15 Of The Highest Paid Celebrities Of 2017

Earlier this week, Forbes put out their annual list of the 100 highest paid celebrities of 2017. Now, everyone knows that celebrities make pretty insane paychecks. From getting millions and millions to appear in a single movie to raking in the dough at every tour stop they make, to the many endorsement deals and personal projects they undertake, there's no shortage of ways for celebrities to make money. However, the amount of money a celebrity makes year to year often changes. After all, they don't exactly get an annual salary the way that the majority people do. They're paid based on what they do that particular year.

So, a star who has been working around the clock on an endless stream of movies or a star that has been touring for months on end can obviously anticipate a bigger chunk of change that year than the celebrity who took it easy and only worked a little bit that year. It all makes sense, right?

Well, it turns out that the celebs who made the most money last year and the ones you assumed made the most money might not always be the same - some of the inclusions on Forbes' list are kind of surprising, so we've brought you the top 15. These are the celebrities who got paid the mega bucks last year.

15 Sean Combs

We know, we know - what?! We may have understood Sean Combs being at the top of the list when he was still Puff Daddy (Or P. Diddy - the man went through many aliases) and killing the rap game. However, this was apparently his year - according to Forbes, the music industry veteran raked in $130 million in the last year. Now, that's due to several factors. First of all, he had a Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, which means he got tour revenue that he doesn't normally get. He had a lucrative partnership with Ciroc vodka. And, most importantly, he sold a third of his Sean John clothing line. Honestly, we didn't really know how well the brand was doing, but if he was able to sell it for an estimated $70 million, it must be fairly profitable. Who would have expected Sean Combs to be back on top, of all the celebrities out there?

14 Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé comes in second in the list of highest paid celebrities of 2017 because, well, she's freaking Beyoncé. Of course she did. Bey pulled in $105 million, and that's due to several huge things. Obviously, the release of her album Lemonade was one of them, as well as the chunk of change she got when her chunk of the streaming service Tidal went up in value when Sprint decided to invest $200 million in the company. And then, of course, to support the launch of her hugely popular album, Beyoncé embarked on her Formation World Tour, which sold out quickly because, well - she's freaking Beyoncé. Now that she's about to have twins with hubby Jay Z, we anticipate Bey may be taking a bit of a break next year, so she likely wanted to get as much out of the past year as she could - and she certainly did.

13 J.K. Rowling

The first Harry Potter book was published in 1997 - that's a staggering 20 years ago. Two decades. We know, it seems like yesterday. However, with the success of the movies, as well as various spin-offs featuring other characters like Newt Scamander, and the upcoming film on Tom Riddle, it's safe to say that the world is still crazy about anything she creates. Last year, the successful British author earned just shy of $100 million - an estimated $95 million, to be exact. Now, while a large chunk of her income likely comes from the fact that the Harry Potter series still continues to get new fans all the time, a big reason she was so successful last year is because she co-wrote a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. She also reaped some of the rewards from the success of the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and from the popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.

12 Drake

Who would have thought this boy from Toronto would become one of the most successful rappers in the world? Particularly when he was just young Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation? Nowadays, Drake is popping bottles of the most expensive champagne with A-List celebrities and other superstar rappers, and loving life. Last year, the rapper earned $94 million, primarily from his big Boy Meets World Tour (musicians can generally expect to earn way more than an average year when it's a touring year). Drake also works with Apple, Sprite and Nike in various capacities, so he gets some dollars from them to. Based on how successful he's been at rebranding everything from the Toronto Raptors to, well, himself, it's no wonder that so many brands are scrambling to work with him. We have a feeling that this man from the 6 may just crack the Top 3 in years to come.

11 Cristiano Ronaldo

If you're not a huge soccer fan, you may assume that Cristiano Ronaldo is just another professional athlete. Sure they get the big bucks, and star players like Ronaldo and David Beckham get paid even more than most, but how much can they truly make? It turns out, a lot. Last year, the Portuguese playboy pulled in $93 million. Part of that is from a contract extension with Real Madrid, who agreed to pay him over $50 million a year for the next four years (I mean, when you have talent like that on your team, you lock it down no matter the cast). He also signed the dotted line on a deal with Nike that is worth over a billion dollars over the course of his life - again, they want to make sure they're connected with the superstar forever. And finally, Ronaldo's own empire, CR7, has been slowly growing, with the brand including shoes, underwear, jeans, fragrances, and even a line of hotels.

10 The Weeknd

Okay, we have to admit - while The Weeknd seems to be putting out hit after hit, and his new relationship with pop star Selena Gomez has made him a paparazzi favourite, we didn't really anticipate that he would crack the Top 10. It turns out that this Canadian cutie is more popular than you may have thought. Last year he earned $92 million, with the vast majority of that coming from his Starboy: Legend of the Fall World Tour, where he reportedly cashed in on over a million bucks for every stop on the tour. We imagine that makes life on the road a whole lot more bearable, knowing that a million bucks is coming at you after you finish each performance. He's been outspoken about how musicians earn money nowadays, saying that it really comes from touring rather than selling the actual music, so we anticipate this star will likely kick off another huge tour when his next album comes out.

9 Howard Stern

Everyone knows that this shocking radio host is bound to be around forever - after all, the public loves controversy, and his 'tell it like it is' style definitely fosters that. However, did you know that he earned a whopping $90 million last year? And it's almost all from his lucrative eight-figure contract with SiriusXM, the network that hosts his show. Stern will likely be continuing his show as long as they'll let him, so we have a feeling he's basically cemented his spot on the Forbes 100 for the foreseeable future. Not to mention he has a few projects in the works revolving around video streaming and a mobile app, so there's a possibility that if they work out, he may even crack $100 million one of these days. There's certainly no one like him on the air, so he may even decide to expand with another show, or to build his radio empire even more.

