Every year, Forbes magazine releases the “rich list” of twenty stars under the age of 25. Being a rich list and all, it has a collection of sports stars, Hollywood regulars, and the Harry Potter trio.
Lebron James tops the list with $27 million. The 23 year old NBA superstar brought the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first Finals appearance before getting a sorry sweep from the San Antonio Spurs. Despite the setback, Lebron James is shaping up to be the true heir, apparently to Michael Jordan not just for his on-court heroics, but also for his off-court marketing and savvy. With multiple endorsements added to his $72 million dollar contract with the Cavs, it looks like he will be topping this list until he gets over 25 years old. Other sports stars in the list includes Reggie Bush coming in at number two, tennis star Maria Sharapova at three and Michelle Wie at four. Indeed, there is a lot more money in the majors than in Hollywood
The Olsen twins have always been in this list for a long time now and they come in at number five with $17 million each. The twins built on their childhood charm as momentum for succeeding projects due to their excellent branding. Carmelo Anthony is on the ninth while Keira Knightley is on the tenth with $9 million. The star of the hit movie series Pirates of the Caribbean has taken roles a lot more mature for her age.
Hollywood’s young and rich includes Scarlett Johannson ($5 million), Mischa Barton ($4.5 million), Dakota Fanning ($4 million), and Lindsay Lohan ($3.5 million).
With the success of the most recent Harry Potter movie and the franchise as a whole, its three stars all entered Forbes’ top 20 lists. Daniel Radcliffe raked in $15 million while Emma Watson and Rupert Grint each got $4 million. Music artists in the top 20 includes American Idol Carrie Underwood ($7 million) and Mandy Moore at ($3.5 million)
The list shows the leverage of sports stars even for young athletes. These stars are either the best in their respective games or good enough to rake in the marketing, especially if they are attractive and can play with any ball. A hot tennis girl that can really play sells higher. James, Bush, and Sharapova separated themselves from the field with more than $20 million in earnings.
We don’t know who will be in the next release, but my best guess is that most of them are not about to drop out.