Lady Gaga fans have just one more reason to feel a little scorn toward the Mother Monster's arch nemesis Madonna. The MDNA singer has passed Gaga in a big way and topped the list of Forbes' 25 highest paid musicians by a long shot.
According to Forbes, Madge raked in $125 million last year, blasting away all other competition. Though Madonna didn't release a new album this year, she managed to rake in the dough from the end of her MDNA tour, which grossed $305 million in total. Of course, the music business isn't the only place where Madonna has her hand. She's also managed to make money through her Material Girl clothing line, fragrance Truth or Dare and other business ventures.
As mentioned, second place on the Forbes list went to none other than Madonna's rival (and much younger form) Lady Gaga, who made $80 million last year. The financial success of Gaga comes largely from her Born This Way Ball, which made $168 million before getting cancelled in February due to Gaga's hip injury and consequential surgery.
Forbes reports that had Gaga been able to finish out her lucrative tour, she easily would have made over $200 million and thus bested Madonna on the 25 highest paid musicians list.
Established acts made up much of the Forbes countdown, with Bon Jovi, Toby Keith and Elton John all landing in the top 10. Of course, pop youngsters and tween idols Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber also raked in millions upon millions due to their successful tours. Bieber landed at No. 7 with $58 million and Swift raked in a cool $55 million.
Check out the full list of Forbes' top music earners here.
