The 10 Top-Earning African-American Stars

It says alot when a couple is 2 of the top 10 earners!!

Oprah Winfrey
$260 million
America's first billionaire black woman, worth $2.5 billion at last check, presides over an expensive media empire that includes her long-running blockbuster talk show, magazine and Broadway show ("The Color Purple"), plus pieces of protégées Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil. In January, the media czarina announced plans for her own channel, appropriately called OWN--the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Look inside for the rest of the list


Tiger Woods
$100 million
He's the top-earning athlete in sports, thanks largely to endorsement deals. Nike is his largest to date, but royalties from Gatorade's upcoming Tiger-branded drink could rival the sneaker giant's payout. Woods, 32, commands as much as $3 million a pop for playing overseas tournies. His fees from such paid appearances nearly matched his winnings over the past year.

Jay-Z
$83 million
The former Def Jam prez--he stepped down in December--cultivated stars like Kanye West and Rihanna, and himself returned to top the charts with Kingdom Come. (His latest album, American Gangster, tied him with Elvis for the second-highest No. 1 albums, behind the Beatles.) He owns a small stake in the New Jersey Nets, plus his 40/40 clubhouse franchise. Last year he sold his Rocawear apparel label to Iconix for $204 million. Did we mention Beyoncé?

50 Cent
$33 million
The former drug dealer presides over the expansive G-Unit empire, which includes a record label (Lloyd Banks, Mobb Deep), apparel, ringtones, videogames and even a line of G-Unit street fiction books. Soon after Forbes closed the books on its valuations, Coca-Cola acquired VitaminWater, in which 50 Cent owns a small stake. The deal net him another $100 million. He took on rival rapper Kanye West last fall in a record sales duel. 50's Curtis took second in first-week sales, though it went on to reportedly sell over 2 million copies worldwide.

Kobe Bryant
$33 million
The Lakers forward stayed put, despite well-publicized chatter about his frustration with the team and interest in defecting. "We have a really good situation," a seemingly content Bryant told reporters recently. In December, Bryant, 29, surpassed Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan to become the youngest basketballer in NBA History to reach 20,000 career points.

Shaquille O'Neal
$32 million
Injuries have caused the Diesel to average career lows in points and assists this year. Injured or not, the Miami Heat still owes Shaq $40 million over the next two seasons.

Michael Jordan
$31 million
He's arguably the best professional basketball player in history. Jordan, who turns 45 in February, has his hands in a variety of businesses, both charitable and for profit, including restaurants and motor sports. He also boasts a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats. Though it's been some five years since he retired, Jordan's Nike sneakers are still a $500 million business.

Will Smith
$31 million
One of Hollywood's most reliable box office openers, Smith, 39, earns upward of $20 million per film, plus a coveted stake of the film's grosses. No small thing--his last three films have been among the years' top grossing worldwide. Next up: This summer's action comedy Hancock, about a down-and-out superhero.

Beyoncé
$27 million
The 26-year-old diva and former Destiny's Child frontwoman is an endorsement darling, boasting deals with blue chip brands like American Express, L'Oreal and Samsung. Her last album, B'Day, sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

LeBron James
$27 million
King James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first conference title ever this year. When not on the court, James, 23, oversees construction of his 35,000-square-foot home outside of Cleveland, which includes a bowling alley, casino and barber shop. This year the cycling aficionado also acquired a minority stake in Cannondale, manufacturer of high-performance bicycles.



Just 15 years old and already winner of six junior championships, a young Tiger Woods told a magazine reporter in 1991, "I'm not out just to be the best black player. I want to be the best golfer ever."

Mission accomplished. Today Woods, 32, is ranked at the top of the sport, with 13 major championship wins under his belt. Between June 2006 and June 2007, Woods banked $100 million, more than any athlete in history. He is an endorsement darling, flashing that mega-watt smile for Gilette, General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) and, of course, Nike (nyse: NKE - news - people ). Presuming he continues to dominate the green, Forbes estimates that Woods will become the world's first sports billionaire within a decade.

He ranks No. 2 on Forbes' list of the Top-Earning African-American Stars, behind media queen Oprah Winfrey. Between June 2006 and June 2007, Winfrey, 54, pocketed $260 million. That astonishing salary--it works out to some $712,000 a day--crowns her not just the nation's top-earning African-American, but also the highest-paid entertainer in Tinseltown, black or white.

In Pictures: The 10 Top-Earning African-American Stars
Worth $2.5 billion at last check, Winfrey enjoys revenues from a string of successful enterprises, including her long-running daytime talk show (and stakes in chat-fest protégées Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray), magazine, satellite radio channel and Broadway show ("The Color Purple"). In January she announced the creation of her own eponymous network, a partnership with Discovery Communications, a unit of Disovery Holding Co., slated to debut late next year.

All the entertainers on the list are the best in their respective businesses. Will Smith, who collected $31 million, is arguably Hollywood's most reliable box office opener. His latest flick, the apocalyptic thriller I Am Legend, has to date grossed $542 million, making it the seventh-highest grossing film on the planet last year. Smith, 39, commands a hefty $20 million paycheck per film, plus a chunk of the box office grosses.

With 10 Billboard-topping albums, rapper-turned-mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter ranks second alongside Elvis Presley as having the most No. 1 albums in history. (The Beatles have the most.) And five years after he was the first overall NBA draft pick, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, 23, has already racked up an astonishing list of record titles: youngest player ever named Rookie of the Year; and youngest player to score 2,000 points in a season, among many other superlatives.

This list is a snapshot of a 12-month period ending June 1, 2007. Following that date, once Forbes had closed the books on its valuations, Coca-Cola (nyse: KO - news - people ) acquired SmartWater for $4.2 billion. Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson smartly traded his endorsement services for a small stake in the niche beverage company. (There's even a 50 Cent-branded energy drink called Formula 50.) His take: $100 million.

In July, Dwight Freeney, 27, became the highest-paid defensive player in football with a six-year, $72 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts, of which $30 million was paid upfront. Boxer Floyd Mayweather enjoyed his best year ever. He collected a total of $50 million for his May and December fights against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, respectively. Source