Toby Keith is the ultimate country cash cow!

According to a Forbes Magazine study, county singer Toby Keith was the highest-earning country star last year. Toby made a whopping $48 million in 2007, according to Forbes.

Rascal Flatts came in second with approximately $40 million, followed by Tim McGraw who made about $23 million.

In 1993, Keith went to Nashville, Tennessee, to try to become a country star. He gave his demo tape to lots of record labels in the city, but no one was interested. So poor Toby went home again.  Fortunately, a flight attendant (and Toby fan) gave a copy of Toby’s demo to a Mercury Records exec, while he was on one of her flights. And he just loved it. Toby’s debut single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” (1993), went to number 1 on the Billboard country singles chart, and the rest is history.