CHEF Gordon Ramsay earned £29 million in America last year.

However, the fiery Scot was way behind X Factor supremo Simon Cowell, who was the joint top-earning entertainment personality in the US - taking almost £60m in just one year.

Publisher Forbes puts The X Factor judge, 55, at the top of the list for estimated earnings for the 12 months to June this year. Cowell's millions came from his X Factor and Got Talent earnings around the globe, as well as chart-toppers One Direction.

Disc jockey Howard Stern, who is also a judge on America's Got Talent, took joint first place with Cowell.

Ramsay's earnings put him in ninth place. Oprah Winfrey was fourth with £51m, while chat show host Ellen DeGeneres was sixth with £44m.

The top 10 also featured TV hosts Glenn Beck and Ryan Seacrest, entertainer Rush Limbaugh, and Judge Judy Sheindlin, of Judge Judy, and TV psychologist Phil McGraw.