Oprah: Highest-paid woman in Hollywood

The sun is hot, water is wet, and Oprah Winfrey earns more each year than any other woman in the entertainment industry — as well as any other celebrity, male or female. Thus it is, and thus it always will be. Right?

Not necessarily, according to Forbes. Though Oprah is still sitting pretty atop the magazine’s list of both the highest-paid celebs and the highest-paid women in entertainment, Forbes warns that Winfrey’s number one spot on the latter could soon be in jeopardy. During the time frame Forbes used to calculate that list, the OWN owner was still earning money from The Oprah Winfrey Show. Now her old series is kaput — and since she has yet to take a salary at OWN, Winfrey’s only sources of revenue now are O, The Oprah Magazine, her satellite radio station, and the TV series made by her production company, Harpo.

Those properties are far from poor earners — but they can’t compare to Oprah’s daytime juggernaut. Factor in OWN’s financial struggles, and Oprah might soon cede her crown to a younger female celeb like Britney Spears ($58 million between May 2011 and May 2012, and that doesn’t count her gigantic X Factor salary) or Taylor Swift ($57 million). A pop princess overtaking the first lady of television? Say it ain’t so, O!

UPDATE: Oprah Winfrey parties with Jane Fonda, Alan Rickman as Nancy and Ronald Reagan in ‘The Butler’ — PHOTO

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