Even in times of the pandemic, the superstars of the entertainment industry do not have to starve. The business magazine “Forbes” has now published its list of the “Highest Paid Entertainers 2021”. At the forefront of the many prominent top earners is a man whose films are much better known than his face: according to Forbes, film director Peter Jackson had the highest earnings in his industry in the past calendar year.
Jackson is said to have earned a total of 580 million US dollars in 2021 – the equivalent of around 507 million euros. A large part of this proud sum is due to the sale of the company Weta Digital, which specializes in visual film effects, to the game developer Unity Software. The New Zealander Jackson, who is best known for the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” films, is the third filmmaker after Steven Spielberg (“Jurassic Park”) and George Lucas (“Star Wars”) to do it made a billionaire in Hollywood.
Music stars sold song rights and company shares
Many music stars can also be found among the top ten of the new “Forbes” list. Among them, Bob Dylan (tenth place, $130 million), Paul Simon (seventh place, $200 million) and Bruce Springsteen (second place, $435 million), three songwriters who have been successful for decades and who are presenting their catalog of rights Record companies sold.
Rapper Kanye West ranked fifth ($235 million) but made the most money from a sneakers deal with sporting goods manufacturer adidas. Jay-Z, another hip-hop star on the list (#3, $340 million), benefited most from stock sales by his streaming portal Tidal.