Jerry Seinfeld and John Bishop among highest paid comedians

Seinfeld topped the list while Bishop is a new entry at nine

Jerry Seinfeld has topped Forbes' 2015 list of highest-paid comedians, with estimated earnings of $36 million (£23.3m) this year.

It's the fourth year the comedian, 61, has topped the list thanks to syndication deals for his show Seinfeld, live tours and the series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Get Hard star Kevin Hart's film roles propelled him to second with $28.5m.

John Bishop is the only UK comedian on the list, in ninth place with $8m.

The Liverpudlian, who will perform a sold-out show at Sydney Opera House on Wednesday night as part of his Australian tour, has made it into the top ten for the first time.

'Astronomical'

"Like the others on the list, most of John's money comes from touring," said Madeline Berg from Forbes.

"While he only made 12 stops during our scoring period, his gross at each was astronomical - one of the highest on our list.

"He is one of few comedians to routinely play large venues, having graduated from the more standard club and theatre scene," she said, adding that his annual Christmas special for the BBC also gave his earnings a big boost.

In third place with $21.5m is ventriloquist and impressionist Terry Fator - a former winner of America's Got Talent who has been dubbed "the human jukebox". He is in the middle of a five-year residency at Las Vegas' Mirage Hotel, reported to be worth $100m.

Get Hard star Hart won the comedic genius award at the MTV Movie Awards in April

Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and Canadian Russell Peters are in joint fourth with $19m, while Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari is in sixth place with $9.5m.

Louis CK is in seventh with $9m, Gabriel Iglesias is in eighth with $8.5m and Dave Chappelle rounds out the top ten with $7.5m.

To make the list, the comics' primary source of income has to be from ticket sales.

Forbes' highest-earning comedian Seinfeld previously topped the list in 2013 for the third year in a row, although there was no list in 2014.

Seinfeld's earnings also took him to number 62 in the magazine's Celebrity 100 earlier this year. He is expected to earn more in future years, following a recent deal with US streaming service Hulu which is reported to have paid $160m (£104m) for the rights to Seinfeld.

Second place Hart was the only other comedian to make the Celebrity 100. His earnings rocketed this year thanks to films such as Think Like a Man Too and The Wedding Ringer, alongside the millions made from his 48 live shows.

Forbes' 2015 Highest-Paid Comedians

1. Jerry Seinfeld: $36m (£23.3m)

2. Kevin Hart: $28.5m (£18.4m)

3. Terry Fator: $21.5m (£13.9m)

4. Jeff Dunham $19m* (£12.3m)

5. Russell Peters: $19m*(£12.3m)

6. Aziz Ansari: $9.5m (£6.1m)

7. Louis C.K. $9m (£5.8m)

8. Gabriel Iglesias: $8.5m (£5.5m)

9. John Bishop: $8m (£5.1m)

10. Dave Chappelle: $7.5m (£4.8m)

*denotes joint place