Taylor Swift joined thirteen other celebrities that appeared on Forbes’ 2024 list of billionaires. She is the first person to become a billionaire through proceeds from music alone, including revenue from her Eras World Tour and the Eras concert film. According to Bloomberg, the concert generated more than $700 million in ticket sales in the United States alone.
“It’s been an amazing year for the world’s richest people, with more billionaires around the world than ever before,” said Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes’ wealth editor. “A record-breaking 14 centibillionaires ($100 billion) have 12-figure fortunes. Even during times of financial uncertainty for many, the super-rich continue to thrive.” Swift entered the list with an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion. While she is behind the other thirteen celebrities on the list, the fact that her wealth almost exclusively comes from music marks a huge milestone. The other musical artists on the list—Jay-Z and Rihanna—have cultivated most of their wealth from other ventures.
Jay-Z sold a 50% stake in his champagne brand, Armand de Brignac, for an estimated $300 million and the majority stake in his cognac brand, D’Usse, for $750 million in the past few years. These sales—and his stakes in Uber and Block—have earned him a net worth of $2.5 billion. Rihanna has stakes in two billion-dollar brands: her cosmetics company, Fenty Beauty, and her lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty. These ventures have granted her a net worth of $1.4 billion. Other celebrities on the list include film moguls George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, sports stars Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, and prominent figures in entertainment like Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, and Tyler Perry.
Swift was one of 265 new names to be featured on this year’s Forbes list. According to Bloomberg’s estimate, her net worth was determined by concert ticket sales, revenue generated by the Eras concert film, record sales, and her other holdings, such as her five homes. In addition to the $700 million in US ticket sales for the Eras tour, ticket sales for the concert film generated $92 million in its opening weekend. The tour’s international leg consisted of 89 additional dates, and Bloomberg concluded that her pre-tax revenue from the concert series was approximately $225 million.
Her five homes were estimated to be valued at $110 million, her music catalog (since 2019) came in at a cool $400 million, and her deals with YouTube and Spotify, a combined $200 million. Bloomberg called all of these estimates conservative and noted that her music catalog could likely reach $1 billion with future royalties. Swift’s father, Scott Swift, also owns an investment firm called the Swift Group, which manages ten companies related to Swift’s music career and entities like her tour bus, two private jets, and real estate.
Taylor Swift’s fortune is impressive, but she is far from the richest person in the world. That title belongs to Bernard Arnault, the majority owner of LVMH, a luxury goods company that includes the Louis Vitton brand. His net worth increased 10% from last year to $233 billion. The 2024 runner-up was Elon Musk, with a net worth of $195 billion.
