Irish band U2 made $55 million (€52.4m) in 2016, according to Forbes.
Boy band One Direction topped the list of the highest paid European celebrities, despite spending the year on hiatus.
The group, who spent the last 12 months pursuing solo projects, topped the Forbes list after bringing in $110 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 $88 million and singing superstar Adele, who brought in $80.5 million between June 2015 and June 2016.
Tennis proved to be a lucrative sport with Swiss star Roger Federer taking fourth place on the list with $68 million and Serbian champion Novak Djokovic coming in eighth with $56 million.
British musicians dominated the list with the Rolling Stones' relentless touring contributing to their $66.5 million.DJ Calvin Harris earned in $63 million while Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney picked up $56.5 million.
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay completed the top 10 with his $54 million.
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.
PA
