Looking at the year ahead, Forbes business magazine is predicting that theatrical pop singer Lady Gaga will be the highest-earning act of 2011, with a projected earnings of more than $100 million.
By the time the next holiday season rolls around, Lady Gaga could well have banked $100 to 130 million for the year, about double the $64 million she earned in 2010.
Each of her Monster Ball Tour performances now grosses two million dollars, and when her new album, Born This Way, launches May 23 this year, it should bring her an additional $20 to $30 million by December 31.
Add to that approximately $10 million from sales of merchandise bearing her image, and the millions collected for her collaborations with companies like Polaroid, and that brings total earnings past the $100 million mark.
Last year, Lady Gaga sold more than 6 million copies of her international album The Fame Monster, making it the best-selling disc in the world. Forbes also placed the singer at number four on their annual Celebrity 100 list of most powerful entertainers.