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Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

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When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

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Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
Arts & EntertainmentCelebrities

Taylor Swift Is the Top-Paid Celebrity of the Year

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
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By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
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July 11, 2016, 3:42 PM ET
Taylor Swift The 1989 World Tour Live In Cologne - Night 2
COLOGNE, GERMANY - JUNE 20: Taylor Swift performs live on stage during 'The 1989 World Tour' night 2 at Lanxess Arena on June 20, 2015 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images for TAS)Photograph by Sascha Schuermann — Getty Images

When Taylor Swift isn’t busy feuding with Kanye West—or navigating her latest break-up and subsequent rebound celebrity coupling—the pop star still finds the time to earn more money than any of her celeb colleagues.

That’s according to Forbes, which on Monday ranked T-Swift atop the publication’s latest Celebrity 100 list, which ranks celebs based on their earnings over the past year. Forbes reports that Swift pulled in $170 million over the past year, thanks especially to her behemoth 1989 World Tour, which beat out acts like Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, and the Rolling Stones to become the highest-grossing North American tour ever on its way to grossing about $250 million in ticket sales worldwide.

Swift already topped Billboard magazine’s ranking of top-earning musicians earlier this year, with Billboard‘s estimated $73.5 million in 2015 for Swift easily outpacing the second-place country star Chesney, who brought in just under $40 million. Revenue from touring made up the bulk of Billboard‘s estimates for Swift’s 2015 haul, with physical album sales and revenue from music publishing rights accounting for only $11.3 million, while streaming music revenue came in around $560,000.

While Swift has boycotted multiple streaming music services, including Spotify and, briefly, Apple Music, the singer eventually allowed her 1989 album to stream on Apple’s service last year. Now, Swift even appears in popular ads for Apple Music—video spots that surely also add to her massive earnings, along with her other high-profile endorsements, including Diet Coke, Keds, and Elizabeth Arden.

Forbes‘ 2016 ranking of the top 5 celebrities shows Taylor Swift is far ahead. Here’s the list:

  1. Taylor Swift, $170 million
  2. One Direction, $110 million
  3. Author James Patterson, $95 million
  4. Self-help TV host, Dr. Phil (tied), $88 million
  5. Soccer star, Cristiano Ronaldo, (tied) $88 million
  6. Comedian Kevin Hart, $87.5 million
  7. Radio host Howard Stern, $85 million
  8. Soccer star Lionel Messi, $81.5 million
  9. Adele, $80.5 million
  10. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, $79 million
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By Tom Huddleston Jr.
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