Stern, Beck Among Forbes Top Earning Personalities

Howard Stern

Simon Cowell has managed to land at the top of the Forbes annual list of the best-paid personalities in entertainment for the second year in a row with $95 million. The list is based on research for the Celebrity 100 list, which looks at estimated earnings between June 2013 and June 2014. During that time Cowell still had U.S. X Factor money, but that’s only one part of his business.

Cowell earns big from X Factor shows around the globe in countries from Albania to to Vietnam. Cowell’s record label, Syco, has the rights to winners from all of Cowell’s shows and he has a huge hit on his hands with One Direction.

Cowell is also the creator of the Got Talent format, as in America’s Got Talent.  That format also airs all over the world and is still a hit in the U.S., where NBC relies on the show for a ratings bump every summer.

'America’s Got Talent' judge Howard Stern ties Cowell at the top of our list with $95 million. Stern makes most of his money from his lucrative contract with Sirius XM, but he gets an estimated $15 million per year from his work as a judge on the talent show. Stern’s contract with Sirius is up in 2015 but the company’s CFO says he expects Sirius and Stern will be able to hammer out a new agreement.

Glenn Beck

To compile the list Forbes talked to agents, managers, lawyers and other in-the-know folks to come up with estimates for entertainment-related earnings for each celebrity.

Glenn Beck ranks third on our list with $90 million. Though it may seem like the right-wing talk show host has faded from the scene, he’s actually been as busy as ever at his online site, The Blaze. Beck is the poster boy for taking a TV brand online and making a mint. His loyal fans pay $10 per month to access his video content online. Beck pads out his Blaze earnings on the lucrative speaking circuit.

Oprah Winfrey ranks fourth with $82 million. Though she’s still powerful, Winfrey’s earnings have dropped since she left syndicated daytime TV. Her OWN network is finally starting to turn around thanks to some original comedies from Tyler Perry and shows like Iyanla: Fix My Life.