ABC/Arturo Holmes; J. Rose

While many musicians will take a financial hit due to the cancellation of their tours because of the COVID-19 pandemic, at this moment in 2020, quite a few of your favorite artists are doing just fine, according to Forbes.

The publication’s annual list of the World’s Highest-Paid Celebrities has pop-rock great Elton John as the top-ranked musician at #14, with earnings of $81 million over the past year. Elton’s earnings were bolstered by his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which grossed $212 million last year.

Another veteran act that landed high up on the list are The Rolling Stones, who come at #32 with earnings of $59 million. The British rock legends’ 2019 tour grossed $178 million although they played just 16 concerts.

Other veteran artists on the tally’s top 100 include Phil Collins, who was tied with boy band the Backstreet Boys at #64, with $45 million in earnings; The Eagles at #75, with $41 million; Bon Jovi and U2, who were tied with Lady Gaga at #87, with $38 million; Paul McCartney at #91, with $37 million; and KISS at #95, with $36.5 million.

Kylie Jenner, who earned $590 million, is number-one overall on the Forbes list, with $590 million, despite the publication recently revoking her billionaire status. Forbes writes, “Jenner’s payday came from selling a 51% stake in her cosmetics firm to Coty…while she had exaggerated over the years about the size of her business, the money she pulled in from the deal was real.”

Forbes notes that many of these stars won’t rank as high on next year’s list due to those tour cancellations.

By Matt Friedlander
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.