Being rich does not depend on gender, occupation, or age — as seen in the recent Forbes magazine’s list of the Top 10 highest paid stars under the age of 30. Six on the list are females, three are males; and 7 out of the 10 stars are singers, with only 3 being Hollywood celebrities.
Of course, what makes the list more interesting is the fact that it is comprised of people who have not reached the age of 30 yet, but are already millionaires.
Teen sensation Taylor Swift topped the list with more than $57 million earnings from May 2011 to May 2012, while Canadian pop star Justin Bieber is second with $55 million. Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry complete the Top 5.
According to Forbes, the list was compiled by considering “album and concert sales, movie paydays, profit participation, endorsements and advertising work” from May 2011 until May 2012. Only gross income was considered; agent fees and other expenses, such as taxes, were not deducted.
Here is the list of the Top 10 highest paid stars under the age of 30.
(2012) Top 10 Highest Paid Stars Under 30
#1. Taylor Swift
- 1-Year Pay: $57 million
- Age: 22
Taylor Swift is estimated to have earned big time from her concert tours, grossing over $1 million per night with more than 65 tour dates. Her 2010 album “Speak Now” has sold over 5 million copies as of 2012, while her two other past albums have gone platinum at least four times. She also has a multimillion endorsement deal with CoverGirl cosmetics.
#2. Justin Bieber
- 1-Year Pay: $55 million
- Age: 18
A close second to Taylor Swift is another teener who just turned 18. Canadian singer Justin Bieber has launched four albums since 2009 (My World, My World 2.0, Under the Mistletoe, and Believe) and has sold a combined total of 12 million copies. Originally discovered on YouTube, his trademark song “Baby” is the most-watched video on YouTube, with 750 million pageviews, until today. He has more than 43 millions fans on Facebook and 21 million Twitter followers, next only to Lady Gaga.
#3. Rihanna
- 1-Year Pay: $53 million
- Age: 24
Rihanna is considered one of the best selling artists of all time, having sold more than 25 million albums since she started in 2005. She is also the best selling digital artist with more than 48 million online downloads of her songs as of 2012. Her concert tours and product endorsements of Vita Coco and Nivea also contributed to her huge earnings. On Facebook, she has more than 53 million fans, second only to rapper Eminem.
#4. Lady Gaga
- 1-Year Pay: $52 million
- Age: 26
Lady Gaga drops to No. 4 from No. 1 last year due to a hiatus in concert tours, but expect her to make a comeback next year after kicking off in April 2012 her Born This Way Ball Tour, with more than 110 concert dates around the world. The flamboyant singer-songwriter is estimated to have sold more than 23 million albums worldwide. She is the world’s most followed Twitter member, with 24 million followers, and, with 50 million fans, ranks third on Facebook next to Eminem’s and Rihanna’s fan pages.
#5. Katy Perry
- 1-Year Pay: $45 million
- Age: 27
Katy Perry is the only female artist in history to have spawned five No. 1 Billboard singles from one album. The five songs — “California Gurls”, “Teenage Dream”, “Firework”, “E.T.”, and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” — are all from her 2010 album Teenage Dream which sold more than 5.5 million copies worldwide. Her “California Dreams Tour” grossed more than$60 million. She also ventured into film, voicing a character in The Smurfs movie and appearing in the 3D biopic film Katy Perry: Part of Me in 2011.
#6. Adele
- 1-Year Pay: $35 million
- Age: 24
English singer-songwriter Adele is the first female artist in history to have three singles in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts at the same time. Her debut album 19, released in 2008, sold more than 2 million copies in the US alone. Her second album 21, released in 2011, reached a record of 23 million copies sold worldwide. The same album also gave her six Grammy Awards in 2012, including “Album of the Year” and “Song of the Year.”
#7. Kristen Stewart
- 1-Year Pay: $34.5 million
- Age: 22
Kristen Stewart is said to be the highest-earning Hollywood actress in the May 2011-May 2012 period, having earned more than $34.5 million. She is getting $25 million for starring as Bella Swan in the last two installments of the Twilight series. She also earned big cash playing Snow White in the 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman.
#8. Lil Wayne
- 1-Year Pay: $27 million
- Age: 29
Rapper Lil Wayne benefited from his over 50 concert shows in the past 12 months, grossing more than $600,000 per performance. His 2011 album Tha Carter IV sold 1 million copies in its first week alone. He recently launched his own clothing line, Trukfit, and signed a multimillion dollar deal with Mountain Dew.
#9. Taylor Lautner
- 1-Year Pay: $26.5 million
- Age: 20
Team Jacob beats Team Edward this time, because Taylor Lautner is younger although he shares the same income of $26.5 million with Twilight co-star Edward Pattinson. In 2011, Lautner appeared in the movie Abduction which grossed a measly $28 million in the US, and earned $82 million worldwide.
#10. Robert Pattinson
- 1-Year Pay: $26.5 million
- Age: 26
Starting his career as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Robert Pattinson became more famous after landing the leading role of Edward Cullen in the Twilight series. Post-Twilight, he appeared in other films such as Bel Ami in 2012 and Water for Elephants in 2011, but has not matched the commercial success of his earlier vampire movies.
Source: Forbes magazine
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