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Dorothy Pomerantz
This article is more than 6 years old.

Jay Z and Beyonce Knowles are so much more than just the first couple of hip-hop: They're a combination of two of the savviest businesspeople in entertainment. They made more than any other celebrity couple this year with an estimated $95 million in earnings between June 2012 and June 2013.


Then there are their other interests. Jay Z is a part owner of the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the Brooklyn Nets play. He sold his stake in the team and now has to dump his share in the arena, too, because he's started his own sports agency: Roc Nation Sports, which represents star athletes like Kevin Durant and Victor Cruz. Knowles has a fragrance collection and a clothing line called House of Deron. Blue Ivy could soon join the family business. She's already been on one of her Dad's songs and her parents have petitioned to trademark her name for the right to use it on anything from baby clothes to toys.



To compile our list we talked to managers, agents, producers and other in-the-know folks to come up with estimates for each celebrity's entertainment-related earnings. Our research was done for our Celebrity 100 list, which measures earning between June 2012 and June 2013. We did not subtract for taxes, agent fees or other expenses related to being a celebrity.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt rank third with a combined $50 million in estimated earnings. Unlike the other top couples on our list, they don't have larger businesses built around their fame -- the vast majority of their money comes from their film pay. Pitt did earn an estimated $7 million from his Channel No. 5 commercial last year, but only because it's so rare to land Pitt as a spokesperson.

After a brief hiatus to have a voluntary double mastectomy, Jolie is back with a big-budget Disney film, Maleficent. The re-imagined tale of Sleeping Beauty is set to hit theaters next summer.

Full List: The Top-Earning Celebrity Couples

Follow me on Twitter at DorothyatForbes.

WATCH: Jay Z Inside The Numbers

