Photos: Forbes 20 Richest Americans

Net Worth: $15 B
Age: 46
Residence: Austin, Texas
Source: Dell computers  (Mark Ralston/Getty)

Net Worth: $15.5 B
Age: 55
Residence: New York, New York
Source: hedge funds  (Rick Maiman/Los Angeles Times)

Net Worth: $16.7 B (each)
Age: Page, 38, Brin, 38
Residence: Page, Palo Alto, California, Brin, Los Altos, California
Source: Google   (-, AFP/Getty Images)

Net Worth: $17.5 B
Age: 27
Residence: Palo Alto, California
Source: Facebook   (Justin Sullivan/Getty)

Net Worth: $19.1 B
Age: 47
Residence: Seattle, Washington
Source: Amazon.com   (Photo by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)

Net Worth: $19.5 B
Age: 69
Residence: New York, New York
Source: Bloomberg LP   (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Net Worth: $21.5 B
Age: 78
Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada
Source: casinos   (MIKE CLARKE/Getty)

Net Worth: $25 B (each)
Age: 71
Residence: New York, New York
Source: diversified  (Steven A Henry/Getty)

Net Worth: $33 B
Age: 67
Residence: Woodside, California
Source: Oracle  (Justin Sullivan/Getty)

The “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star earned $10 million over the past year.  (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

This desperate housewife earned $9 million over the past year.  (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images For Lupus LA)

The “NCIS” star earned $13 million over the past year.  (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

His jerky doctor tactics in “House” earned Hugh Laurie $9 million over the past year.  (Photo by Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images)

The auto racing driver earned $12 million over the past year.  (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

The “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Men of a Certain Age” actor earned $20 million over the past year.  (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Supermodel Kate Moss earned $13 million over the past year. but her web search score pushed her over some higher earners.  (Photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images)

The “Friends” actress came in at the bottom of the earning list with $7 million over the past year. However, her web search and TV coverage scores put her higher on the list than some who earned more.  (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

Masterminding of “30 Rock,” portraying Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live” and publishing her recent book “Bossypants” earned Tina Fey $13 million over the past year.  (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Guess a cable guy can make some money, since Larry The Cable Guy earned $20 million over the past year.  (Photo by Andy Kropa/Getty Images)

The “Twilight” author earned $21 million over the past year.  (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Romantic comedy actress Katherine Heigl earned $19 million over the past year.  (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

Dunham’s dummies earned him $20 million over the past year.  (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

He’s looking like he already misses Dunder Mifflin. The actor/comedian earned $15 million over the past year.  (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

Tennis star Venus Williams earned $13 million over the past year. That put her in a higher income bracket than sister Serena, but her lower score in press coverage and social media followers means Serena comes out ahead on the Power List.  (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images))

The rapper earned $15 million over the past year. He also scored high in web searches and social media.  (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Tennis star earned $12 million over the past year. That’s $1 million less than sister Venus, but the rest of her scores -- press coverage, TV and radio mentions, web searches, and social media presence -- were higher, so she ranks as more powerful on Forbes’ list.  (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

This model and TV personality earned $20 million over the past year.  (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

This desperate housewife is not particularly desperate, earning $13 million over the past year.  (VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)

The actress earned $13 million over the past year.  (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The Russian professional tennis player earned $24 million over the past year, and scored strongly in the press coverage and social media categories.  (ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images)

The American author earned $28 million over the past year.  (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

The romantic novelist earned $35 million -- and the least amount of press coverage of anyone else on the list -- over the past year.  (Photo by Thos Robinson/Getty Images)

The creator of “Two and a Half Men” earned $35 million last year. That’s not quite as #winning as scorned star Charlie Sheen, but it’s nothing to sneeze at.  (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Rapper Kanye West earned $16 million over the past year. He also scored in the top 10 in web searches and in the top 15 in social media followers.  (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images))

The Oscar-winning “Black Swan” actress earned $8 million -- and a whole lot of press coverage and web searches -- over the past year.  (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)

“The Fighter” star earned $28 million over the past year.  (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for Time Warner)

The “Sex and the the City” star earned $30 million over the past year.  (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning earned $26 million over the past year. He’s the most marketable player in the NFL< earning twice as much off the field as any other player.  (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

The rapper made $14 million over the past year. He came in second in social media followers (trailing only Lady Gaga), and scored fifth in web searches.  (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

