Taylor Swift Named Forbes Second Richest Female in Music, Net Worth Hits $740M

Taylor Swift is laughing all the way to the bank in her latest stretch of massive success, catapulting her to the #2 spot on Forbes' richest women in music list ... a number that's certain to grow after her latest tour wraps.

According to the publication's "Richest Self-Made Women" list, the singer is now worth a staggering $740 million ... making her the second richest woman in music behind Rihanna, who still almost doubles T-Swift at $1.4 billion from her music career and cosmetic line.

It's a super huge milestone ... Taylor now surpasses Madonna, who is said to be worth $580M, as well as Beyoncé whose net worth is reportedly $540M.

The new rankings put Tay at #34 overall on the "Self-Made Women" list ... which includes everyone from Oprah ($2.5B) to Panda Express co-founder Peggy Cherng ($3.2B). BTW, Diane Hendricks of ABC Supply -- a company that sells roofing, siding and windows -- is top of the list at $15B.

Of course, T-Swift has ridden yet another wave of success after dropping "Midnights" back in October, becoming the first artist ever to claim the top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100.

As you know, TS is in the middle of her wildly-successful 'Eras' Tour. Remember, the demand for tickets was so high, Ticketmaster crashed and Congress wound up launching an investigation into the site.