Somehow, despite selling fewer than a million copies of her latest album, Madonna made it to the top of the Forbes 2013 top-earning celebs list. She has her tour to thank: It grossed $305 million. Merchandise sales, her clothing line and fragrance, and investments also helped get her to the No. 1 spot; Forbes estimates she made $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013—more than she's ever earned since Forbes started the Celebrity 100 list. The rest of the top 5:
- No. 2, Steven Spielberg, $100 million: Though last year's Lincoln and this year's TV show Under the Dome helped, a lot of that money comes from his vast library of past hits, which are in constant rotation on TV.
- No. 3, EL James, $95 million: 50 Shades of Grey, 70 million copies. Enough said.
- No. 3, Howard Stern, $95 million: The shock jock ties for third thanks to his Sirius/XM contract.
- No. 3, Simon Cowell, $95 million: Another tie for third, this one thanks to the X Factor and dozens of Got Talent shows (one of which stars Stern).
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