When it comes to the top 10, some names were foregone conclusions (think: Taylor Swift), but the presence of others may surprise you. Half of the 10 top-earners managed to climb the ranks to snatch up the most coveted spots, including comedian Kevin Hart, who jumped all the way from No. 95 on Forbes’ 2015 list to No. 6 this year. His massive boost comes after doing over 100 arena and stadium shows that grossed an average of $1 million per stop. Not surprisingly, none of the other top 10 members made such a big leap.
Compared to last year, boxers got knocked out of the top 10. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao pulled in $300 million and $160 million, respectively, but they fell as Taylor Swift brought in $170 million this past year. The sum — her largest to date — was helped along by her record-breaking 1989 Word Tour. Behind her, only One Direction cracked $100 million. The boy band rose to No. 2 from last year’s No. 4 spot despite of losing Zayn Malik.
Interestingly, when it comes to musicians, Adele, who jumped up from No. 25 in 2015 to 9 in 2016, is the only musician on Forbes’ list to have earned over half of her money with her music. Others padded their income with other projects and endorsements. What’s also notable is that she did this without letting streaming services have her latest album, 25, until recently.
With half the names falling off from 2015 to 2016, it’ll be interesting to see who can hold on into next year.
The full top 10 list appears below.
1. Taylor Swift – $170 million
2. One Direction – $110 million
3. James Patterson – $95 million
4. Dr. Phil – $88 million
4. Cristiano Ronaldo – $88 million
6. Kevin Hart – $87.5 million
7. Howard Stern – $85 million
8. Lionel Messi – $81.5 million
9. Adele – $80.5 million
10. Rush Limbaugh – $79 million
