Carrie Underwood clocks in as the top money-making American Idol star, earning around $20 million in just the past year, according to a recent Forbes ranking. At number one, she earns more than triple what Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry, who tie for second on the ranking with $6 million each, made in the past year.
Other stars who round out the top ten are Kellie Pickler in eighth place with $1.8 million and the recently turned country Kelly Clarkson, the original Idol winner, at sixth place with $2.5 million. As astounding as these sums may be, they pale in comparison to Idol host Ryan Seacrest’s yearly earning, which at $61 million is higher than that of the top ten Idol stars put together.
