Taylor Swift was named the highest paid celebrity by Forbes
She hasn’t released an album yet but the singer is already dominating 2019. Forbes magazine announced on Wednesday that Taylor Swift hit No. 1 on their Forbes Celebrity 100 list with pretax income of $185 million, a 131% jump over her $80 million haul in 2018. Taylor has topped the list before (in 2016) but this year her earnings rose to the highest level ever.
That gaudy figure easily launched her over No. 2 Kylie Jenner, 21, who pulled in $170 million, as well as Swift’s on-and-off rival Kanye West (#3, $150 million), soccer superstars Lionel Messi (#4), Cristiano Ronaldo (#6) and Neymar (#7), pal Ed Sheeran (#5, $110 million), The Eagles (#8, $100 million), TV’s Dr. Phil (#9) and boxer Canelo Alvarez (#10).
Kylie Jenner came in second place
The tally also includes list newcomers BTS, who landed at #43 with $57 million thanks to their Love Yourself album trilogy and stadium tour, their Map of the Soul: Persona album and the BTS World app.
Swift has been here before, topping the 2016 Celebrity 100 with $170 million, and once again touring was a big part of her haul, with the Reputation stadium tour bringing in $266.1 million domestically and $345 million overall. Her total was also reportedly helped by a deal with Netflix to air the Reputation tour live special, as well as endorsement deals with Apple, AT&T and Diet Coke.
The power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce tied at number 20 with $81 million
Other musicians who made the list include: Elton John (#19, $84 million),, Drake (#25, $75 million), American Idol host Ryan Seacrest (#27, $71.5 million), Sean “Diddy” Combs (#28, $70 million), Metallica (#30, $68.5 million), Rihanna (#36, $62 million), Travis Scott (#39, $58 million), Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake (tied at #41, $57.5 million), BTS and Pink (tied at #43, $57 million), Billy Joel (#53, $52 million), Bruno Mars (#54, $51.5 million), Eminem and Jimmy Buffett (tied at #57, $50 million), Fleetwood Mac (#59, $49 million), Ariana Grande and Paul McCartney (tied at #62, $48 million), The Chainsmokers (#67, $46 million), Guns N’ Roses (#71, $44 million), Jennifer Lopez (#76, $43 million), Luke Bryan (#78, $42.5 million), Idol judge Simon Cowell (#80, $42 million), The Rolling Stones (#83, $41 million), DJ Khaled, Marshmello and The Weeknd (tied at #87, $40 million), Lady Gaga (#90, $39.5 million), Dave Matthews Band (#92, $39 million), Zac Brown Band, Calvin Harris and Kendrick Lamar (tied at #95, $38.5 million), Shawn Mendes (#98, $38 million) and Celine Dion (#100, $37.5 million).
In total, the celebs on the list raked in $6.3 billion in pretax earnings over the past 12 months (with at least $37.5 million needed to make the tally); the rankings are estimates based on the period between June 1, 2018 and June 1, 2019, according to Forbes. Jenner was No. 3 last year with a $166.5 million total, with U2 at No .6, Coldplay at No. 7 and Sheeran coming in at No. 9.
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