The Rolling Stones have topped a list of the highest earning musicians of the year so far.
The Stones who have just finished up their ‘A Bigger Bang‘ worldwide tour with three explosive sets at London’s 02 Arena – have managed to earn £43 million pounds this year in the process.
The musician’s earning list is drawn up annually by US business magazine Forbes, put the Rolling Stones top. Billboard magazine’s own list at the end of 2006 also ranked the Stones the biggest earners for this tour.
The band have grossed £217m ($437m) playing 110 shows to around 3.5 million Stones fans since June last year.
US rapper Jay-Z came second on the list with a total income of £41m ($83m).
Madonna came in third earning a ‘mere’ estimated total of £35m ($72m).
The full top 10 music earners according to Forbes is:
1. The Rolling Stones – $88m
2. Jay-Z – $83m
3. Madonna – $72m
4. Bon Jovi – $67m
5. Sir Elton John – £53m
6. Celine Dion – $45m
7. Tim McGraw – $37m
8. 50 Cent – $33m
9. U2 – $30m
10. P Diddy – $23m