Lady Gaga tops Forbes' 2011 "Top Earning Women In Music" list

The numbers are in, and the standings are official. Although Adele conquered album sales this year, Katy Perry made Billboard chart history and Taylor Swift sold out seemingly impossible-sized stadiums, it was the most avant-garde woman in music who reeled in the most money of them all over the past 12 months. With total earnings of $90 million, Lady Gaga is officially the leading lady atop Forbes‘ 2011 “Top Earning Women In Music” list. According to the publication, that gross amount stems from “strong album sales, endorsements and an extremely lucrative world tour.” Behind Gaga falls the likes of Beyoncé Knowles, who raked in $35 million this year, Rihanna with $29 million, the Las Vegas-performing Celine Dion with $19 million, and the aforementioned Adele, Perry and Swift, who collected $18 million, $44 million and $45 million, respectively. While those numbers are all very impressive, the gap between Gaga’s 2011 income and her competitors’ is pretty astonishing. In case you haven’t added it up already, Mother Monster made more money this year than both of her runner-ups, Swift and Perry, combined. Congratulations to Gaga on topping the list, and congratulations to all of the above for being richer than all of us.

Source: Billboard Biz