Taylor Swift is world's highest-paid celebrity: Forbes Celeb 100

Singer Taylor Swift arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California February 28, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Forbes has named pop singer Taylor Swift as the highest-paid celebrity in 2016, with a whopping paycheck of $170 million. Swift led the race with ease, beating British boy band One Direction by $60 million in earnings.

Swift owes much of her income to her 1989 World Tour. The Style singer beat The Rolling Stones' North American touring record, selling out stadiums to some $5 million per night, grossing $200 million in North America to a total of a quarter of a billion dollars for the tour. Swift also earned big bucks from her endorsement contracts with Diet Coke, shoemaker Keds and Apple.

British boy band One Direction claimed the second spot with total earnings of $110 million. The band, which is currently on a hiatus after the departure of Zayn Malik, has the tour One The Road Again to thank for its profits. Thriller author James Patterson raked in $95 million to claim third spot, while soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo and TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw tied at fifth spot with $88 million.

The Forbes Celebrity 100 list was released earlier this week. This year, one third of the honorees hail from outside the United States.

British songstress Adele ranked No. 9 with $80.5 million. Chinese kung fu superstar Jackie Chan, the only person from China on the list, sat at No. 21 with $61 million. Chan is also the world's second-highest-paid actor. (China's action megastar is world's second highest paid actor) 

South Korean boyband Bigbang, which is currently at the top of its niche and the top earning K-Pop group of all time, raked in $44 million at No. 54. Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, though retired from the industry, is still strong at No. 99 with $30.5 million. Bundchen boasts fragrance and beauty deals with fashion giants like Chanel and Carolina Herrera, aside from her own line of lingerie and skincare products. Actress Jennifer Lawrence is once again the world's highest paid leading actress (No. 50, $46 million).

Geographical diversity on the Celeb 100 is better, but the gender gap still remains; there are only 15 women, down from 16 last year.

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