Gigi Hadid And Kendall Jenner Join Forbes 2016 Top 5 Highest-earning Models

Brazilian beauty Gisele Bundchen,36, has retained her title as the world’s highest-paid supermodel with Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid breaking into the top 5.

Image: Gisele Bundchen

The Brazilian modeling icon who announced her retirement from the runway in 2014, has skyrocketed in her earnings thanks to lucrative fashion deals with top brands like Chanel and Carolina Herrera. Her lingerie and skincare line brings an added income to other 5-star endorsements.

Gisele topped this year’s Forbes magazine’s annual earnings list, smiling to the bank with a whooping USD 30.5 million between June, 2015 and June, 2016.

Image: Gisele Bundchen

Meanwhile, Kendall Jenner and close pal Gigi Hadid made it big as part of the new generation models who are mainly using the social media to advance their careers.

Kendall Jenner is ranked third in the overwhelmingly all-white list of models. She earned $10 million over the past year, increasing her total balance by 150 percent.

According to reports, the ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashian’ star has “the highest Instagram following on the list and was owner of the most liked post on the social networking site until recently”.

Image shows Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid.

Similarly, Kendall’s close friend and fellow social media powerhouse Gigi Hadid earned $9 million (£6.8million) over the past year.

Hadid has over 22 million Instagram followers, and this is her first time in the Forbes list.

Image: Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid.

Natalie Robehmed, a staff writer at Forbes, told the Independent: “The majority of the list is overwhelmingly white, which reflects the lack of diversity in campaigns.

“A recent survey of Spring print ads found 78% of models used were white, compared with just eight per cent Black or four per cent Asian models featured.

“Despite the rising fame of plus-sized models such as Ashley Graham, no plus-sized model earned the $4 million cut off necessary to make this year’s ranking.

“While models of colour and models who aren’t ‘straight-sized’ do find work in editorial shoots, they still rarely book the high-paying contracts that lead to a spot on this list.”