Taylor Swift, highest-paid celebrity
With $170 million in earnings, Taylor Swift seizes the top spot on Forbes’ annual Celebrity 100 ranking of the world’s highest-paid celebrities.
The pop superstar smashed the Rolling Stones’ North American touring record, grossing $200 million on the continent en route to a quarter-billion dollars in total for her 1989 World Tour.
One Direction takes the No. 2 spot, with earnings of $110 million, followed by author James Patterson (No. 3), with $95 million, and Dr. Phil McGraw and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who are tied for No. 4. Kevin Hart (No. 6), with earnings of $87.5 million, is the first comedian to ever outearn Jerry Seinfeld and has packed venues this year at a rate on par with rock stars.
"Live entertainment continues to supercharge the earnings of the world's top stars," says Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Forbes' senior editor of media and entertainment. "From soccer games in Spain to concerts in China, fans are willing to shell out to see big names – and this is driving the celebrity economy to ever greater heights."
The world’s 100 highest-paid celebrities pulled in US$5.1 billion pretax over the past 12 months, more than the GDP of Belize, Gambia and Bhutan combined. Forbes ranks talent across the entire entertainment world including, stars from Hollywood to Bollywood, creating a truly international list in which over one third of the celebrities are from outside the US.
The list will be published in Forbes’ July 26, 2016 magazine issue.
