Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift Tops Forbes Richest Under Thirties List

There's only one male in the top five, and you can guess who he is, with Justin Bieber taking second spot, this in spite of a troublesome 12 months that have seen him hit with a paternity lawsuit and accused of bashing up a photographer. One person you might have expected to be higher was Adele, who comes in at sixth spot with an income of $35 million; it's worth remembering though that whilst her album '21' has continued to sell at phenomenal levels, it was released before the time in which results for the table were collected, with the bulk of its impact happening in early Spring of 2011.

Indeed, even Katy Perry beat Adele, the star reaping the benefits of both a new album and an almost constant touring schedule which saw her take an estimated $45 million.