ELLEN DEGENERES—EST. $450 MILLION

Ellen has multiple identities, such as comedian, TV host, producer and writer. Each identity brings different colors to her life. When Ellen was in obscurity, she began experimenting with comedy shows. In early 1981, she plucked up the courage to perform on a national talk show, and in 1984 she was rated The Most Interesting Person In America.

Is there anyone in Hollywood who is as loved as Ellen Degeneres? I’m sure there are, but there must be only a few of them because the kind of success that Ellen was able to accomplish is quite difficult to replicate. She is, after all, considered to be the highest-paid comedian. Indeed, an article from Time Magazine that was released sometime in the ‘90s said that her career virtually stopped after coming out as gay and that she was on the brink of bankruptcy. Soon thereafter, she lent her voice to the film Nemo and launched a talk show, and now she’s got half-a-billion dollars in the bank. That’s not luck, that’s hard work!