Los Angeles: There’s no “Blank Space” in Taylor Swift’s bank account.
The singer-songwriter tops Forbes’ annual list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities with $170 million — that’s Dh624 million.
The pop diva’s take from June 2015 to June 2016 is the highest total of her young career, the magazine said, more than doubling her previous record of $80 million last year.
Video: Natalie Long, tabloid! Editor talks about the Forbes' list of highest-paid celebs
The Shake It Off singer’s star-studded 1989 World Tour earned more than $200 million last year.
Swift’s DJ ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris landed at No. 21 on the magazine’s list with $63 million.
She is ahead of fellow chart-topping pop stars Adele at No. 9 with $80.5 million, Madonna at No. 12 with $76.5 million and Rihanna at No. 13 with $75 million, and also outpaced rival Katy Perry, who last year took in more than $135 million as opposed to Swift’s $80 million. This year, Perry is at No. 63 with $41 million.
Other top 10 earners included boy band One Direction at No. 2 with $110 million, actor-comedian Kevin Hart at No. 6 with $87.5 million and self-proclaimed “king of media” Howard Stern at No. 7 with $85 million.
Kim Kardashian is featured on the magazine’s cover. She’s No. 42 on the list with $51 million. Forbes says 40 per cent of her paycheque this year came from her mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.
The game’s maker, Glu Mobile, is scheduled to release an app starring Swift later this year.
“The world’s 100 highest-paid celebrities pulled in $5.1 billion pretax over the past 12 months, more than the GDP of Belize, Gambia and Bhutan combined,” Forbes said.
Magazine editor Zack O’Malley Greenberg said live entertainment continues to be a major cash draw.
“From soccer games in Spain to concerts in China, fans are willing to shell out to see big names — and this is driving the celebrity economy to ever greater heights,” he said in a statement.
