That Tiësto has been the highest grossing DJ in the world for years now is pretty much common knowledge. And that a youngster like Martin Garrix will probably take his place in ten years you can be sure of as well (depending on whether his mother gives him access to his earnings, of which she controls everything at the moment).
But other than the astronomical annual salaries of EDM stars, who are cashing the most in the underground scene? At Fresh Sounds they did the research and collected the declared income of a great number of underground hotshots. Too bad the numbers of various American godfathers like Frankie Knuckles, Kerri Chandler, Kenny Dope, Theo Parrish, Mr Fingers, Mike Huckaby etc. were virtually impossible to find. So it isn’t a complete list yet, but it comes close.
Here is the list of DJs whose numbers were more readily available:
#10. Louie Vega – $2 million
#09. Adam Beyer – $3 million
#08. Mark Knight – $4 million
#07. Erick Morillo – $6 million
#06. Richie Hawtin – $8.5 million
#05. Sven Vath – $14 million
#04. Carl Cox – $16 million
#03. Sasha – $40 million
#02. John Digweed – $45 million
#01. Paul Oakenfold – $58 million
Enough about money; back to the music.
Source: Fresh Sounds
