Taylor Swift Tops Forbes’ 2016's list of Highest Paid Women in Music, dethrones Katy Perry

US Singer Taylor Swift has been named the richest female musician by Forbes' Highest-Paid Women in Music list for 2016 beating the likes of Beyonce, Adele, Rihanna and long time enemy Katy Perry.

The 26-year-old amassed earnings of 170 million US dollars over the past year, which even double that of her closest rival, Adele who earned 80.5 million US dollars to sit in second place.

Forbes noted that Swift earned majority of her cash from her 1989 World Tour which raked in a quarter of a billion dollars. 

She also has lucrative endorsement deals where she appeared in commercials for brands likes Diet Coke, Apple, Keds and more.  
Swift overtook 2015’s highest paid woman, Katy Perry, 32 who dropped to sixth place this year, behind Beyonce, who came in fifth.

Katy Perry, who was number one in 2015 falls to 6th place this year.

British singer Adele, 28 comes second on the list earning a reported $80.5 million, mainly from her 25 album sales.

Adele is second with $80.5m, with her earnings mainly from album sales

Coming in third place is Madonna, 58 who also had a successful world tour this year earning a reported $76.5 million.

Full List

1. Taylor Swift - $170m (£137.8m)
2. Adele - $80.5m (£65.2m)
3. Madonna - $76.5m (£62m)
4. Rihanna - $75m (£60.8m)
5. Beyonce - $54m (£43.8m)
6. Katy Perry - $41m (£33.2m)
7. Jennifer Lopez - $39.5m (£32m)
8. Britney Spears - $30.5m (£24.7m)
9. Shania Twain - $27.5m (£22.3m)
10. Celine Dion - $27m (£21.9m)