Highest-paid models: every Forbes list from 2009 to 2018

Ask who the highest-paid model in the world is and most people picture a supermodel with a beauty contract and a famous face. The question has a precise answer only for the years when Forbes counted. Jurgita has published those lists since 2010. Here they are in one place, with the newer data, the men's list and an explanation of where such money comes from.

How Forbes counted matters. The figures are pre-tax earnings over twelve months, usually June to June, before agents' and managers' fees, estimated from agencies, brands and industry sources. What ordinary working models earn is a different story, told in our guide how much do models make.

What makes a supermodel

A supermodel is a model whose name is known far outside fashion. The public recognises her, and her face sells cosmetics, perfume, watches and TV shows as well as clothes. The modern idea took hold in the late 1980s and the 1990s.

Its symbol is the January 1990 cover of British Vogue shot by Peter Lindbergh, with Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford together. The same year Linda Evangelista told Vogue: "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day." The line became shorthand for supermodel salaries ever since.

The next generations, from Gisele Bündchen to Kendall Jenner and the Hadid sisters, became brands in their own right. How modeling careers start and what types of models there are is covered in how to become a model.

The top 10 models of 2010

In early 2010 the financial crisis reached fashion. Christian Lacroix and Escada were in trouble, and even the best models had fewer bookings. Their fees were still counted in millions.

The Daily Beast, then run by former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor Tina Brown, ranked the most influential and best-paid models on four counts: yearly contracts, ad campaigns, runway shows and covers of Vogue, W, Harper's Bazaar and Elle, plus the view of fashion experts.

1. Gisele Bündchen
2. Kate Moss
3. Adriana Lima
4. Doutzen Kroes
5. Daria Werbowy
6. Alessandra Ambrosio
7. Christy Turlington
8. Natalia Vodianova
9. Miranda Kerr
10. Carolyn Murphy

Forbes lists for 2009 and 2011

Rank	2009 list	2011 list
1	Gisele Bündchen, $25m	Gisele Bündchen, $45m
2	Heidi Klum, $16m	Heidi Klum, $20m
3	Kate Moss, $9m	Kate Moss, $13.5m
4	Adriana Lima, $7.5m	Adriana Lima, $8m
5	Doutzen Kroes, $6m	Alessandra Ambrosio, $5m
6	Alessandra Ambrosio, $6m	Daria Werbowy, $4.5m
7	Natalia Vodianova, $5.5m	Lara Stone, $4.5m
8	Daria Werbowy, $4.5m	Carolyn Murphy, $4.3m
9	Miranda Kerr, $3m	Natalia Vodianova, $4m
10	Carolyn Murphy, $3m	Candice Swanepoel, $2m

In 2009 Gisele was the face of Versace, Dior and True Religion jeans and walked for Victoria's Secret. The 2011 list covered June 2010 to mid-2011. More than half of its names were current or former Victoria's Secret Angels, including newcomer Candice Swanepoel, and the top 10 earned $112 million between them.

The last Forbes lists: 2017 and 2018

Rank	2017	2018
1	Kendall Jenner, $22m	Kendall Jenner, $22.5m
2	Gisele Bündchen, $17.5m	Karlie Kloss, $13m
3	Chrissy Teigen, $13.5m	Chrissy Teigen, $11.5m
4	Adriana Lima, $10.5m	Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, $11.5m
5	Gigi Hadid, $9.5m	Gisele Bündchen, $10m
6	Karlie Kloss, $9m	Cara Delevingne, $10m

The 2017 list also had Liu Wen ($6.5m), Bella Hadid ($6m) and Ashley Graham ($5.5m), the first curve model in the Forbes top 10. The 2017 top 10 earned $109.5 million in total. The 2018 list was the last. Claims that a model "made $40 million this year" have no reliable source behind them.

Records

• Gisele Bündchen: $47 million in 2014, the highest yearly figure Forbes recorded for a model, and first place 14 times.
• Kate Moss: on the list from its early years, with $9 million in 2006, 2007 and 2010 and $13.5 million on the 2011 list.
• Heidi Klum: second for years, with much of her income from television and her own lines.
• Kendall Jenner: first in 2017 and 2018, the first leader whose career social media did much to build.
• Ashley Graham: first curve model in the top 10, in 2017.

The highest-paid male models

Forbes last ranked men in 2013.

Rank	Model	Earnings, 2013
1	Sean O'Pry	$1.5m
2	David Gandy	$1.4m
3	Simon Nessman	$1.1m
4	Arthur Kulkov	$905,000
5	Noah Mills	$740,000
6	Ryan Burns	$610,000
7	Tyson Ballou	$425,000
8	Ollie Edwards	$410,000
9	Jon Kortajarena	$290,000
10	Tobias Sorensen	$265,000

The best-paid man earned about thirty times less than Gisele. Women's fashion and beauty is the bigger market, so its contracts are bigger. What male models need and where they work is in our guide to male models.

How much do Victoria's Secret models make?

For years Angels filled half the Forbes list: Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, Candice Swanepoel. An Angel contract meant the yearly show, campaigns and exclusivity in lingerie. Victoria's Secret has never published contract amounts. In 2016 The Fashion Law quoted a source saying older contracts, such as Alessandra Ambrosio's, "were in the millions, now they're $100,000". That is the only sourced figure for a Victoria's Secret model salary we found.

Where supermodel money comes from

• Multi-year beauty and fragrance contracts. The largest share: the model becomes the face of a brand for years.
• Fashion campaigns. A day rate plus a large fee for worldwide use of the images. How usage is priced is in our guide to modeling rates.
• Exclusivity. Brands pay extra so the model does not work for competitors.
• TV and social media. Hosting shows and sponsored posts.
• Own businesses. Clothing, beauty and shoe lines, investments.
• The runway. The smallest part. Agency heads put star fees above $20,000 a show, a sliver of yearly income. See how much do runway models make.

From first casting to a global career

Every supermodel once walked into a first casting. Gisele Bündchen was spotted in a São Paulo shopping centre, Kate Moss at a New York airport. Between discovery and the millions lie years of work, travel and decisions about markets, contracts and money.

Those decisions are the subject of the Supermodels Masterclass, an online course by Jurgita Kiguolė, head of Supermodels: choosing an agency, how markets from New York to Tokyo work, guarantee contracts and career planning. The course is in Lithuanian.

Supermodels Masterclass: how a modeling career works (in Lithuanian)

Supermodels takes applications all year: three photos and your measurements are enough. See the Supermodels open call.

FAQ

Who is the highest-paid model in the world?

On the last Forbes list, from 2018, Kendall Jenner was first with $22.5 million. No reliable newer ranking exists because Forbes stopped publishing it.

Who is the highest-paid model of all time?

Gisele Bündchen. She earned $47 million in 2014, the highest yearly figure Forbes recorded for a model.

Who is the highest-paid male model?

On the last Forbes male list, from 2013, Sean O'Pry led with $1.5 million, ahead of David Gandy with $1.4 million.

How much do Victoria's Secret models make?

The brand does not publish contract amounts. A 2016 report quoted a source saying older Angel contracts were in the millions and newer ones about $100,000.

What is a supermodel salary?

Supermodels have no salary. They earn from multi-year brand contracts, campaigns with usage fees, exclusivity, TV and their own businesses. On Forbes lists the top 10 earned from about $2 million to $47 million a year.

Does Forbes still publish the models list?

No. The last list came out in December 2018.