With Kendall Jenner leading the way, the world’s 10 highest-paid models banked a cumulative $113 million among them in 2018, according to an analysis from Forbes.
One of the biggest way those models – who include Karlie Kloss, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, and Gigi Hadid in addition to Jenner – helped pad their bottom lines this year was by partnering with brands like Adidas, Estée Lauder, Calvin Klein. Swarovski, and Away on social media campaigns and using their Instagram accounts to spread the word.
It’s been an experience that’s been profitable, as well as freeing. Using her social media presence as leverage, Kloss was able to found an education nonprofit called Kode with Kloss that teaches girls the basics of computer programming.”I could be seen as well as heard,” Kloss told Forbes. “[Partners] really are excited to work with me because of not just what I look like, but because of what I stand for.”
According to Maja Chiesi ofIMG Models, the agency that represents Kloss, the emergence of social media has helped models take back the spotlight as it provides a way for fans to “see what was behind the velvet rope.”
“The next evolution is brands wanting the full, 360-degree sense of who these women are,” Chiesi told Forbes. “They want women with a voice.”
And, for this year at least, that voice has been very, very lucrative, especially for Jenner.
To help see what 2018’s highest-paid models have been using their voices for in recent days, here, in order, are the top 10 women from the list and some of the latest posts from their Instagram accounts. (All earnings estimates are from June 1, 2017, through June 1, 2018, and are based on pre-tax figures.)
Kendall Jenner ($22.5 million)
Karlie Kloss ($13 million)
Chrissy Teigen ($11.5 million)
Rosie Huntington-Whitely ($11.5 million)
Gisele Bundchen ($10 million)
Cara Delevingne ($10 million)
Gigi Hadid ($9.5 million)
Bella Hadid ($8.5 million)
Joan Smalls ($8.5 million)
Doutzen Kroes ($8 million)
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