Tom Cruise

#8 Tom Cruise
After being dumped by Paramount last summer, Cruise, who topped last year's Celebrity 100, plotted his comeback (with longtime producing partner Paula Wagner) as head of United Artists, the moribund studio under MGM. UA's lineup: Lions for Lambs, directed by Robert Redford, for release this winter; Valkyrie, a World War II thriller, in production now. Cruise stars in both. Word is he'll join comedy kingpin Ben Stiller in Hardy Men, a send-up of the Hardy Boys series. On the personal front, Cruise enjoyed a decidedly quiet year with his wife, actress Katie Holmes, and their toddler Suri.

Elton John

Between performances of his appropriately flamboyant Las Vegas show, 'The Red Piano,' Elton John grossed over $60 million in tickets for worldwide shows. This year, he celebrated his 60th birthday with his 60th concert at Madison Square Garden, a sold-out affair that drew A-listers like Bill Clinton, Jon Bon Jovi and Sharon Stone. Theatergoers still snap up tickets to hear his music in Aida, Billy Elliot and The Lion King. John's latest release, Rocket Man: Number Ones, debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard charts in April, selling 50,000 copies in its first week.

Johnny Depp

#6 Johnny Depp
Never before has a Keith Richards impersonation proved this lucrative. Last summer's Pirates sequel, Dead Man's Chest, was the third-highest-grossing film ever, with $1.1 billion worldwide at the box office. Depp's payout: over $60 million. Next year should prove equally profitable for the low-key actor. The third Pirates sequel, At World's End, is on its way to at least match its predecessor, having banked $344 million in its opening weekend

Brad Pitt

#5 Brad Pitt
The hunky actor monopolized headlines for the last year thanks his new role as proud papa with stunning partner Angelina Jolie. She gave birth to their daughter last May; 10 months later, the pair adopted a Vietnamese boy. Earlier this year, the brood relocated to New Orleans—paparazzi in tow—where Pitt was filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This summer, he stars opposite pal George Clooney in Ocean's 13, followed by this fall's The Assassination of Jesse James, alongside Ocean's co-star Casey Affleck.

#4 Rolling Stones Still gathering no moss, the Stones had the highest-grossing tour in North America last year, bringing in $139 million. They doubled that abroad. The 'Bigger Bang' tour, which kicked off back in 2005, has grossed $437 million to date, making it the top-generating tour in history. This time around, Keith Richards, not Mick Jagger, dominated headlines thanks to his star turn in the recent Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, in addition to comments made this spring that he once snorted his father's ashes.

Madonna

Madonna crisscrossed the globe last year for her tour, 'Confessions,' which drew over 1 million fans and grossed $194 million, making it the top-earning tour by a female artist in history. NBC cut the Material Girl a hefty check to broadcast the 'Confessions' tour live last November, though ratings proved disappointing. In March, the always-fashion-forward singer linked up with retailer H&M for her own clothing line, M. (Rhinestones a-plenty, but no cone bras.) Generated a maelstrom of negative publicity last year for her adoption of a baby in Malawi.

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods

Woods is the first athlete in history to bank $100 million in a year, thanks in part to a raise he finagled out of long-time endorser Nike. (The sneaker giant's Tiger-oriented golf division is now a $600 million-a-year business.) He also signed a new deal with Gillette and upped his usual lucrative overseas playing gigs, where he can command, on average, $3 million a pop.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey

The media queen is poised to conquer prime time this fall with two reality shows for ABC. For those keeping score, the Oprah empire already includes a blockbuster daytime talk show, satellite radio show, magazine and Broadway musical ('The Color Purple'). Oprah also owns stakes in hit talk shows by protégé Dr. Phil McGraw and Rachael Ray. In January, the nation's richest African American, worth an estimated $1.5 billion, realized a long-held dream when she opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.