Forbes ranks everything from the richest people in the world to the highest-paid entertainers in the world.

I was a little surprised to come across their list of the highest-paid DJs, though.

That’s right, Forbes gives DJs their very own list (here’s last year’s) and by the look of things they do pretty well for themselves.

The highest-paid electronic act (to be revealed shortly) brought in a staggering $46 million in pretax income over the past year.

Our list of the world’s highest-paid DJs ranks electronic acts around the globe using pretax earnings from June 1, 2018 through June 1, 2019; we do not deduct fees for lawyers, agents and managers. Estimates are based on numbers from Nielsen, Pollstar, Bandsintown and Songkick, as well as interviews with industry experts and many of the stars themselves.

Here’s the top 15:

15. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike ($11.5 million, tie)
15. DJ Pauly D ($11.5 million, tie)
15. DJ Snake ($11.5 million, tie)
14. Afrojack ($12 million)
13. Alesso ($12.5 million)
12. Skrillex ($13 million)
11. Kaskade ($14 million)
10. Armin van Buuren ($15 million)
9. Zedd ($17 million)
8. David Guetta ($18 million)
7. Martin Garrix ($19 million)
6. Tiësto ($24 million)
5. Diplo ($25 million)
4. Steve Aoki ($30 million)

Forbes is calling Steve Aoki the “hardest working name on the list”.

Steve Aoki,[…] played over 200 shows within our scoring period. Thanks to his six-figure nightly checks, consumption of his music, endorsement deals with brands from Diesel to Samsung and a bevy of outside business ventures including his own Dim Mak record label and clothing brand, he tallied $30 million to land at No. 4.

His hard work clearly paid off.

3. Calvin Harris ($38,5 million)

2. Marshmello ($40 million)

Marshmello DJs in a cylindrical mask. He’s currently in residency at the new Kaos Dayclub and Nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, part of a megadeal worth $60 million.

1. The Chainsmokers ($46 million)

The duo of Drew Taggart and Alex Pall top our annual Electronic Cash Kings list with their biggest earnings year yet, dethroning Calvin Harris after six consecutive years at number one.

Over the past year, the Chainsmokers performed at the XS Nightclub and Encore Beach Club as part of a three-year residency with Wynn Nightlife announced in 2017 (and recently extended until 2021). In between Vegas gigs, the duo played a multitude of festivals and private shows, pulling in mid six-figure sums per night.

Their total also factors in record deals and endorsements.

The top 15 acts clocked $358 million in pretax earnings over the past 12 months, $272 million of that coming from the top 10, up from last year’s collective $260 million.

Much of the increase is thanks to Marshmello who nearly doubled his earnings.

Now you know.

[source:forbes]