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By Lacey Rose & Lauren Streib
Forbes staff
What happens when you marry an $82 million hip-hop brand with an $80 million
R&B empire? You get Hollywood's best-paid power couple.
Thanks
to a monster year filled with music, movies, fashion and endorsement deals, Jay-Z and his new bride, Beyoncé
Knowles, collectively raked in $162 million
between June 1, 2007, and June 1, 2008. In addition to bragging rights, the
jaw-dropping sum garners them a spot atop Tinseltown's Top-Earning Power
Couples, a list that also includes A-list pairings Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.
"Naturally powerful
people tend to gravitate towards other powerful people," explains clinical
psychologist and celebrity researcher Jim Houran, for reasons that range from
proximity (stars hang around other stars) to familiarity (people are attracted,
at least initially, to others like them) to clearer expectations (shared
priorities make it easier for celebrities to relate). No matter how they get
together, the results are good for the bottom line.
In Pictures: Hollywood's Top-Earning Couples
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Take Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. They hauled in some $85 million over the
past year, making them No. 2 on our list. Though Jada's resumé continues to
grow, Will's the family breadwinner. He raked in $80 million in the year ending
June of 2008, thanks to another set of top-performing blockbusters: "I Am
Legend," "The Pursuit of Happyness" and this past summer's "Hancock." Together
the flicks banked $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office, making him
Hollywood's most bankable star.
Jada pulled down $5 million during
the same 12-month period, thanks to roles as an actress ("The Women"), producer
("The Human Contract") and businesswoman (a stake in beauty-line Carol's
Daughter).
Third: David and Victoria Beckham. Conquering fans on
both sides of the Atlantic, the power couple pulled down $58 million over the
yearlong period.
Becks' share: $50 million, proving the
much-covered move to America has paid off for the British soccer star.
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