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Top 10 highest-paid celebrities in 2015: Cristiano Ronaldo, Taylor Swift, and...Garth Brooks?

Forbes released its annual ‘Celebrity 100’ list for 2015 on Monday, ranking the top 100 entertainers across the world according to their earnings over the 12 months. The list includes actors, musicians, athletes, and television personalities. Who came out on top? Read on to find out.

10. Cristiano Ronaldo

Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters/File
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, is congratulated by FIFA President Sepp Blatter (r.) after winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2014 during the soccer awards ceremony at the Kongresshaus in Zurich in January.

The Portuguese soccer player, the tenth-highest earner on Forbes' 2015 'Celebrity 100,' earned $79.5 million between June 2014 and June 2015. Mr. Ronaldo, who plays on Real Madrid and Portugal’s national team, sold his image rights to Singaporean tycoon and Primera Division club Valencia owner Peter Lim, ESPN reported Monday. Aside from making money on the soccer field, Ronaldo earns some serious cash off the field. He has endorsement deals with various companies, from Coca-Cola and KFC to Banco Espirito Santo and Samsung.

Forbes has released its Celebrity 100 list annually since 1999. For the first time ever this year, the media organization took a global approach, changing its methodology from using just US-centric metrics. Now, the list will look at the world’s 100 highest-paid celebrities, regardless of their nationality.

“The result is a more accurate reflection of the current entertainment landscape, a 21st century reality where Bollywood’s biggest stars (Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, $33.5 million apiece) earn more than some Hollywood A-listers (Leonardo DiCaprio and Channing Tatum, $29 million apiece),” Forbes said in the release of the list.

The ranking measures money earned from June 1, 2014 to June 1, 2015, before subtracting management fees and taxes. The figures are also based on data from Nielsen, Pollstar, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with agents, managers, lawyers, and even the stars themselves in some cases. The list includes actors, musicians, athletes, and television personalities.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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