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12. Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres Book Signing of 'Seriously... I'm Kidding'! at Barnes and Noble at The Grove in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 4

Earnings: $75M

Personality, Television

TV’s best-paid personality is branching out. The Queen of Daytime is also a prolific producer; her Very Good Productions has five shows on the air, and a show based on Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham” in development at Netflix. DeGeneres has long been savvy about where and how TV viewers are watching, capitalizing on the power of YouTube years ago. More recently, she developed her own website devoted to video, “ellentube,” and struck a deal with Vessel, which allows viewer to stream clips of her show. Heads Up!, the game she played with guests on her show then turned into an iPhone app, was the best-selling paid app of 2014 (it’s also being turned into its own TV show). DeGeneres is taking the Ellen brand in new directions this year with her first women’s clothing line, ED by Ellen, expected to hit stores this summer. A forthcoming book on interior design will complete her transition from media mogul to lifestyle guru.

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