• Home
  • Latest
  • Coins2Day 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Arts & EntertainmentCelebrities

Taylor Swift Is the Top-Paid Celebrity of the Year

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
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
About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Coins2Day 500
  • Global 500
  • Coins2Day 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Coins2Day Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Coins2Day Brand Studio
  • Coins2Day Analytics
  • Coins2Day Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Coins2Day
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Coins2Day Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Coins2Day Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
24 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was 'gonna invent a career.' He founded Reddit
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
24 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Meet the first CEO of the IRS: A Jamie Dimon protege facing a $5 trillion test this tax season
By Shawn TullyJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Startups & Venture
Silicon Valley legend Kleiner Perkins was written off. Then an unlikely VC showed up
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 31, 2026
20 hours ago

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Several pictures of people receiving medical treatments including a facelift and oxygen therapy.
HealthSuper Bowl
Hims and Hers Super Bowl ad highlights ‘uncomfortable truth’ about elite healthcare for the rich and ‘broken’ system for the rest
By Jacqueline MunisFebruary 1, 2026
6 hours ago
Travel & LeisureLas Vegas
Old-school Las Vegas buffets with cheap eats are disappearing, replaced by ‘luxury’ options, trendy food halls, and celebrity chef restaurants
By Jessica Hill and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
21 hours ago
o'hara
Arts & EntertainmentObituary
How Catherine O’Hara went from Gilda Radner’s understudy to cultural icon with her own language as Moira Rose
By Lindsey Bahr and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
24 hours ago
phil
LawHolidays
‘But seriously, this is not a serious thing’: Groundhog Day made Punxsutawney famous but locals have perspective
By Mark Scolforo and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
24 hours ago
Netflix
Big TechMarkets
Netflix may be turning into an ‘entertainment giant,’ but its stock looks like ‘dead money’ to investors
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
Gamestop
Big TechGameStop
Five years after the short squeeze, GameStop’s CEO is betting on a ‘genius or totally foolish’ $100 billion-plus acquisition
By Jake AngeloJanuary 30, 2026
2 days ago