If you're a regular reader of Celebrity Net Worth, you've probably picked up on the fact that most celebrities make a lot of money. To illustrate just how much money, if you put the incomes of the 100 highest-paid celebs during the last year into just a single paycheck, that check would be written for approximately $5 billion in pretax dollars, more than the GDPs of Bhutan, Gambia, and Belize, combined. Here's how much the top earners made…
#1: Taylor Swift – $170 Million
Thanks largely to her 1989 World Tour, which brought in $5 million per night from tickets sold at stadiums over a six-leg, 85 show span, Taylor Swift topped the list with a whopping $170 million earned in the past 12 months. Her North American tour, alone, broke the record previously set for most money generated by a tour by the Rolling Stones, in 2005.
One Direction – $200 Million
Boy band One Direction earned the number two spot on the list with the money they earned at the end of their $200 million-plus On the Road Again tour. Despite the departure of Zayn Malik from the group in March 2015 and the band's hiatus, One Direction earned $110 million in the past 12 months – more money than any active band.
Adele – $80.5 million
Adele is the only other woman, besides Taylor Swift, in the top ten highest-paid celebrities. The musician earned the number 9 spot, after selling a record 3.38 million copies of her new album, titled 25, in its opening week. She's the only musician on the list who earned more than half of her $80.5 million from music, and her earnings will grow significantly now that she's signed a massive record deal with Sony.
Beyonce And Jay-Z – $107.5 Million
Beyonce and Jay Z raked in a combined $107.5 million. In fact, together they were the top earning couple of 2016. Although Queen B's Lemonade became her sixth No. 1 album, she made the bulk of her bucks on the road. Jay Z didn't play many shows or release an album during the past 12 months, but his business ventures paid off.
Soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi also earned top-ten spots, coming in at number 4 and number 8, respectively. The Portugal captain, three-time FIFA best player in the world, and devilishly handsome Ronaldo earned $88 million. His massive social media following has helped Ronaldo land some key endorsements. Not far behind, Messi earned $81.5 million. The two soccer players are also the highest-paid athletes of 2016.
Reality TV-star Kim Kardashian may have dropped nine spots to number 42 this year, but her mobile game "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" has been a big success. Since its release with Glu Mobile, the game has been downloaded by 45 million people and has generated $160 million in revenue. Her cut, roughly $22.5 million per year, accounts for approximately 45% of Kardashian's annual $50 million income.
Pop star Britney Spears was the 100th highest-paid celebrity in the world this year, a drop from the number 85 position last year. Last fall, Spears signed a two-year, $35 million deal to continue her run at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. She also released own mobile game with Glu Mobile in May, titled "Britney Spears: American Dream." Hey, if it works for Kim, why not Britney?