Thursday, December 29, 2016

Boy band One Direction have topped a list of the highest paid European celebrities in 2016, despite spending the year on hiatus.

The group, who spent the last 12 months pursuing solo projects, topped the Forbes list after bringing in $110 million (£89.9 million) over 12 months.

One Direction in 2015 (Ian West/PA)

They raked in the cash from the tail-end of their On The Road Again tour and endorsement deals with Pepsi and Colgate, Forbes said.

They comfortably defeated footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who came second on the list with earnings of $88 million (£72 million), and singing superstar Adele, who brought in $80.5 million (£65.8 million) between June 2015 and June 2016.

Adele (Ian West/PA)

Tennis proved to be a lucrative sport, with Swiss star Roger Federer taking fourth place on the list with $68 million (£55.6 million) and Serbian champion Novak Djokovic coming in eighth with $56 million (£45.7 million).

British musicians dominated the list though, with the Rolling Stones’ relentless touring contributing to their $66.5 million (£54.3 million) and DJ Calvin Harris raking in $63 million (£51.5 million).

The Rolling Stones topped the charts with their new album (Ian West/PA)

Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney earned $56.5 million (£46.1 million) while Irish rockers U2 made $55 million (£45 million).

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay completed the top 10 with his $54 million (£44 million).

Chef Gordon Ramsay (Adam Davy/PA)

Forbes calculated the ranking based on numbers from Nielsen, Pollstar, Box Office Mojo, Songkick and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders and some of the stars in question.

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