Singer Taylor Swift was named the world’s highest-paid entertainer on Wednesday but was closely followed by two members of the wider Kardashian clan – reality star turned cosmetics queen Kylie Jenner and rapper Kanye West. The annual Forbes Celebrity 100 list also saw soccer stars Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar among the top 10, along with British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and 1970s soft rock band the Eagles, who embarked on a new tour in 2018. West, the husband of Kim Kardashian, returned to the list after a four-year absence. Forbes estimated his pre-tax earnings at $150m, driven mostly by his popular Yeezy sneaker line, putting him in third place. Kim Kardashian ranked No 26 on the list.
Swift, hot off her 2018 Reputation tour and album, earned an estimated $185m to take the No 1 spot. The 29-year-old pop star also topped the list in 2016 after her best-selling 1989 tour and album. Jenner, 21, the half-sister of Kim, Khloé Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian, came in second place after bringing in an estimated $170m thanks to her booming online lip kits and cosmetics company.
Earlier this year Forbes declared Jenner to be the world’s youngest billionaire. Forbes compiled its 2019 list by estimating pre-tax earnings from June 2018 to June 2019, before deducting fees for managers, based on data from Nielsen, touring trade publication Pollstar, movie database IMDB and interviews with industry experts and many of the celebrities themselves. The magazine said the world’s 100 highest-paid celebrities pulled in $6.3bn pretax over the past 12 months. The American boxer Floyd Mayweather and The actor George Clooney took the top two spots on last year’s list but landed outside the top 10 this time.