Forbes’ Highest Paid Celebrities List Includes Seven Country Stars
Country musicians prove to be among the highest-earning celebrities, according to Forbes. The magazine released its annual list of the Top 100 Highest-Paid Celebrities on Monday (June 12), and seven country stars made the cut.
Not too surprisingly, Garth Brooks ranks as highest earner within the genre, sitting at No. 26 — he raked in a nice $60 million over the past year. He has his current Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood to thank for his increasing bank account.
Kenny Chesney comes in at No. 53 with $42.5 million thanks to stadium tours, his Blue Chair Rum and endorsements with both Corona and Apple. Hip-shaker and touring monster Luke Bryan is listed at No. 55, having made $42 million, while Dolly Parton comes in at No. 71 with $37 million thanks to her tour and investment to her theme park Dollywood.
Additionally, Toby Keith and Florida Georgia Line tie for the 83rd slot with each earning a cool $34.5 million. Jason Aldean, meanwhile, is the seventh country star to make the list at No. 98 earning $32.5 million from his They Don’t Know Tour.
The chart is led by non-country stars, with Diddy at the top position — he earned $130 million. Beyonce and J.K. Rowling are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, with $105 million and $95 million, respectively.
In addition to Brooks being the No. 1 earner in the country music genre, lately he also seems to be the artist with the most surprises up his sleeves. On June 8, the singer made Nashville's Nissan Stadium erupt when he made an unannounced appearance as part of 2017 CMA Fest and performed a 15-minute set. He also made one young musician's dreams come true when he handed him his guitar off his back in a recent concert.
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What Garth Did for This Young Musician Is AWESOME!