Metallica, Bon Jovi + KISS Make Forbes’ Highest Paid Celebrities List
While death and taxes are typically certainties in this world, so is the yearly love for Metallica, Bon Jovi and KISS. The three acts have carved out impressive careers that make them a top draw anytime they hit the road, so it should come as no surprise that all three acts made Forbes' annual highest-paid celebrities list.
The financial magazine recently published their annual list of the Top 100 highest paid-celebrities, with Kylie Jenner topping the list being paid $590 million over the past year. She was followed by Kanye West at $170 million and tennis great Roger Federer at $106.3 million. There is someone with rock related ties in the Top 10 at SiriusXM radio host Howard Stern came in at No. 8, being paid $90 million.
There are a few rock legends on the list, with the Rolling Stones taking at $59 million paycheck (No. 32 overall) and Sir Paul McCartney's tab coming at $37 million (No. 91 overall). But when it comes to hard rock and metal vets, it was Metallica who commanded $40.5 million that placed at No. 78 on the list. A little further down, Bon Jovi's paycheck was $38 million (good enough for 87th on the list) and KISS, in the midst of the farewell tour, taking at $36.5 million tally (placing at No. 95).
There are a couple of crossover acts who fared quite well this past year, as Post Malone was 28th on the list at $60 million, while Grammy favorite Billie Eilish placed 43rd with $53 million.
Forbes compiled their list by estimating the pre-tax earnings of the artist between June 2019 and June 2020, then deducting fees for their managers. Their data came from Nielsen, Pollstar, IMDB and interviews with industry experts and the celebrities themselves.
According to Forbes, the highest paid celebrities of the past year combined for a $6.1 billion total before taxes and fees, which is a $200 million drop from 2019. Obviously the global pandemic had something to do with that as the entertainment industry shut down for a majority of 2020. See the full Forbes list here.
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