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After 15 years as the world’s highest-paid model, Gisele Bundchen has been dethroned.
Kendall Jenner has bumped the Brazilian off the Forbes list top spot, in a sign that social media influencers aren’t just all smoke and mirrors (and filters).
Jenner, 22, took the top spot with earnings of USD $22 million, thanks to lucrative deals with brands including La Perla, Estee Lauder and Pepsi (but let’s not talk about that).
Bundchen probably isn’t crying into her kale and quinoa though – she’s still in the second spot, taking in a cool USD $17.5 million from June 2016 – June 2017.
Gigi and Bella Hadid also showed that followers can be converted into finance. Gigi is the fifth highest-paid model in the world earning USD $9.5 million, and is no doubt feeling smug about beating sister Bella, who came in at ninth place with USD $6 million.
Chrissy Teigen also showed the power of social media; the prolific tweeter and ‘grammer came in third place with USD $13.5 million thanks to endorsement deals and cook books.
“With social media, there are more opportunities to create your own content and use your voice,” Ivan Bart, president of IMG Models told Forbes. “The stars are using it.”
Another notable addition is Ashley Graham, the first plus-size model to be featured on the Forbes list. She just edged her way in with a pay day of USD $5.5 million.
But the list also shows the modeling world is in desperate need of more diversity. Chinese model Liu Wen was the only woman of colour on the list – she ranked eighth with earnings of USD $6.5 million.
Here’s the full list.
1 Kendall Jenner $22,000,000
2 Gisele Bundchen $17,500,000
3 Chrissy Teigen $13,500,000
4 Adriana Lima $10,500,000
5 Gigi Hadid $9,500,000
5 Rosie Huntington-Whiteley $9,500,000
7 Karlie Kloss $9,000,000
8 Liu Wen $6,500,000
9 Bella Hadid $6,000,000
10 Ashley Graham $5,500,000
