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The guys (because there are only two women) on Forbes’ 2022 list of the highest-paid entertainers have not cracked those spot on the back of new work released this year.

Rather, most of their recent wealth has been made by selling what already exists or from selling things rather than art.

Just saying.

Forbes noted that almost half of the top 25 earners secured their spots in the 2022 ranks by selling all or pieces of their studios or music catalogues.

The Lord of the Rings director and filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson topped this year’s list after raking in a mammoth $868 million last year, largely due to the sale of his visual effects company to Unity Software.

Jackson managed to take home around $600 million of the $1,6 billion deal to sell off part of Weta Digital, making him the third filmmaker in history to become a billionaire.

He joined Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

In second place was Bruce Springsteen, who managed to secure what sources say was almost $500 million after selling the masters and publishing rights to his recorded music and songwriting, which included 11 multi-platinum albums and five gold singles.

The creators of old shows, like Friends and Law & Order, also cracked a nod on this year’s list as major streaming services spent some $3,7 billion in total to secure the rights to these hits.

Also, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker sealed a $900 million deal with Viacom, which wanted the 25-year-old hit for its streaming service.

The list goes on:

Jay-Z, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kanye West all grabbed spots among the top five with their own 9-figure sums, most of it earned not from rapping, producing or acting, but from selling champagne, tequila and sneakers.

Even the comparatively fresh-faced Taylor Swift, No. 25 with $52 million, made most of her money re-recording albums she first released a decade ago.

The highest-paid female actor, Reese Witherspoon, didn’t crack the top 10, but she made it on the list at number 12 after selling a piece of her production company at a $900 million valuation last August.

Overall, a majority of the 25 highest-paid entertainers earned a combined $4,4 billion (before taxes and fees) in 2021 without creating anything new.

Must be nice.

NewsHub put together a condensed list of Forbes’ top 20 highest-paid entertainers:

1. Peter Jackson ($580 million)
2. Bruce Springsteen ($435 million)
3. Jay-Z ($340 million)
4. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson ($270 million)
5. Kanye West ($235 million)
6. Trey Parker and Matt Stone ($210 million)
7. Paul Simon ($200 million)
8. Tyler Perry ($165 million)
9. Ryan Tedder ($160 million)
10. Bob Dylan ($130 million)
11. Red Hot Chili Peppers ($116 million)
12. Reese Witherspoon ($115 million)  – HIGHEST PAID WOMAN
13. Chuck Lorre ($100 million)
14. Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ($90 million)
15. Dick Wolf ($86 million)
16. Howard Stern ($85 million)
17. Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane ($82 million)
18. Shonda Rhimes ($81 million)
19. Neil Young ($80 million)
20. Greg Berlanti ($75 million)

[sources:forbes&newshub]