‘Forbes’ 2019: Taylor Swift Is Highest-Paid Celebrity, With Kylie Jenner & Kanye West Just Behind Her
Ella Chochrek
Assistant Digital Editor
Forbes‘ annual list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities is here, with Taylor Swift narrowly edging out Kylie Jenner for the top spot.
Swift earned a whopping $180 million before taxes, mostly from her “Reputation” concert tour, the highest-grossing in U.S. history.
The “Me!” singer bested Kylie Jenner, who netted $170 million. Jenner is reportedly the youngest self-made billionaire, with her Kylie Cosmetics brand worth $900 million. She owns the booming business outright, with no shareholders. The makeup mogul has also dipped her toe into the fashion space with her Kendall + Kylie clothing and shoe line and an Adidas ambassadorship.
Brother-in-law Kanye West came in third with $150 million in pre-tax earnings. West’s success is thanks largely to his Yeezy sneaker empire in partnership with Adidas, which is on pace to do $1.5 billion in sales this year. The rapper turned designer also profits from sales of his Yeezy apparel line, which he owns outright (100%).
Rounding out the top five spots are soccer star Lionel Messi, who made $127 million (in addition to a lifetime Adidas deal, he earns an $80 million salary from FC Barcelona) and Ed Sheeran, who brought in $110 million thanks to his Divide Tour.
Aside from Jenner and West, the only other member of the Kardashian-Jenners clan to nab a spot on the list was Kim Kardashian. With $72 million in earnings last year, largely from her KKW Beauty brand, the reality star was ranked No. 26.
While the top two highest-paid stars are both women, men dominated, with only 16 women in the top 100.
See the top 10 highest-earning celebrities below:
No. 1: Taylor Swift, $185M
No. 2: Kylie Jenner, $170M
No. 3: Kanye West, $150M
No. 4: Lionel Messi, $127M
No. 5: Ed Sheeran, $110M
No. 6: Cristiano Ronaldo, $109M
No. 7: Neymar, $105M
No. 8: The Eagles, $100M
No. 9: Dr. Phil McGraw, $95M
No. 10: Canelo Alvarez, $94
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