Forbes richest celebrity list: Katy Perry slips behind Mayweather, Pacquiao

Boxers Manny Pacquiao, left, and Floyd Mayweather Jr., have out earned Katy Perry, centre, on the Forbes richest celebrity list. Source: Supplied

Katy Perry pulled in $US135 million ($A177 million) in the past year to be the world’s top-grossing musician. However, the singer was not the highest paid celebrity — Perry came in third behind boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. ($US300m) and Manny Pacquiao ($US160m) who made a fortune from their Las Vegas “fight of the century’’ in May.

Forbes magazine said 30-year-old Perry, who is on a 150-date world tour for her album Prism, narrowly edged out One Direction for income in the year through June 1.

The British boy band, whose future and image were thrown into doubt in March when member Zayn Malik left, grossed $US130 million.

They were followed at $US90 million by Garth Brooks, the 1990s country star who has returned to the road for a comeback album, and fellow pop singer Taylor Swift at $US80 million.


Gallery Top 10 highest-paid celebrities

10 - Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo earned a whopping $AU103.6 in the past year. See the full storyhere. Picture: AFP

9 - Taylor Swift, the popstar who took on Apple, and whose album 1989 moved 3.7 million units in 2014, earned $104m. Picture: AFP

Perry’s dominance over Swift is not surprising considering that Forbes looks at earnings during the year, not total income.

Similarly, Beyonce — who was the highest-paid among all celebrities on last year’s list — slipped to number 29 as she ended a major tour in March 2014.

Swift in October released 1989, which was the fastest-selling US album in 13 years, but she did not go on tour until May, near the end of the period analysed by Forbes.

1989 includes the song Bad Blood in which Swift complains about a rival who “hit me where I’m weak” and warns that “time can heal, but this won’t”.

Swift told Rolling Stone magazine that the song was about a rival who tried to “sabotage” her tour by poaching the people working for her, leading to wide speculation she was speaking about Perry.

It wasn’t just Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao who raked in the dollars from their fight. Huge crowds and high rollers helped Nevada casinos make more than $US1 billion off gamblers in May.

Nevada Gaming Control Board statistics released in recent days showed a 3.3 per cent year-over-year increase for May, and Strip casinos were up 1.4 per cent, keeping $US601.2 million of what gamblers wagered.

The fight also helped boost sports betting. “Other” bets that include boxing but not football, basketball, baseball and horse racing, hit a record total of $US81.2 million wagered and $US8.2 million won by casinos.

The long-awaited matchup also helped produce a surge at McCarran International Airport, which reported nearly 4 million passengers last month, the most for May since the recession. And the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said 3.7 million travellers came to town, an all-time monthly record.

The Forbes list of the world’s highest paid celebrities

1. Floyd Mayweather, 38, $US300m

2. Manny Pacquiao, 36, $US160m

3. Katy Perry, 30, $US135m

4. One Direction, $US130m

5. Howard Stern, 61, $95m

6. Garth Brooks, 53, $US90m

7. James Patterson, 68, $US89m

8. Robert Downey Jr., 50, $US80m

8. Taylor Swift, 25, $US80m

10. Cristiano Ronaldo, 30, $79.5m

11. Rush Limbaugh, 64, $US79m

12. Ellen DeGeneres, 57, $US75m

13. Lionel Messi, 28, $US74m

14. The Eagles, $US73.5m

15. Dr Phil McGraw, 64, $US70m

16. Roger Federer, 33, $US67m

17. Calvin Harris, 31, $US66m

18. LeBron James, 30, $US65m

19. Justin Timberlake, 34, $US63.5m

20. David Copperfield, 58, $US63m



AFP