One Direction top highest earners list
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 £89.9 million over 12 months.
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 £72m and singing superstar Adele, who brought in £65.8m between June 2015 andJune2016.
Tennis proved to be a lucrative sport, with Swiss star Roger Federer taking fourth place on the list with £55.6m. And Serbian tennis champion Novak Djokovic ranked in eighth place with £45.7m.
British musicians dominated the list though, with the Rolling Stones’ relentless touring contributing to their £54.3mandScotsDJCalvin Harris raking in £51.5m.
Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney earned £46.1m, while Irish rockers U2 made £45m.
Scots celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay completed the top 10 with his £44m earnings.
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.