well if you'd written 32 books in one year you'd hope to make a bit of cash out of it. 


=8. Robert Downey Jr

Yearly earnings: $80m (£50.9m)

Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed $240 million in China alone, helping Iron Man on his way to a payment of a little over £50 million. 


=8. Taylor Swift

Yearly earnings: $80m (£50.9m)

The second highest earning female entertainer in the world, her album 1989 shifted 3.7 million copies in 2014.


10. Cristiano Ronaldo

Yearly earnings: $79.5m (£50.5m)

Here he is. Sponsorship, a ridiculous contract and various personal products saw Ronaldo maintain his spot as the highest earning footballer in the world. Messi? Down in 13th, with an income of $74 million. Poor lad.