Kiwi filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson has topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid entertainers, having raked in a fortune due to the sale of Weta Digital last year.
Sir Peter pocketed a mammoth $868 million (US$580m) in 2021, with a sizable chunk coming from the sale of his visual effects company to Unity Software.
The Lord of the Rings director reportedly took home around US$600 million of the US$1.6 billion deal to sell off part of Weta Digital.
According to Forbes, Sir Peter is only the third filmmaker in history to become a billionaire, alongside Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
The rest of the top 10 highest-paid entertainers featured musicians like Jay-Z, Kanye West and Bruce Springsteen, with Dwyane 'The Rock' Johnson listed as the richest male actor at number four.
The highest-paid female actor, Reese Witherspoon, didn't even crack the top 10, with her US$115 million earnings placing her at number 12. The only other female on the list was Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, who came in at number 18.
The Forbes list of the top 20 highest-paid entertainers is as follows:
- Peter Jackson ($580 million)
- Bruce Springsteen ($435 million)
- Jay-Z ($340 million)
- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson ($270 million)
- Kanye West ($235 million)
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone ($210 million)
- Paul Simon ($200 million)
- Tyler Perry ($165 million)
- Ryan Tedder ($160 million)
- Bob Dylan ($130 million)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers ($116 million)
- Reese Witherspoon ($115 million) - HIGHEST PAID WOMAN
- Chuck Lorre ($100 million)
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs ($90 million)
- Dick Wolf ($86 million)
- Howard Stern ($85 million)
- Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane ($82 million)
- Shonda Rhimes ($81 million)
- Neil Young ($80 million)
- Greg Berlanti ($75 million)
