Katy Perry Roars Past Taylor Swift On Forbes‘ Highest-Paid Celebrities List

Forbes' annual list of the world's highest-paid celebrities is out, and you're gonna hear Katy Perry ROAR when you open it. The singer landed all the way up at the number-three spot, right behind boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Perry is the first musician on the list, having earned $135 million in the past 12 months, thanks in part to performing 124 concerts in 27 countries. Forbes put Perry on the issue's cover, deeming her "America's Pop Export." "Fame has never generated so much global fortune,” the issue proclaims. Perry’s global touring model is one that other musicians are rushing to emulate. Taylor Swift, who came in at number eight on the list with $80 million earned in the past 12 months, is currently on a world tour. So is One Direction, who came in at number four, earning $130 million in the past 12 months. It’s Katy Perry who's the star of Forbes' cover story, though, which praises her business acumen and her ability to tap into the zeitgeist with songs and equity deals. “I am proud of my position as a boss, as a person that runs my own company,” the singer told Forbes. “I’m an entrepreneur… I don’t want to shy away from it. I actually want to kind of grab it by its balls.” The whole planet, it seems, is on board with Katy Perry. Her tour merchandise sells at a rate four times the industry average. She played the Super Bowl halftime show this year (where she may or may not have been upstaged by a rogue shark). It’s Katy Perry’s world, and all us California Gurls and Teenage Dreamers are just living in it. (Forbes)