Taylor Swift Tops Forbes’ Highest-Paid Celebrity 100 List In 2019 With $185 Million; BTS Earn First Ranking
Taylor Swift is already dominating 2019 and she hasn’t even released her Lover album yet.
Forbes magazine announced on Wednesday (July 10) that 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.
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).
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.
Other musicians who made the list include: Elton John (#19, $84 million), Jay-Z and Beyoncé (adorably tied at #20 with $81 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.
