Forbes recently released its list of highest-paid celebrities of 2020 and ranked Kanye West as the highest-paid musician.
West’s $170 million is more than twice the amount Elton John earned, who came in second place with $81 million. The rapper’s deal with Adidas secured most of his earnings. According to Forbes, West gets an annual royalty from Adidas, which makes his Yeezy shoes. The Yeezy brand pulled in an estimated $1.3 billion in sales in 2019. Not only is Kanye West the highest-paid musician, but he’s also the highest-paid male celebrity and is the only musician to make the top ten in the publication’s top 100 list. Having been a critic of Forbes in the past, West seemed pleased with his ranking as he tweeted the news and wrote, “This a good start.”
The top 100 celebrities brought in a total of $6.1 billion in pretax earnings, $200 million less than last year.