America’s Rich People Still Doing Okay

Forbes has just released its “Celebrity 100” list, the annual ranking of the wealthiest entertainers in the world, (or, depending upon how you spin it, the least-poor entertainers in the world). The list–which is calculated by a combination of money and media power–includes such music-related top earners as Madonna (No. 3, $72 million), the Rolling Stones (No. 4, $88 million) and Jay-Z (No. 9, $83 million). But our favorites are the names much further down the list.

Among the bottom-dwellers:

– Ryan Seacrest (No. 76), who earned a mere $14 million, but who benefited from massive media exposure – Jessica Simpson (No. 60), who hasn’t done much of anything in the past year except date John Mayer, and yet still landed just a few spots away from Bill Clinton – Sean (Diddy) Combs, who is only technically still a musician, and whose $23 million earnings puts him far, far behind Jay-Z (and only barely ahead of Larry, The Cable guy)

Overall: Classic-rockers are up this year, while athletes are down. Take that, Michelle Wie! Elton John just crocodile-rocked your ass!

Celebrity 100 [Forbes.com]