Kendall earned the coveted title with a staggering $22 million over the past year overthrowing Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen who has been reigning since 2002.
With 85 million followers on Instagram, the model bagged endorsements with top brands including Estée Lauder, La Perla, and Adidas, among others.
Paychecks from her family's reality TV show; Keeping up with the Kardashians, her Kendall + Kylie clothing line with her sister, Kylie Jenner, and numerous social media endorsements add to her modeling money.
Gisele earned $17.5 million (£13 million) which dipped by 43 percent from 2016, after having a quieter working year doing fewer campaigns.
For the time, Chrissy Teigen, wife of multiple Grammy award winner, John Legend, made the list with $13.5 million (£10 million) earnings from various deals in fashion and food including brands like Smirnoff and Vita Coco.
Curvy model, Ashley Graham who built her own audience instead of relying on editorial shoots was included in the list. Graham has her own lines of Addition Elle, Dressbarn, and Swimsuits For All, plus campaigns for Lane Bryant and H&M, among others.
The fashion world is really embracing change. Chinese fashion model, Liu Wen, also made the list with (No. 8; $6.5 million)
Forbes bases its earnings estimates, which are from 1 June 2016 to 1 June 2017 and before taxes and fees, on the on estimated incomes from cosmetic, fragrance and clothing contracts as well as interviews with agents, managers and brand executives.
Forbes' World's Highest-Paid Models: List In Full
1. Kendall Jenner - $22 million
2. Gisele Bundchen - $17.5 million
3. Chrissy Teigen - $13.5 million
4. Adriana Lima - $10.5 million
5. Gigi Hadid - $9.5 million
5. Rosie Huntington-Whitely - $9.5 million
7. Karlie Kloss - $9 million
8. Liu Wen - $6.5 million
9. Bella Hadid - $6 million
10. Ashley Graham - $5.5 million