Celebrity 100
Inside Beyonce's Entertainment Empire
Lacey Rose, 06.03.09, 06:00 PM EDT
Forbes Magazine dated June 22, 2009

Beyonce Knowles is a perfectionist. That's how she rakes in $87 million a year.

On a crisp Thursday evening in late April a Cadillac Escalade barrels down a cross street in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, coming to a halt before the School of Visual Arts. Four-and-a-half-inch heels emerge, then the rest of Beyoncé Knowles, wearing a crowd-delighting, hip-hugging, black-sequined Balmain dress. Flashbulbs and shrieks explode from a gathering in the hundreds. The 27-year-old singer is there to promote Obsessed, a movie thriller she's been plugging relentlessly since the beginning of the week. Beyoncé works the crowd for 45 minutes before heading into the theater. With two bodyguards, a publicist and a stylist alongside, she takes questions from the press. Yes, she did get bruised while filming the fight scene. That hoax, where Howard Stern played a distorted version of "If I Were a Boy," making her sound grotesquely off-key--oh, that was silly.

After the premiere Beyoncé headed to a party at the Bowery Hotel. It had been quite a day. Call time at the Today show was 6 a.m. to rehearse and get made up for a live interview and performance. After that she appears on The View (11 a.m.) before heading over to tape Larry King [not quite] Live, followed by 106 & Park at BET. She has a few hours to herself at a downtown apartment.

That's the way much of her life has played out for the past 20 years--one reason she has sold upward of 118 million records, won ten Grammys, starred in seven films and headlined three solo tours. This year she will bring in an estimated $87 million from publishing and music sales, touring and other performances, film work, her fashion collection and endorsement deals. That diversified portfolio helps her land at number 4 on the FORBES Celebrity 100 list, a ranking based on income and visibility. Beyoncé constantly works and reworks her act, watching every two-hour performance on tour--even after her hundredth appearance--taking notes on how to improve. "I'm never satisfied," she says, adding with a nervous laugh, "I'm sure sometimes it's not easy working for me." Then, seriously: "I've never met anyone that works harder than me in my industry."

In Pictures: How Beyonce Makes Her Millions

Such diligence invites comparison with another 27-year-old at the top of the charts. Britney Spears is a study in contrast. After peaking early she has demonstrated a spectacular capacity for melting down. (Spears, number 13 on our list, is back on tour--and reportedly on medication.) "I've worked too hard and sacrificed too much to do something silly that would mess up the brand I've created all of these years," says Beyoncé. To say nothing of the jobs of the roughly 400 people who work for her or her enterprises.

Beyoncé grew up in a four-bedroom home in Houston's upscale third ward with her father, Mathew, a salesman at Xerox ( XRX - news - people ) (later at Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ - news - people )); mother, Tina, a hair salon owner; and younger sister, Solange, now a singer. A dance teacher spotted Beyoncé and encouraged the shy first-grader to enroll in her school's talent show--the first of three dozen competitions she won over the next few years. At age 9 Beyoncé joined and devoted every spare minute to an R&B group called Girlz Tyme, which didn't produce an album but did make it to Star Search.

Soon after, her father quit his day job to take over the group, imposing a boot camp regimen, cutting members and changing its name to Destiny's Child. Under his authority the band rehearsed for hours every day, working with a media coach, a choreographer and a voice teacher who lived for a time in an apartment over their garage. Knowles jogged with the girls as they sang, an exercise to build stamina, and booked them anywhere he could. "There was nothing too small or too large," he recalls--church services, grocery store openings, fashion shows, Six Flags ( SIX - news - people ). When it wasn't performing, the group was practicing. Unrelentingly. "Repetition, repetition," says her dad. "Beyoncé has always had such passion about music that she never complained about doing it again."

She still doesn't, judging by the number of takes she endured on a set at the Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, N.Y. It was 10 a.m. the Friday before her premiere, and Beyoncé had already spent an hour-plus at a morning workout with her personal trainer. She gave over much of the day to produce public service announcements and ad spots for the Feeding America campaign, an effort with General Mills ( GIS - news - people ). Beyoncé has spent considerable time (and money) on charities--she and her family created the Survivor Foundation to provide temporary housing to Hurricane Katrina and other disaster victims; she donated her acting salary from playing the once-drug-addicted blues singer Etta James in Cadillac Records (2008) to Phoenix House. This six-hour ordeal of radio and TV spots plus a print ad wasn't totally selfless: General Mills is sponsoring the U.S. leg of her I Am tour this summer. Concertgoers will be able to donate nonperishable goods.

TOP 10

The Celebrity 100

#4 Beyonce Knowles - The 2009 Celebrity 100

GAG B1TCHES!

DO YOU REALIZE BEY MADE MORE THAN JAY, DIDDY & 50 CENT COMBINED?

