How Kendall Jenner toppled Gisele Bundchen to become the world’s highest-paid model

For the first time since 2002, Brazilian Gisele Bündchen is not the world’s highest-paid model. The 37 year-old has been knocked from the top spot on Forbes’ annual list by comparative newcomer Kendall Jenner, 22.

It was only a matter of time before one of the new generation of Instagirl-era models would topple Bündchen, who fell into second place on the Forbes list, banking (just) $17.5 million this year. Bündchen, who formally retired from catwalk appearances last year, posed for adverts for Carolina Herrera fragrances, Arezzo shoes and Vivara jewellery in her homeland Brazil, but, in taking on less, her overall earnings had dropped 43% from the $30.5 million she made in 2016.

But it is perhaps surprising that her successor is Jenner, the 22 year-old half-sister of Kim Kardashian, who has evidently successfully harnessed the mass-appeal garnered from an early break on her family’s reality television show, and managed to spin it into a credible - nay, incredible - modelling career.

She first appeared on Keeping Up With The Kardashians at the age of 12 and was signed to Wilhelmina Models at the age of 14. The beginning of her career was filled with appearances in brands and magazines aimed at the American teen market - shoots for Seventeen and Teen Vogue, as well as a campaign for prom dress designer Sherri Hill.

By 2013, though, she had savvily indicated that she wanted to move into high fashion modeling, signing with Society Management and making a landmark catwalk debut, walking for Marc Jacobs in the designer’s autumn 2014 show with bleached eyebrows and a blunt bob wig. From there, her credentials rose, with Chanel, Givenchy, Versace and more hiring her for runway appearances.

Highest-paid models

With earnings of more than $22 million in the last year, Jenner now boasts lucrative deals with Estée Lauder, La Perla and Adidas, as well as running her Kendall + Kylie clothing line with her sister, Kylie Jenner, and cashing more fees from paid-for posts distributed to her 85 million followers on Instagram.

Jenner’s competition from the other models of the Instagirl era is stiff, with sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid both ranking in the top ten, alongside other models-turned-moguls like Karlie Kloss. Their combined audience is, however, still less than Jenner’s, perhaps finally proving the theory that she with the most followers, wins.

A refreshing addition to the list is Ashley Graham, who takes tenth position by earning $5.5 million, and is the first ever curve model to make the Forbes highest-paid rankings. By building her own audience on Instagram, she’s earned a rightful place.

This year, though, the only non-white model included in the top tier is Chinese star Liu Wen, who ranked eighth, earning $6.5 million. Anyone irritated by that stat should note; social media is now the key tool to empower these women - especially those who were once left out of the high fashion clique, but who obviously represent the diversity of society. The way to shape next year’s top earners all lies in who we’re willing to click the ‘follow’ button for.