Forbes Releases List of the World’s Highest-Paid Models

2012 Victoria's Secret Angel Holiday Celebration

Forbes just released their annual list of the models with the world most lucrative modeling careers. This year’s list features 21 gorgeous gals, who earned a combined total of $142 million in the last twelve months. The highest-paid models list keeps track of pretax earnings for all models who make the majority of their income from modeling. To form the list, FORBES looked at income from cosmetics and fragrance contracts, advertising, endorsements and other ventures. Earnings were tabulated from June 2013 to June 2014 and were based on interviews with numerous managers, agents and brand executives.

2014 was a year of fresh faces, with new additions to the list including Karlie Kloss, Jourdan Dunn, Anja Rubik and Cara Delevingne. These beauties are all considered long-established queens of the catwalk, but their earnings have only just recently caught up with their stratospheric followers on Instagram. But they didn’t quite make the list’s top ten earners.

Let’s take a look at the fabulous ladies who did.

Top Model Gisele Bundchen in Sao Paulo

Gisele Bundchen

Since 2002, Mrs. Tom Brady has made more money than any other model in the whole wide world. The 34-year old brought in an estimated $47 million before taxes in the last year, placing her in the top 20 highest paid women in all of entertainment. That’s about $16 million more than her quarterback husband’s annual paycheck and $39 million more than the models tied for second place. Bunchen has lucrative contracts with Carolina Herrera, H&M, and Chanel and makes a percentage of sales from a line of jelly sandals she designers for Grendene shoe brand. The catwalk icon is also the face of both Oral-B and Pantene hair products in her home country of Brazil and has her own line of lingerie (Gisele Bundchen Intimates) for Hope lingerie. Bundchen, who boasts 2.7 million Instagram followers, has earned $386 million from modelling since 2001. In other words, no one comes close to this model in the financial game.

(Photo by Adriana Spaca/LatinContent/Getty Images)

'Jimmy P. (Psychotherapy Of A Plains Indian)' Premiere - The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival

Doutzen Kroes

This Dutch superpower upped her paycheck this year with a lucrative L’Oreal cosmetics contract, longstanding Victoria’s Secret deal, and work with H&M, Emilio Pucci and Miu Miu. This is the gorgeous female’s highest ranking on this list, which has placed her in the top ten multiple times. The 29-years old brought in $8 million.

(Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

VS Angels Host A Pink Carpet Event In Los Angeles To Celebrate The 2011 Victoria's Secret SWIM Collection

Adriana Lima

Lima is one of the most beloved Victoria’s Secret Angels for years now and is actually the longest-running Angel in the brand’s history, having begun her work for them 14 years ago in 2000. This seniority provides the 33-year old with a megasized contract, which she supplemented this year returning to Maybelline, with whom she worked from 2003 to 2009, and signing a new deal with retailer Desigual. She tied Ms. Kroes, earning $8 million.

(Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret)

Mango Launches Kate Moss As The New Face Of Fashoin Brand

Kate Moss

Kate Moss is a eponymous to supermodel as anyone in the business and has been a household name since she wore her Calvins back in the 90s. In FORBES’ first-ever Celebrity 100 list back in 1999, only five models made the ranking, including Ms. Moss. And she is the only one that remains (the others were 1990s supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, and Niki Taylor) This year, the 40-year old irreplaceable Brit earned an estimated $7 million before taxes and other fees, from a historic deal with Rimmel cosmetics as well as campaigns for St. Tropez self-tan and Kerastase haircare products.

(Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

10th Annual Style Awards - Arrivals - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014

Kate Upton

The model/actress is the highest-ranked newcomer with an estimated $7 million in annual earnings, thanks to Express clothing line  and Bobbi Brown deals. She became well known from a viral video of her dancing and then for her back-t0-back Sports Illustrated swimsuit covers in 2012 and 2013. The 22-year old has since landed campaigns for Sam Edelman, David Yurman and Accessorize. The co-star of The Other Woman is just one of five models ranked who has not been a Victoria’s Secret Angel.

(Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week)

Miranda Kerr Unveils Victoria's Secret's 2011 Fantasy Treasure Bra

Miranda Kerr

The ex-wife of Orlando Bloom pulled in $7 million in the last 12 months and continues to shine as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, a role she has had since rising to prominence with the position in 2007. She can proudly say she was the first Australian to participate in the Victoria’s Secret campaign and also represented the Australian up-market department store chain David Jones. Kerr, 31, also acquired her fortune by launching her own brand of organic skincare products, KORA Organics, and released a self-help book, Treasure Yourself.

(Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) 

Carolina Herrera - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014

Liu Wen

In 2013, Lui Wen became the first Asian model to ever make Forbes magazine’s annual highest-paid models list and also pulled in $7 million in the last 12 months to solidify her well-earned place on the list.  This Asian beauty is the first model of East Asian descent to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and in 2010, she became the first spokesmodel of Asian descent for Estée Lauder, alongside Constance Jablonski and Joan Smalls. In 2012, The New York Times named the 26-year old “China’s first bona fide supermodel.” In April 2014, American Vogue noted her as having “by far, the biggest social-media audience of any model” in their coverage of social media’s rise in the fashion industry.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014)

'All Is Lost' Premiere - The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival

Alessandra Ambrosio

One of two models to have made $5 million in the last year, this 33-year old Brazilian model is best known for her work with Victoria’s Secret and was chosen as the first spokesmodel for the company’s “PINK” line. Ambrosio is currently still flying high with VS and has modeled for multiple other brands including Next, Armani Exchange, Christian Dior, and Ralph Lauren. She has earned enough to make this list since 2012.

(Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Club SI Swimsuit Hosted By Vanity

Hilary Rhoda

This 27-year old is an American model best known for her work with the brand Estée Lauder and her 2009, 2010, and 2011 appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The striking brunette also brought in $5 million in the past 12 months.

(Photo by Jacob Andrzejczak/Getty Images for Sports Illustrated)

Raisa Gorbachev Foundation - Party Arrivals

Natalia Vodianova

This Russian stunner racked in $4 million, with much thanks to her eight-season long, seven-figure contract with Calvin Klein. In 2012, she actually came in third on the Forbes top-earning models list. 

(Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)

The rest of the list is as follows:

Carolyn Murphy – $4 million

Karlie Kloss – $4 million

Jourdan Dunn –  $4 million

Anja Rubik – $3.5 million

Cara Delevingne – $3.5 million

Candice Swanepoel – $3 million

Joan Smalls  – $3 million

Erin Wasson –  $3 million

Erin Heatherton – $3 million

Lindsey Wixson – $3 million

Daria Werbowy – $3 million

  (Lead Image Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

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