The 55-year-old Material Girl made an estimated $125m (£80m) thanks to her MDNA tour, clothing and fragrance lines, according to Forbes.
The magazine said it was the most money Madonna had made in a single year since it began tracking earnings in 1999.
Director Steven Spielberg was at number two with $100m (£64m).
Most of his earnings came from his back catalogue of film hits such as ET and Jurassic Park - which has just been released in 3D to mark its 20th anniversary - as well as last year's Oscar winning Lincoln.
The director also takes a cut of all ticket sales at Universal Studios theme parks.
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Third place was a three-way tie between 50 Shades of Grey author EL James, Simon Cowell and shock jock Howard Stern, with earnings of $95m (£61m).
Thriller writer James Patterson follows with $91m (£58.5m), while TV and radio host Glenn Beck earned $90m (£57.8m).
Others in the top 10 included Transformers director Michael Bay ($82m, £52.7m) producer Jerry Bruckheimer ($80m, £51.4m) and pop star Lady Gaga ($80m).
Forbes compiles its annual list of celebrity earnings using input from agents, managers, producers and others to calculate its estimates for each celebrity's entertainment-related earnings.
The figures do not reflect tax deductions, agent fees or "the other expenses of being a celebrity".
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