How successful is Oprah Winfrey? Try this measure: Her earnings power is equal to that of the creator of Star Wars and the Material Girl, combined.
With $275 million in earnings from June 2008 to June 2009, the queen of talk-show television lands the No. 1 spot on the Forbes list of top-earning celebrities over 50 years old. Her rank and earnings come as little surprise given the unparalleled power of her brand and media empire, but her track record is unique. The careers and earnings of entertainers are cyclical at best. Their schedules are at the mercy of production schedules, marketing agendas and industry executives. But since Oprah was first ranked on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 1999, her earnings have climbed year over year.
In Pictures: Top-Earning Celebrities Over 50
For one, Oprah's pop culture popularity has rarely waned during her television tenure. Aside from that, she's a savvy business mind who has been able to parlay her popularity into several spinoff successes. She bolstered her earnings and gained greater control over her endeavors with her own production company, Harpo Productions. She's also capitalized on her brand with an eponymous magazine, support of other talent like Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil, and an XM Satellite Radio program.
At No. 2 is George Lucas, the 65-year-old Star Wars impresario with a golden creative catalog. In the last year, Lucas earned $170 million, largely from back-end earnings from the fourth Indiana Jones installment and Star Wars rights.
Lucas, the man behind one of the most successful film series in history, is just one of an entire class of filmmakers who came to prominence and commercial success in the '70s. His USC film school friend and Indiana Jones collaborator Steven Spielberg is No. 3 on the Forbes list of the top earners over 50. The filmmaker earned an estimated $150 million in the last year from his stake in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and continued returns from previous projects.
Most members of the over-50 elite owe their high level of annual earnings to large stakes in the properties they've created. From Jerry Seinfeld to Harrison Ford and Madonna to Bruce Springsteen, the members of this list aren't just actors or singers, they're veritable stakeholders in the entertainment empires they've built.
As well, their decades of popularity have translated well to their bottom lines. Syndication rights, merchandise proceeds and ancillary revenue from popular television series and franchise films enhance annual earnings for years after their projects have disappeared from screens.
Consider Jerry Bruckheimer, the man behind television's CSI series and Pirates of the Caribbean. The three CSI shows mint money for Bruckheimer in syndication, meaning that even without a Pirates installment, he earned $100 million this year.
In Pictures: Top-Earning Celebrities Over 50
