Madonna

Madonna is still maintaining her top earning musician in the World. 


According to Forbes, Lady Gaga and Madonna have a superstar rivalry made in gossip-blog heaven. The former burst onto the scene five years ago with a provocative pop sensibility reminiscent of the latter’s. Last year, Madonna accused Gaga of ripping off one of her songs; this year, the “Born This Way” singer insisted she doesn’t want the Material Girl’s throne.

From an earnings perspective, however, there’s no question over the winner of this battle’s latest round. The honor goes to Madonna, who pulled in $125 million over the past year, making her the highest-paid musician in the world. The bulk of Madge’s millions came from the tail end of her MDNA Tour, which grossed $305 million. She augments her income with heady merchandise sales at concerts, as well as her Material Girl clothing line and Truth or Dare fragrance. Below are the full list.

1. Madonna - $125 million
2. Lady Gaga -  $80 million
3. Bon Jovi - $79 million
 4. Toby Keith - $65 million
5. Coldplay - $64 million.
6.  Justin Bieber - $58 million
7. Taylor Swift - $55 million
8. Elton John - $54 million
9. Kenny Chesney - $53 million
9. Beyonce - $53 million (tie)

11. Sean "Diddy" Combs - $50 million
12. Sir Paul McCartney - $47 million
13. Calvin Harris - $46 million
14. Jennifer Lopez - $45 million
15. Roger Waters - $44 million
16. Muse - $43 million (tie)
16. Rihanna - $43 million (tie)
18. Jay Z - $42 million
18. One Direction - $42 million (tie)
20. Dr. Dre - $40 million
20. Red Hot Chili Peppers ($40 million, tie)
22. Rolling Stones - $39 million (tie)
22. Katy Perry - $39 million (tie)
24. Tim McGraw - $33 million (tie)
25. Pink - $32 million (tie)
25. Tiësto - $32 million (tie)