Sting and Genesis on Top of 2022 Highest Paid Entertainer List

The top two positions on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid entertainers for 2022 were obtained by Genesis and Sting.

Each of the two rock groups made $230 million and $210 million, respectively. The next highest-ranking star from the combined fields of film, television, and music, is Tyler Perry, who only has $35 million less than that.

Their main source of income obviously came from music catalog sales. Genesis sold the rights to their solo and group work (excluding Peter Gabriel-penned songs) to Concord Music Group for $300 million last September. On the other hand, Sting sold the same reported sum to Universal Music Group in February for the rights to both his solo and Police-era catalogs.

The final 14 performances of Genesis’ extremely successful farewell tour in 2022 increased their revenue, and Sting’s My Songs tour visited more than 114 cities throughout the globe, which also added to his worth.

Meanwhile, the only other rock act to make the Top 10 was The Rolling Stones, who brought in $98 million partly as a result of their 60th-anniversary tour of Europe. On the 14-date tour, it is believed that the band earned $8.5 million on average for each performance.

Forbes noted that the figures shown on the list indicate their pretax earnings for 2022 less management, legal, and/or agency fees and/or business operating expenses.

2022’s Top 10 Highest-Paid Entertainers

1. Genesis – $230 million
2. Sting – $210 million
3. Tyler Perry – $175 million
4. Trey Parker and Matt Stone – $160 million
5. James L. Brooks and Matt Groening – $105 million
6. Brad Pitt – $100 million
7. Rolling Stones – $98 million
8. James Cameron – $95 million
9. Taylor Swift – $92 million
10. Bad Bunny – $88 million