George Clooney made USD 322 million last financial year, the highest annual earnings in his 35-year career.

The Oscar-winning star's earnings were in part due to the sale of the Casamigos tequila company he co-founded to British spirits company Diageo in June 2017, according to the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.

Forbes compiled the 2018 list estimating pre-tax earnings from June 2017-June 2018, before deducting fees for managers, based on data from Nielsen, touring trade publication Pollstar, movie database IMDB, and interviews with industry experts and celebrities themselves.

Forbes said the sale gave Clooney the best annual earnings of his 35-year career in film and television, and put him second on the list behind American boxer Floyd Mayweather.

Forbes said entertainers on its 2018 Celebrity 100 list earned a combined USD 8.5 billion before tax, up 22 per cent from last year's list.

Many of the highest earners came from celebrities leveraging their brands through side ventures and through their social media presence.

The highest-paid celebrities in 2018
1.    Floyd Mayweather 
2.    George Clooney
3.    Kylie Jenner
4.    Judy Sheindlin (Judge Judy)
5.    Dwayne Johnson
6.    U2
7.    Coldplay
8.    Lionel Messi
9.    Ed Sheeran
10.  Cristiano Ronaldo

BDST: 1905 HRS, JULY 17 ,2018
AP