Entertainment

Kendall Jenner Is Now The Highest-Paid Model & Her Yearly Income Is Unreal

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Kendall Jenner is bringing in the big bucks, topping the list of highest-paid models for 2017 and bumping Gisele Bündchen from the top of the heap. What is Kendall Jenner’s net worth? You might want to sit down for this because it’s crazy.

Drumroll, please... according to Forbes list of Highest Paid Models 2017, Jenner earned $22 million in the past year, with income streams pouring in from modeling, advertisements to her 85 million Instagram followers, and deals with companies such as Estée Lauder, La Perla, and Adidas. Don’t forget her Kendall + Kylie clothing line, a ton of other endorsement deals, and, of course, her cut of the reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

It’s insane. This is the first year since 2002 that Bündchen has been topped as the world’s highest earning model, but fear not, she’s still sitting pretty at number two on the list with $17.5 million in earnings over the last year, so she’s doing okay. Bündchen was the face of Carolina Herrera fragrance and Arezzo shoes and Vivara jewelry campaigns in Brazil.

According to Forbes, in 2016, Jenner earned $17 million and was the third highest-paid model in the world, so she's definitely moving up in the world.

Chrissy Teigen nabbed the number three spot on the list, with a net worth of $13.5 million, joining the ranking for the first time, which is beyond impressive. As you’d guess, Teigen popped on the list because she’s so visible on social media, has a foodie empire, as well as deals with Vita Coco and Smirnoff. If Teigen keeps things going at this pace, Jenner might just be bumped from her top spot next year.

Other all-stars on the 2017 highest-earning models list include Gigi Hadid at number five ($9.5 million), Karlie Kloss at number seven ($9 million), and Bella Hadid landing in the ninth spot ($6 million). With the Hadid sisters on the list, it’s the first time that siblings have made the ranking of highest paid models.

Social media visibility makes a huge difference, with Ivan Bart, president at IMG Models, explaining: "With social media, there are more opportunities to create your own content and use your voice. The stars are using it."

As for Kloss, she’s earning big bucks, but also using her name to help educate more girls for careers in software engineering with her Kode With Klossy program. She told Forbes, "I realized, here I am with this platform and reach to young women across the country and around the world. If I could just help a handful of girls that would be really meaningful." Admirable, right?

Rounding out the top ten list of highest paid models is Liu Wen at number eight ($6.5 million) and Ashley Graham coming in at number 10 ($5.5 million). Graham told Forbes in 2016 that there's more to this business than just a pretty face, noting: "It is not about who has the highest cheekbones anymore. It is really about how to be a boss, a brand and a businesswoman."

Back to Jenner's family, who knows a thing or two about building a brand. A September 2017 Time.com article looking at the Kardashian-Jenner women’s net worths reveals they are the highest-earning stars in reality TV. Here's how their net worth info ranked:

  • Kim Kardashian West: $175 million
  • Kris Jenner: $60 million
  • Kylie Jenner: $50 million
  • Khloe Kardashian: $40 million
  • Kourtney Kardashian: $35 million
  • Kendall Jenner: $22 million

Though Jenner won’t be gracing the runway of the 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion show because of a contract with another lingerie company, she landed second on Business Insider’s list of 9 Highest Paid Victoria’s Secret Models in 2017, with $10 million, topped by Adriana Lima, the longest-serving Victoria's Secret Angel ever, at $10.5 million.

There's definitely no sign of the Kardashian-Jenner empire slowing down... it'll be interesting to see where Jenner lands on this list in 2018.

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