VIA MTV NEWS:
Jay-Z has already staked a claim as the next King of New York with “Empire State of Mind,” but thanks to a new ranking in Forbes magazine, he can now claim regal status in Hollywood as well. Jay and wife Beyoncé topped the magazine’s list of Hollywood’s top-earning couples thanks to a combined household income of $122 million between June 2008 and June 2009, acing out such fellow power duos as Brangelina, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith and David and Victoria Beckham.
The combination of Jay’s musical empire, Beyoncé’s chart-topping hits, movie roles and clothing lines and endorsement deals for both with companies including Budweiser and American Express helped the couple rake in more than any other power pair, married or unmarried, in entertainment. In case anyone in the household is keeping score, Beyoncé out-earned Jay $87 million to $35 million. It was their second year at #1, after snatching the top spot last year with a combined haul of $162 million.
Way behind in second place was longtime couple Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, with a combined $69 million, most of it from Ford’s $65 million paycheck for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and Flockhart’s pay for the TV show “Brothers & Sisters.”
Another unmarried pair, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, came in third with $55 million, thanks to hits like “Wanted” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” one of Pitt’s highest-grossing movies ever with $334 million worldwide. The other couples in the top five were Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith ($48 million) and David and Victoria Beckham ($46 million).
Among the other names on the list: new “American Idol” judge Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia de Rossi ($36 million), Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson ($35.5 million), Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy ($34 million), Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes ($33.5 million), Coldplay singer Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow ($33 million), Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick ($29 million) and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill ($28 million).
The figures in the story were based on interviews with managers, agents, producers and lawyers, who provided a picture of what the stars earn from movies, touring, album sales, sports contracts, clothing and perfume lines and endorsements.
