It was the famous clinical
psychologist and celebrity researcher
Jim Houran who once said that
“powerful people tend to gravitate
toward other powerful people.”
When it comes to celebrity couples,
one plus one equals millions – $283
million, to be precise, the estimated
combined sum earned by The
World’s Highest-Paid Celebrity
Couples between May 2010 and
May 2011, according to data from
the latest Celebrity 100 list.
Coming first on our ranking is the
powerful duo formed by supermodel
Gisele Bundchen and NFL superstar
Tom Brady. Thanks to a monster
year filled with fashion and
endorsement deals, not to mention a
few business ventures that could put
her on the road to becoming the
world’s first billionaire supermodel,
Bundchen pocketed a massive $45
million over the 12-month period.
Not to be overshadowed by his more
famous wife, Brady – who signed a
four-year, $72 million contract
extension in September with the New
England Patriots, NFL’s richest deal
on an annual basis – brought home
another $31 million, putting the
couple’s combined annual earnings at
$76 million.
Music’s most powerful couple,
Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z hauled
in some $72 million over the past
year, making them No. 2 on our list.
The Houston-born R&B diva pulled in
$35 million, thanks mostly to
business-focused deals such as a
clothing line with Dereon and
endorsement deals with L’Oreal,
DirecTV, General Mills and others. As
for Jay-Z, his earnings come from
the 10-year $150 million Live Nation
deal that he signed in 2008 and the
cash he collects as a shareholder in
New Jersey Nets, 40/40 Club chain
and ad firm Translation.
Hollywood royalty Angelina Jolie and
Brad Pitt came in third place on our
list, with a combined $50 million
annual income. The highest-paid
actress in the world is the only
woman making bank for playing
action heroes in Tinseltown these
days: Salt, which was originally
written for Tom Cruise, earned $300
million at the box office. Her other
movie from last year, The Tourist,
made another $280 million
worldwide. As a result, Jolie folded
about $30 million last year, while her
husband, Brad Pitt, cashed in some
$20 million. With his Plan B
production company, Pitt has
become as active a producer as he is
an actor. But don’t write him off the
big screen just yet, as his latest
movie appearance (on Terrence
Malick’s The Tree Of Life) is already
generating Oscar buzz.
Apart from the fact that he is yet to
popularize soccer in America, David
Beckham, along with his former Spice
Girl wife Victoria, are the world’s
fourth Highest-Paid Celebrity couple,
with combined earnings of $45 million
between May 2010 and May 2011.
Beckham’s pitch prowess has
declined in recent years as the 36-
year-old’s career winds down, but he
still collects big endorsement checks
from companies like Adidas and,
more recently, Samsung, for which
he will be the global brand
ambassador during the 2012
Olympic Games in London. His pay
check last year: $40 million. Victoria,
which is better known on this side of
the Atlantic by her nickname Posh,
responds for the other $5 million
from the couple’s annual income,
thanks to the percentage of sales
that she collects from her fashion
lines of wool dresses and $3,000
purses.
Coming last, but not least, is
Twilight’s Robert Pattinson and
Kristen Stewart, who have both
earned $20 million last year thanks to
the franchise’s global success,
making their combined annual salary
$40 million. With the end of the
Twilight franchise in sight, they both
are preparing for a post-vampire
career. Pattinson has taken the lead
in more “serious” projects, like
Remember Me, which earned $56
million on a budget of $16 million. In
the meantime, Stewart’s non-Twilight
career hasn’t been as promising as
her co-star and real-life boyfriend’s so
far. Her 2010 film The Runaways
grossed only $4.6 million at the box
office. But there’s still hope for
Stewart: next year she will be seen in
cinemas playing the leading role in
the film Snow White and the
Huntsman.
