

Taylor Swift, 26, is one busy woman, and it definitely paid off. The singer made an astounding $170 million dollars between June 1, 2015 and June 1, 2016 prior to taxes and management fees. Holy moly! Not only is Taylor the highest-paid musician, according to Forbes magazine’s annual list, but she’s the highest-paid celebrity under 30, and highest-paid across the board! Round of applause for this talented woman!
Forbes attributes Taylor’s massive wealth to her millions of copies of 1989 sold, her seven-figure endorsements from Diet Coke, Apple, and Keds (among other brands), and a constantly sold-out tour. The 1989 tour actually broke the Rolling Stones’ North American tour record. It’s insane!
She’s followed closely in second place by One Direction, who made a whopping $110 million before the band went on hiatus in early 2016. One Direction is actually the highest-grossing boy band of all time. Think about that; they’ve beaten N*SYNC and the Backstreet Boys! Their wealth is mainly due to their One The Road Again tour.
Adele comes in third place with $80.5 million, and Madonna in fourth with $76.5 million, thanks to part of her Rebel Heart tour falling within the necessary time period. It’s utterly shocking to hear that Beyonce comes in 17th place! But it makes sense when it’s explained. Lemonade had just been released in April 2016, and she hadn’t started her Formation World Tour yet. That phenomenal tour grossed nearly $5 million per city, according to Forbes. She could totally make it to the top of the list in 2017.
HollywoodLifers, are you surprised that Taylor’s the highest-paid musician of 2016? Tell us in the comments!