Taylor Swift is at the top of her game and is reportedly out-earning some of music’s biggest stars.
The 22-year-old singer was named at the top of Forbes’ list of Highest Paid Stars Under 30 on July 12. According to the business magazine’s calculations, Swift earned $57 million between May 2011 and May 2012 to help her land at the top spot.
Not only did her platinum-selling albums help, but so did her endorsement work for companies like CoverGirl. Swift also placed 11th in the magazine’s annual Celebrity 100 list, which was topped by 42-year-old Jennifer Lopez.
Forbes says it calculates its rankings based on album and concert sales, movie salaries, endorsements and ad work. They also excluded athletes from this list but not from their Celebrity 100 list.
In March, Swift topped Billboard’s “Money Makers” list and they estimated Swift earned more than $35 million in 2011.
Swift’s tour for her “Speak Now” album earned $88.5 million in the U.S. and Swift received $29.8 million for her effort on the road, according to the industry magazine. The singer’s songwriting efforts also helped her earn a sizable income through royalties as the album’s tracks were used in a variety of movie and television series.
In second place on Forbes’ list is Justin Bieber, who reportedly earned $55 million between May 2011 and May 2012. The 18-year-old singer has made wise investments in companies like Spotify and Tinychat and is also the only man in the top five.
Rihanna comes in third place with $53 million. It is the 24-year-old singer’s first time on the list. In the time span covered by the magazine, Rihanna had hit songs like “We Found Love” and big endorsement deals with Vita Coco and Nivea.
Lady Gaga, 26, and Katy Perry, 27, finish out the top five with $52 million and $45 million respectively. Perry’s recent album “Teenage Dream” had five No. 1 singles, matching a record first reached by Michael Jackson and his 1985 “Bad” album.
“Twilight Saga” stars Kristen Stewart,22, Taylor Lautner, 20, and Robert Pattinson, 26, also made the list this year. Stewart came in 7th place with $34.5 million and Lautner and Pattinson tie for 9th place with $26.5 million.
