OPRAH TOPS FORBES LIST OF THE HIGHEST PAID CELEBRITIES AGAIN!

A year after retiring as the Queen of Daytime, Oprah Winfrey has continued her reign at the top of the annual Forbes list of highest-earning celebrities.

The 58-year-old Winfrey topped the list - which measures stars' revenues between May 2011 and May 2012 -- for the fourth straight year, despite a $125 million drop in her earnings due to the end of her long-running talk show in May of last year.

“It continued to run in reruns throughout that summer, so some of what we're seeing here is from the ghost of her show,” said Forbes LA Bureau Chief Dorothy Pomerantz, who compiled the list. “You're dealing with such a massive revenue base.”

Winfrey’s network, OWN, may be losing money, but her Harpo Productions has some spin-off hits with her proteges’ shows: Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray and The Dr. Oz Show.

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” director Michael Bay finished a close second with $160 million in a possible sign of the Apocalypse. Despite critical brickbats for the film, Bay finished one spot ahead of Oscar winner Steven Spielberg, who earned $130 million.

The highest New Yorker on the list was Howard Stern ($95 million), whose fortunes were buoyed by a lucrative deal to join the judging panel on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”

Donald Trump finished a disappointing 18th with $63 million, but doesn’t have to fire his accountants anytime soon. The list doesn’t include money earned by the mogul through his non-show-business ventures.

Despite the lofty numbers, it may not be easy for some of these celebrities to make ends meet.

“We're just looking at revenues,” said Pomerantz, “We're not looking at 10 percent fees for agents, the cost of their entourages or the cost of their private planes.”

The top 10

1. Oprah Winfrey - $165 million

2. Michael Bay - $160 million

3. Steven Spielberg - $130 million

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. (tie) Simon Cowell - $90 million

9. (tie) George Lucas - $90 million



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