Forbes Top 40

The Forbes Top 40 was an annual list of 40 highest-paid entertainers compiled and published by Forbes magazine from 1987 until 1998. The following year, 1999, it was created the Forbes Celebrity 100. The list was published every September, compiled by using the income of performers over two years to overcome the year-to-year of a performer's income.

Forbes representatives said that those individual are "more than entertainers, they are businesses", declaring: "Not only do they create wealth for the entertainment industry and their business sponsors, they create wealth for the nation in exportable merchandize in the form of TV programming, motion pictures, and videocassette and music recordings".

Forbes Top 40 lists

Below is the top 10 for each year since the list's inception.

1980s

1990s

Statistics

Forbes reports and summarize

Forbes 20th-century lists were predominantly dominated by male figures. In 1996 alone, only four female celebrities made appearances at the list (Oprah Winfrey ranked 1, Roseanne Barr at 25, Mariah Carey at 33, and Sandra Bullock at 40). Winfrey, however, often appeared even above many individuals regardless of gender, which has been maintained with the inception of Forbes Celebrity 100 in 1999. Various musicians often dominated the list, although high ranks were not usually attained by female artists. Like Winfrey, Madonna was an almost premier exception.

On the other hand, lists were dominated by American personalities rather than foreigners. The Beatles attained the highest ranked for non-Americans. According to Forbes, after list' 11th anniversary, Steven Spielberg and Bill Cosby were the individuals with the most appearances at the top, with three each.