Oprah tops Forbes list of highest-paid celebs

Published on August 28, 2012 04:35PM EDT

Image credit: Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic[/caption]

Oprah Winfrey is the highest paid celebrity in the world. Again. Despite a seismic $125 million earnings loss, the media mogul topped Forbes’ annual list of the 20 highest-earning celebs for the fourth year in a row. Winfrey ended her 25-year reign as talk-show queen last year and her network OWN has been struggling financially, but she still made an estimated $165 million.

Her Harpo productions shows, which include Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, and The Dr. Oz Show, her magazine, and satellite radio station helped her nab the top spot, but Forbes won’t count syndication money next year, potentially allowing runner-up director Michael Bay, who trailed behind by a mere $5 million, to garner the coveted spot. Bay’s last film, The Transformers: Dark of the Moon, grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide.

A sizable number of the celebs on the list are producers and directors, including Steven Spielberg, Jerry Bruckheimer, Dr. Dre, and Tyler Perry, who rounded out the top six. Dre made a surprise appearance on this year’s list, due to the incredible success of his line of headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre.

Tom Cruise (No. 13) was the only movie star in the ranking. Britney Spears solidified her comeback by tying for the last slot, while Ryan Seacrest, at No. 19, proved that he’s a fixture on every power list.

Here’s the full list:

1. Oprah Winfrey – $165 million

2. Michael Bay – $160 million

3. Steven Spielberg – $130 million

4. Jerry Bruckheimer – $115 million

5. Dr. Dre – $110 million

6. Tyler Perry – $105 million

7. Howard Stern – $95 million

8. James Patterson – $94 million

9. (tie) Simon Cowell – $90 million

9. (tie) George Lucas – $90 million

11. (tie) Glenn Beck – $80 million