8 Coldplay

Sensing a trend yet? Coldplay has been around for years, but this past year was particularly lucrative for them - $88 million, to be exact - thanks to their Head Full of Dreams Tour. They travelled around the world, making over $5 million for every city they performed in, and those giant paychecks certainly add up. Given all the buzz and controversy over Gwyneth Paltrow's brand Goop, we can't help but wonder if Chris Martin wants to be extra successful just to show his ex-wife up a little bit. Sure, they 'consciously uncoupled' and all that, but we have to imagine it feels good to prove that he's absolutely killing it in his career. And honestly, given the fickleness of the music industry, any band that sticks around for over a decade deserves a lot of praise just for staying relevant and continuing to put out music people want to hear.

7 James Patterson

While James Patterson may not be someone whose books you read on a regular basis, he's an absolutely massive success. Last year, he raked in a staggering $87 million thanks to selling 9.5 million domestic copies of his books - that's absolutely insane! He also apparently got a seven-figure check for agreeing to co-write a thriller with former President Bill Clinton. It just goes to prove that, while certain authors get literary awards and critical acclaim, it's often the ones writing fun, exciting things that the average person wants to read in their down time that truly bring home the bacon. James Patterson may not be winning a Pulitzer anytime soon, but with tens of millions every year coming into his wallet, we have a feeling he doesn't mind at all. He may not be at J.K. Rowling level yet, but he's pretty darn close.

6 LeBron James

Even if you know absolutely nothing about basketball, chances are, you've heard of LeBron James. Ever since he made his teenage debut, the world has been obsessed with the superstar. He's a four-time MVP and brought his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, to their first ever franchise title in 2016. After bringing the team to the trophy, he re-signed for another $100 million, 3 year deal, and last year he earned $86 million. Apart from his massive salary for playing ball, he also has endorsements with brands including Intel, Verizon, Nike, Coca-Cola, Beats by Dre and Kia Motor. Yeah - basically every company out there wants to get a piece of the LeBron James pie. He also owns a production company, along with his business manager, and 17 Blaze Pizza franchises. Busy guy! We have a feeling his earning potential will just get bigger and bigger every year

5 Guns N' Roses

We know - we assumed that Guns N' Roses' most lucrative years were decades ago, back when they were in their prime, but again - never underestimate the power of a tour. Last year, Guns N' Roses raked in $84 million, thanks in large part to their Never In This Lifetime Tour. The group came together once again and travelled to five continents, playing tirelessly, in order to achieve the impressive feat of banking eight figures without any big endorsement deals. Considering how many celebrities make more from their endorsements than actually doing what they're supposed to be doing, that's no small feat. Of course, we don't really anticipate that the group will re-unite and start touring on a regular basis, so this may have been a very, very lucrative blip on their financial journey, but still - eight figures is certainly nothing to sneeze at, even if that is divided up between the members.

4 Rush Limbaugh

There are certain celebrities who are constantly flashing their money with extravagant purchases - but it's often the more low key individuals who are truly rolling in cash. This is the perfect example. Radio host Rush Limbaugh is almost as conservative as the other radio personality who made the top 15, Howard Stern, although he comes from an entirely different, very conservative point of view. And, of course, with the election of Trump, his show's audience apparently grew by 21% - no small feat. His $84 million in earnings last year came primarily from his contract with iHeartMedia, the company behind his show, as well as his children's book series and exclusive content for his subscribers. He certainly isn't someone that would have even entered our minds when thinking of the most highly paid celebrities, but again - sometimes it's the ones you wouldn't expect who are secretly signing eight figure contracts.

3 Justin Bieber

It seems that the world just can't shake its Bieber-mania. While many of pop star Justin Bieber's tween fans may have grown up a bit over the years, there are still enough fans - and new ones discovering the pop prince every day - that he's cracked the top 15, earning $83.5 million last year. He got impressive paychecks from his Calvin Klein endorsement as well as his JustMoji emojis, but like with basically all the musicians on this list, he made the majority of his cash thanks to his 105 live performances in the past year. It just goes to show that if you want to make major cash as a musician, you can't just hole up in the studio working on tracks, no matter how much you want to just focus on the artistry. You need to be out in front of people, performing, if you want your bank account to skyrocket.

2 Lionel Messi

Ronaldo isn't the only soccer player to make it to the top 15 of Forbes' 100 most high paid celebrities of 2017. And surprisingly, it isn't Beckham that makes the cut, though that's what you might assume - it's Lionel Messi. The Argentine superstar renewed his lifelong deal with sports brand Adidas, which makes up about half of his endorsement dollars ($27 million a year, in case you were wondering). He's due for a contract extension soon, so who knows - perhaps next year, if he can prove his worth, he'll make it to the top 10, or possibly even beat Cristiano Ronaldo. He made $80 million last year, so who knows - there's only a little bit further to go to crawl up the list a little bit. Perhaps a few more endorsement deals, a slight salary bump, and all of a sudden he's beating Ronaldo.

1 Dr. Phil McGraw

Yeah, we're as surprised as you are. While it's impressive that Dr. Phil has remained on the air for all these years, we never would have guessed that he would surpass so many other celebrities on the Top 100 list - and yet, he has. Last year, Dr. Phil raked in a stunning $79 million. Apparently, nearly all of that is from his television show - he pulled together a deal that puts a big portion of the ad revenue and product placement bucks from the show straight into his own pocket. He's also dabbled in other ventures, such as penning books, and producing other television shows including The Doctors. We don't know how much more he could have up his sleeve, but who knows - we're frankly surprised that he's making that much from the show. Who knew Dr. Phil was so popular?