In Forbes’ annual most powerful celebrity list, the business publication aggregates earnings, social rank, and press rank, among other things, to determine which of Hollywood’s glitterati wields the most influence in pop culture. Well, we stripped it down to the basics: how much money did each earn. Better yet, we compiled how much money did the top African-American celebrities earn. And the results are interesting to say the least. We’re not sure how Usher managed to make SO much money, even considering that he had a successful album out in the past year, but we’re guessing his stake in Justin Bieber pushed him up more than a few notches.

Serena Williams

$13 Million

In the annual Forbes’ list of top celebrity earners, there were no surprises. You could probably guess who took the top spot but we’ll just let you see for yourself. A combination of endorsement deals and ownership business models put these following four African-American celebs amongst the top 20 celebrity earners of 2010.

4. Beyonce Knowles

Estimated earnings: $87 million

Ever the breadwinner, Beyonce continues to outdo her peers in the income bracket and ranks as the top-earning musician on the list above Lady Gaga and Brittney Spears. The fact that she tours so much is a big determinant of her large earnings. She also has her uber-successful perfume line, her fashion line House of Dereon, and endorsement deals with Loreal and DIRECTV to boost her earnings.