Forbes' Celebrity 100 Legacy: How Stars Turned Fame Into Equity, From Casamigos to Yeezy
For over twenty years, Forbes monitored earnings in the entertainment industry through its Celebrity 100, which assessed pretax income from touring, television, film, endorsements, and other business ventures, concluding the ranking after 2020. Notably, Kanye West (Ye) topped the list in 2020 with $170 million from his collaboration with Adidas on Yeezy, which ended in October 2022 due to his antisemitic comments. In 2018, George Clooney made $239 million from Diageo's acquisition of Casamigos. Taylor Swift was the highest earner in 2016 ($170 million) and 2019 ($185 million). Dwayne Johnson earned $89.4 million in 2019, while Elton John made $84 million. Ed Sheeran's Divide tour grossed over $775 million, and Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour brought in over $500 million in 2023.
Key facts
- Forbes retired the Celebrity 100 as a standalone annual package after 2020
- Kanye West topped Forbes' 2020 ranking with estimated pretax earnings of $170 million, nearly all from Yeezy
- Adidas ended its Yeezy partnership in October 2022 after West's antisemitic remarks
- George Clooney's 2018 total of $239 million came almost entirely from the Casamigos sale to Diageo
- Diageo's Casamigos deal was valued at up to $1 billion, with $700 million upfront and $300 million in earnout
- Taylor Swift topped the ranking in 2016 at $170 million and in 2019 at $185 million
- Ed Sheeran's Divide tour grossed above $775 million, surpassing U2's 360° Tour record
- Forbes named Jay-Z hip-hop's first billionaire in 2019 and Oprah Winfrey the first Black woman billionaire in 2003
Entities
Artists
- Kanye West
- Ye
- Taylor Swift
- George Clooney
- Dwayne Johnson
- Elton John
- Ed Sheeran
- Jay-Z
- Shawn Carter
- Oprah Winfrey
- Beyoncé
- Ryan Reynolds
- Rande Gerber
- Mike Meldman
- Dany Garcia
- Kevin Hart
- Jack Black
- Karen Gillan
- Taron Egerton
- Justin Bieber
- Cher
- Rob McElhenney
Institutions
- Forbes
- Adidas
- Nike
- Jordan Brand
- Def Jam
- G.O.O.D. Music
- Anti-Defamation League
- Republic Records
- Universal Music Group
- Big Machine Label Group
- Diageo
- Casamigos
- Johnnie Walker
- Don Julio
- Seven Bucks Productions
- HBO
- Under Armour
- Zoa
- RedBird Capital
- XFL
- Roc Nation
- Armand de Brignac
- D'Ussé
- Bacardi
- Moët Hennessy
- Tidal
- Square
- Block
- Uber
- NFL
- Harpo Productions
- The Oprah Winfrey Show
- Oxygen
- OWN
- Discovery Communications
- Weight Watchers
- Parkwood Entertainment
- AMC Theatres
- Netflix
- Maximum Effort
- Mint Mobile
- T-Mobile
- Wrexham AFC
- FX
- Billboard
- Quartz
Locations
- Stockholm
- Sweden
- Kansas City
- United States
- Coachella
- Wrexham
- Wales
- United Kingdom
Sources
- Quartz —