Rank	Name	Pay ($mil)	Web Rank	Press Rank	TV Rank
1	Angelina Jolie	27	3	5	3
2	Oprah Winfrey	275	4	8	2
3	Madonna	110	9	6	8
4	Beyonce Knowles	87	2	20	16
5	Tiger Woods	110	54	4	4
6	Bruce Springsteen	70	32	19	25
7	Steven Spielberg	150	48	26	48
8	Jennifer Aniston	25	6	30	21
9	Brad Pitt	28	11	7	6
10	Kobe Bryant	45	53	10	15
11	Will Smith	45	37	18	17
12	Dr. Phil McGraw	80	74	55	10
13	Britney Spears	35	10	16	11
14	David Letterman	45	35	36	9
15	Coldplay	70	64	17	57
16	Adam Sandler	55	25	43	44
17	Harrison Ford	65	13	48	75
18	Michael Jordan	45	19	33	39
19	LeBron James	40	58	15	27
20	Tom Cruise	33	33	13	19
21	Bon Jovi	50	20	57	50
22	Donald Trump	50	57	47	26
23	Rush Limbaugh	54	80	45	22
24	George Lucas	170	71	65	85
25	Simon Cowell	75	62	97	40

Rank	Name	Pay ($mil)	Web Rank	Press Rank	TV Rank
26	Stephenie Meyer	50	31	42	82
27	Roger Federer	33	56	3	20
28	David Beckham	42	63	9	59
29	Miley Cyrus	25	5	29	7
30	Tyler Perry	75	84	73	55
31	Kenny Chesney	65	79	75	41
32	Jay-Z	35	12	37	47
33	Clint Eastwood	35	41	23	43
34	Howard Stern	70	61	86	72
35	Sean (Diddy) Combs	30	8	44	28
36	Phil Mickelson	40	97	14	23
37	Jerry Seinfeld	85	83	82	71
38	Dave Matthews Band	65	67	74	74
39	Tom Hanks	35	29	46	46
40	Ellen DeGeneres	35	39	56	36
41	Eddie Murphy	40	23	66	63
42	Rascal Flatts	60	78	80	61
43	Jay Leno	32	73	32	5
44	Ryan Seacrest	38	14	81	49
45	Nicolas Cage	40	42	51	69
46	Kanye West	25	7	31	37
47	AC/DC	60	89	71	72
48	George Clooney	25	28	22	29
49	Barack Obama	2	1	1	1
50	50 Cent	20	22	2	12

Rank	Name	Pay ($mil)	Web Rank	Press Rank	TV Rank
51	Brian Grazer/Ron Howard	45	75	58	69
52	Kimi Raikkonen	45	76	28	100
53	Jerry Bruckheimer	100	100	95	95
54	Chris Rock	42	65	67	62
55	Ronaldinho	30	30	11	99
56	Jim Carrey	30	40	50	51
57	Manny Pacquiao	40	55	59	80
58	Sarah Jessica Parker	27	21	49	60
59	Toby Keith	52	93	87	65
60	Jonas Brothers	25	68	34	13
61	James Patterson	60	96	83	98
62	Kevin Garnett	30	87	35	38
63	Jeff Gordon	30	91	40	30
64	Meryl Streep	24	52	21	31
65	Larry David	55	98	93	93
66	Derek Jeter	30	85	41	52
67	Serena Williams	17	44	12	18
68	Stephen King	30	49	60	89
69	Taylor Swift	18	46	54	42
70	Daniel Radcliffe	25	17	85	87
71	Reese Witherspoon	15	24	52	56
72	Gisele Bundchen	25	27	91	85
73	Cameron Diaz	20	16	62	76
74	Nicole Kidman	9	47	24	35
75	Carrie Underwood	14	38	68	32

Rank	Name	Pay ($mil)	Web Rank	Press Rank	TV Rank
76	Maria Sharapova	22	15	78	81
77	Venus Williams	15	86	25	24
78	Heidi Klum	16	50	61	58
79	Rachael Ray	15	43	76	34
80	David Copperfield	30	88	96	91
81	Glenn Beck	23	59	89	54
82	Katherine Heigl	18	18	88	79
83	Jon Stewart	14	66	53	33
84	Jeff Dunham	30	95	98	97
85	Anne Hathaway	7	26	39	53
86	Tina Fey	7	45	79	14
87	Drew Barrymore	12	51	63	68
88	Charlie Sheen	21	72	84	64
89	Eva Longoria Parker	9	34	69	66
90	Ana Ivanovic	10	82	27	83
91	Alec Baldwin	8	69	64	45
92	Sandra Bullock	17	60	90	94
93	Steve Carell	20	81	99	95
94	Hugh Laurie	10	70	72	84
95	Wolfgang Puck	18	99	94	77
96	Penn & Teller	20	94	100	92
97	Kate Moss	8	92	38	88
98	Mariska Hargitay	8	90	69	66
99	Jennifer Love Hewitt	6	36	92	90
100	Danica Patrick	7	77	77	78