Diddy, Rihanna, The Weeknd, Jay Z, Beyonce, and Drake are among this year’s highest-paid musicians. Of those names, Rihanna is by far the most well-to-do, with reported 2016 earnings of $75 million.
Taylor Swift made by far the most money of all music-makers in 2016, according to Forbes’ newly unveiled list of The World’s Highest-Paid Musicians of 2016. She comes in first place with a grand total of $170 million, $60 million ahead of the Zayn-less boy band One Direction. Diddy, who made the vast majority of his income via non-musical ventures, is the only rap artist to make the top 10, grabbing the final spot with $62 million. Aside from Diddy, Rihanna is the only other non-white artist among the 10 highest earners, and she rounded out the top 5 with $75 million, almost three times as much as her 2015 income ($26 million).
Beyonce and Jay Z’s combined income would land the power couple at No. 3 on the list, but individually, Bey came in at No. 17 with $54 million, one rank and $500,000 ahead of her husband. The Weeknd sits in front of them both with $55 million, tying him with U2for No. 15 on the list. The final position within this year’s class of musical cash cows goes to Drake, whose 2016 earnings amount to $38.5 million. See some of the notable rankings below, and check out the entire list on Forbes.
30. Drake, $38.5 million
25. Dr. Dre, $41 million (tie with Katy Perry)
18. Jay Z, $53.5 million
17. Beyonce, $54 million
15. The Weeknd, $55 million (tie with U2)
13. Justin Bieber, $56 million
10. Diddy, $62 million
5. Rihanna, $75 million
4. Madonna, $76.5 million
3. Adele, $80.5 million
2. One Direction, $110 million
1. Taylor Swift, $170 million
