The 22-year-old singer/songwriter topped the annual list by Forbes after earning $57 million between May 2011 and May 2012, which is mainly thanks to her three albums – Taylor Swift, Fearless and Speak Now – all going platinum at least four times.

The blonde beauty’s gigs also bring in an average of $1 million per night and her endorsement work for products such as CoverGirl make-up have also helped to cement her place at the top of the list.

Justin Bieber was narrowly beaten into second place after earning $55 million, meaning the 18-year-old pop star is the highest ranked male in the list and the only one in the top five.

Rihanna ($53 million) was in third largely thanks to her 85-night tour and her 2011 hit album Talk That Talk – which spawned singles such as We Found Love and Birthday Cake – while Lady Gaga narrowly earned less than the brunette beauty after amassing $52 million.

But the Born This Way hitmaker’s total is much less than the $90 million she earned to top the under-30 list last year.

Katy Perry completed the top five with $45 million, and British singing sensation Adele was in sixth with $35 million after a highly successful period that saw her win six Grammys and two Brit Awards.

Twilight star Kristen Stewart was in seventh with $34.5 million ahead of her cast mates Taylor Lautner and boyfriend Robert Pattinson, who were tied in ninth after both pulling in $26.5 million, while US rapper Lil Wayne was sandwiched in between the trio in eighth with $27 million.

Forbes’ top 10 highest-paid celebrities under 30 are:
1. Taylor Swift ($57m)
2. Justin Bieber ($55m)
3. Rihanna ($53m)
4. Lady Gaga ($52m)
5. Katy Perry ($45m)
6. Adele ($35m)
7. Kristen Stewart ($34.5m)
8. Lil Wayne ($27m)
9. Taylor Lautner ($26.5m)
10. Robert Pattinson ($26.5m)