Money | Oprah Winfrey Top-Earning Celebs Over 50 Successful franchises pay out for their creators in 2008 By Nick McMaster Posted Aug 13, 2009 5:13 PM CDT Copied Top-Earning Celebs Over 50 Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld star in this Microsoft commercial. (YouTube) Forbes ranks the entertainment industry’s top earners age 50 and older in the last year: Oprah, 55, $275 million. Viewership for her show may be waning, but Winfrey’s diverse enterprises, from a magazine to satellite radio to her Harpo production company, remain wildly profitable. George Lucas, 65, $170 million. The Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises continue to pay their creator handsomely. Steven Spielberg, 62, $150 million. Dreamworks and the new Indiana Jones film made 2008 a strong year for Spielberg. Madonna, 50, $110 million. The pop singer’s Hard Candy tour grossed more than any other tour in 2008. Jerry Bruckheimer, 63, $100 million. Syndication of the CSI shows and royalties from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies keep Bruckheimer in the top 10. Jerry Seinfeld, 55, $85 million. Syndication also works out well for Seinfeld, who also made out on stand-up and received $10 million for an appearance with Bill Gates in a bizarre set of Microsoft ads. Click the link for the complete list. Read These Next Rubio says the fate of Iran's conversion facility is what matters. Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Some of the most explosive Diddy allegations are dropped. NJ lifeguard survives after being impaled by an umbrella. See 1 photo Report an error