The “Eat, Pray, Love” actress earned $20 million over the past year.  (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

The “Little Fockers” actor earned $34 million over the past year.  (Photo by Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)

Reality TV mastermind Mark Burnett earned $45 million over the past year. He also has the fewest social media followers of anyone on this list.  (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Actor Robert Downey Jr. earned $31 million over the past year.  (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Actor Will Smith earned $36 million over the past year.  (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Actress Reese Witherspoon earned $28 million over the past year, and also scored high in Web searches.  (Marianna Massey/Getty Images)

“Twilight” star Kristen Stewart earned $20 million over the past year, and also scored high in the Web search category.  (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Argentinian soccer star Lionel Messi earned $32 million over the past year, and scored int he top 10 when it came to press mentions.  (David Ramos/Getty Images)

Country singer and actor Tim McGraw earned $35 million over the past year.  (Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT)

Model and Victoria’s Secret Angel Gisele Bundchen earned $45 million over the past year. She also topped Forbes’ list of the highest paid models.  (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard earned $28 million over the past year, and also scored high in TV and Radio coverage.  (J. Meric/Getty Images)

Actor Tom Hanks earned $35 million over the past year.  (Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade earned $26 million over the past year, and also scored in the top 10 in the TV and Radio coverage category.  (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Late-night host Jay Leno earned $32 million over the past year, and scored in the top 10 in the TV and Radio coverage category.  (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady earned $31 million over the past year. His four-year, $72 million contract extension was the richest deal in the FL on a per-year basis.  (Elsa/Getty Images)

“Law & Order” mastermind Dick Wolf earned $70 million over the past year. That makes him the 15th greatest moneymaker on the list, and explains his high position on the Power Index despite very little press coverage, web searches or social media presence.  (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

“Twilight” star Robert Pattinson earned $20 million over the past year. That’s not so high as celebrity paychecks go, but his high ranking in the web search category pushed him up the list.  (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Musician and mogul Sean Combs made $35 million over the past year.  (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Jackie Robinson Foundation)

Country singer Toby Keith made $50 million over the past year.  (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Singer and “American Idol” host Jennifer Lopez earned $25 million over the past year. Her stint on Idol -- and her crowning as the most beautiful person in the world by People magazine -- pushed up her web score, which propelled her up the power list.  (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez earned $35 million over the past year.  (Al Bello/Getty Images)

Country musician Brad Paisley earned $40 million over the past year.  (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

“Inception” and “Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan earned $53 million over the past year.  (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal earned $31 million over the past year. He was the youngest player in the Open era to earn a career Grand Slam when he wom the U.S. Open in September, 2010 -- a fact that pushed his press coverage score up to number 3.  (JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Actor/producer Brad Pitt earned $20 million over the past year. Although he hasn’t appeared in a movie since “Inglourious Basterds” in 2009, his production company was behind hit movies “Kick Ass” and “Eat Pray Love.”  (FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images)

Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock earned $15 million over the past year, but it was the amount of press coverage, both good and bad, that pushed her up so high on the Power List.  (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo earned $38 million over the past year. The volume of his press coverage, plus his rising rank in social media, secured him this berth on the Power List.  (Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images)

Reality star Bethenny Frankel earned $55 million over the past year, in part due to the launch and sale of her Skinnygirl Cocktails brand.  (Andy Kropa/Getty Images)

Comedian Adam Sandler earned $40 million over the past year, and ranked in the top10 in the social media category.  (Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld earned $70 million over the past year.  (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Sirius XM)

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer earned $113 million over the past year.  (Francois Durand/Getty Images)

Musician Jay-Z earned $37 million over the past year. He also scored high in the social media and web search categories.  (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for VEVO)

Author James Patterson earned $84 million over the past year. He’s the highest-ranking author on the list.  (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Golf star Phil Mickelson earned $47 million over the past year. He also scored in the top 15 in terms of press coverage.  (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Soccer star David Beckham earned $40 million over the past year. His press coverage and social media scores push him up the list.  (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

British rock band Muse earned $35 million over the past year. That’s in part due to the band placing songs on all three “Twilight” soundtracks so far. “You have to take every opportunity,” said bassist Chris Wolstenholme, “and sometimes you have to sell your soul.”  (Dave Hogan/Getty Images)