NEWSWEEK's Power 50: The List

Nov 1, 2010 9:00 AM EDT

In the oversaturated, hypercommodified media culture of 2010, the most influential political figures are generally the ones who make the most money peddling their perspectives. To figure who's tops in this new world, NEWSWEEK asked Wealth-X, an intelligence and research firm, to compile a list of the 50 highest-earning political figures of 2010. Included in the rankings are politicians, ex-politicians, media personalities, and political consultants who hawk their personal brands in the public marketplace—and influence American political discourse in the process. To see a profile of any member of the Power 50, just click on their name in the list below. You can also sort these names to see the list broken down by gender or occupation, just click on the category at the top of the list. And, you can find our full methodology here.

Rank	Name	Gender	Category	Earnings Estimate
1	Rush Limbaugh 25	Male	Talk show host	$58.7 million 1
2	Glenn Beck 4	Male	Talk show host	$33 million 2
3	Sean Hannity 18	Male	Talk show host	$22 million 3
4	Bill O'Reilly 36	Male	Talk show host	$20 million 4
5	Jon Stewart 48	Male	Talk show host	$15 million 5
6	Sarah Palin 37	Female	Current or former government official	$14 million 6
7	Don Imus 21	Male	Talk show host	$11 million 7
8	Bill Clinton 8	Male	Current or former government official	$7.7 million 8
9	Keith Olbermann 35	Male	Talk show host	$7.5 million 9
10	Rudy Giuliani 16	Male	Current or former government official	$7 million 10
11	Laura Ingraham (tied with 10) 22	Female	Talk show host	$7 million 11
12	Newt Gingrich 13	Male	Current or former government official	$5.5 million 12
13	Madeleine Albright 1	Female	Current or former government official	$5 million 13
14	Stephen Colbert (tied with 13) 9	Male	Talk show host	$5 million 14
15	Arianna Huffington (tied with 13) 20	Female	Journalist	$5 million 15
16	Mark Levin (tied with 13) 24	Male	Talk show host	$5 million 16
17	Chris Matthews 31	Male	Talk show host	$4.5 million 17
18	George W. Bush 6	Male	Current or former government official	$4.2 million 18
19	Bill Maher 28	Male	Talk show host	$4 million 19
20	Barack Obama (tied with 19) 34	Male	Current or former government official	$4 million 20
21	Jorge Ramos (tied with 19) 40	Male	Journalist	$4 million 21
22	Joe Scarborough 45	Male	Talk show host	$3.5 million 22
23	Fareed Zakaria 50	Male	Journalist	$3.1 million 23
24	Bob Barnett 3	Male	Power broker	$3 million 24
25	Alan Greenspan (tied with 24) 15	Male	Current or former government official	$3 million 25
26	Frank Luntz (tied with 24) 26	Male	Political strategist	$3 million 26
27	Mark Halperin 17	Male	Journalist	$2.5 million 27
28	John Heilemann (tied with 27) 19	Male	Journalist	$2.5 million 28
29	Bob Woodward (tied with 27) 49	Male	Journalist	$2.5 million 29
30	Thomas Friedman 12	Male	Journalist	$2 million 30
31	Al Gore (tied with 30) 14	Male	Current or former government official	$2 million 31
32	Rachel Maddow (tied with 30) 27	Female	Talk show host	$2 million 32
33	Jon Meacham* (tied with 30) 33	Male	Journalist	$2 million 33
34	Charlie Rose (tied with 30) 43	Male	Talk show host	$2 million 34
35	Karl Rove (tied with 30) 44	Male	Current or former government official	$2 million 35
36	Condoleezza Rice 42	Female	Current or former government official	$1.8 million 36
37	Charlie Cook 10	Male	Journalist	$1.5 million 37
38	David Plouffe 38	Male	Political strategist	$1.5 million 38
39	David Remnick 41	Male	Journalist	$1.3 million 39
40	Roland Martin 29	Male	Journalist	$1.1 million 40
41	Tina Brown 5	Female	Journalist	$1 million 41
42	Dick Cheney (tied with 41) 7	Male	Current or former government official	$1 million 42
43	John McLaughlin (tied with 41) 32	Male	Talk show host	$1 million 43
44	Colin Powell* (tied with 41) 39	Male	Current or former government official	$1 million 44
45	Eduardo 'Piolin' Sotelo (tied with 41) 46	Male	Talk show host	$1 million 45
46	Richard Stengel (tied with 41) 47	Male	Journalist	$1 million 46
47	Paul Krugman 23	Male	Journalist	$900,000 47
48	*Mary Matalin 30**	Female	Current or former government official	$800,000 48
49	Ann Coulter 11	Female	Journalist	$750,000 49
50	David Axelrod 2	Male	Current or former government official	$720,000 50