Taylor Swift named highest-paid celebrity in world, beating Kylie Jenner and Kanye West

2019 marks singer’s biggest earnings total yet

Taylor Swift has been named the highest-paid celebrity in the world for 2019, after earning a pre-tax income of $185m (£148m) over the past year, according to Forbes’ annual list.

The singer’s number one place on the list comes after her estimated pay grew 131 per cent since 2018, according to the publication, with touring contributing to a huge part of her success.

Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour, which started last year, is the highest-grossing US tour in history, according to Billboard Boxscore, after grossing $266.1m (£212m) domestically and $345m (£276m) overall.

According to Forbes, Netflix acquiring Swift’s live concert special and endorsement deals with Apple, AT&T and Diet Coke also added “millions” to her income, while her new deal with Universal Music Group’s Republic Records could be “worth up to $200m (£160m)”.

This is not the first time the 26-year-old has topped the list – in 2016, she was named the highest-paid celebrity in the world with an income of $170m (£136m) as a result of her 1989 World Tour.

Kylie Jenner, who made headlines as the youngest-ever self-made billionaire last year, came in second place, with earnings of $170m.

According to the publication, the makeup mogul sold an estimated $360m (£288m) worth of Kylie Cosmetics in 2018, with her beauty company worth “at least $900m (£720m)”.

In third place is Kanye West with $150m (£120m), followed by football player Lionel Messi and Ed Sheeran, with earnings of $127m (£101m) and $110m (£88m) respectively.

Men comprise the rest of the top 10 spots, with the third female highest-paid celebrity, JK Rowling, ranked 13th on the list.

Beyonce and Jay Z reported identical earnings of $81m (£64m), with the couple tied for 20th place.

The 100th place on the list goes to Celine Dion, who earned $37.5m (£30m) in 2019.

According to Forbes, the 100 celebrities earned an overall total of $6.3bn (£5bn) in pre-tax earnings over the last 12 months.