Sarah Palin is another story. While it's a truism that in the U.S. there's no such thing as bad press, it's hard to see how being blamed for a loss in a national election can improve your standing. But at least she is now famous -- virtually no one outside of Alaska (and the trembling Russian coast guard) knew who she was before McCain picked her -- and so has the ability to promote herself at a much higher level. I suspect we'll see a book from her, though probably not a tell-all because she seems to want to stay in politics. If she does pull back the curtains on the dysfunctional McCain campaign, look for her to jump out of politics and onto the small screen, probably Fox News. Either way, I'm sure we'll be hearing more from her soon.

Another new female star in 2008 is Stephanie Meyer, author of Twilight saga. Some are hailing her as the new J.K. Rowling, and with good reason. With little experience as a writer, she produced a novel about vampires and teenage love that rose to the #5 position on the New York Times bestseller list. She quickly produced several more vampire novels, all of which were commercial successes, selling tens of millions of copies, and the film version was just released with enormous fanfare. Although Meyer has said that she will bring the Twilight series to an end, she will continue writing new stories with ghostly or science fiction themes. Not that she needs it, but 2009 will no doubt see more money and fame for Stephanie Meyers.

Michael Phelps was a more conventional star in 2008, coming from the world of sports, although his accomplishments were anything but ordinary. Phelps has won more Olympic gold medals than any other athlete in history. At the 2008 summer Olympics, he won eight golds in swimming, another record, for a career total of 14. He has earned millions in endorsement deals, and we'll see more of Phelps in 2009 as he seeks to keep his sport more in the popular imagination in the long four-year lull between Olympics.

Our final new star from 2008 is Neel Kashkari, the 35-year old Treasury official who is leading the $700 billion bailout. There has been a lot of speculation about how much he is being paid to spend massive amounts of taxpayer money, but one thing is sure: he'll be making a lot more once he leaves the Treasury Department. Banks will fight over who can pay him more for advice, as Kashkari trades his insider knowledge of the bailout for fat consulting fees that could last for years.

Share the reasons for your breakout personality pick in the comments, or let us know about any contenders we overlooked. Also be sure to see the rest of the Best & Worst in Money 2008.