Soul sensation Adele has topped this year's (13) countdown of Britain's richest young musicians with an estimated $48 million (£30 million) fortune.

The Rolling In The Deep hitmaker, who turns 25 next month (May13), is number one on the Sunday Times' annual under 30 rich list for the second year running - despite taking an extended break to recover from a throat operation and to give birth to her first child last year (12).

Adele's bank balance has swelled by $16 million (£10 million) in the last 12 months, thanks to continued sales of her albums and the success of her Oscar-winning James Bond theme tune, Skyfall.

The new figure means Adele is way ahead of her fellow British musicians under 30 - pop star Cheryl Cole, 29, is a distant runner-up with $22.4 million (£14 million), Leona Lewis, 28, and Katie Melua, 28, lag behind in joint third with $19.2 million (£12 million), while 26-year-old rocker Florence Welch has earned $14.4 million (£9 million).

Boyband One Direction has also made an entry on the list after amassing a joint fortune of $40 million (£25 million).

But the chart-topping youngsters will have to start saving their pennies to topple the industry veterans - Sir Paul MCCartney leads the way with more than $1.04 billion in the bank, boosted by his heiress wife Nancy Shevell, who is worth an estimated $240 million (£150 million).

The full rich list will be released by the newspaper on 21 April (13).