Ryan Seacrest Earned More Than Britney Spears Last Year, Says ‘Forbes’

You might assume the likes of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry would easily land high on Forbes‘ annual list of Highest-Paid Celebrities, given their tireless stream of hits flowing into the market. But not so, says the publication. In fact, the music mover, shaker and earner who landed highest on the roundup (at #5) is a 47-year-old rap veteran whose last LP was released in 1999 — and that would be Dr. Dre. Thanks to the line of headphones he co-founded, Beats By Dre, he pocketed about $100 million through his stake in the company between May of 2011 and May of 2012.

Of course Big O — aka Oprah Winfrey — is tops once again on the list, with an added $165 going into her bank account over the May-to-May period. See who else landed up high below.

Elton John‘s Las Vegas show, hit film Gnomeo And Juliet (which he produced and wrote music for) and royalties put him at in a tie for tenth place, just below music mogul/The X Factor creator Simon Cowell (tied at #9), who raked in $90 million over the 12-month period.

And while Ryan Seacrest (#19 with $59 million) squeaking past Britney Spears (#20 with $58 million) may surprise some fans of the “Till The World Ends” singer, consider the fact that Seacrest hosts American Idol,  covers news, sports and entertainment for both E! and NBC, and produces TV shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Shahs Of Sunset.

Look for Britney to move on up the list after her inaugural stint as judge on The X Factor this fall.

Forbes‘ Highest-Paid Celebrities ranking

1. Oprah Winfrey ($165 million)
2. Michael Bay ($160 million)
3. Steven Spielberg ($130)
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 – 10. George Lucas ($90 million)
9 – 10. Simon Cowell ($90 million)
11 – 12. Glenn Beck ($80 million)
11 – 12. Elton John ($80 million)
13. Tom Cruise ($75 million)
14. Dick Wolf ($70 million)
15. Rush Limbaugh ($69 million)
16. Manny Pacquiao ($67 million)
17. Dr. Phil McGraw ($64 million)
18. Donald Trump ($63 million)
19. Ryan Seacrest ($59 million)
20. Britney Spears ($58 million)