Taylor Swift Becomes World's Richest Female Musician: Here's Who Is Right Behind Her

Forbes

Taylor Swift leapfrogged singer and beauty mogul Rihanna to become the world’s richest female musician following the blockbuster success of her Eras Tour, as other female artists, including Madonna and Beyoncé, rank just outside the billion-dollar club.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/10/08/taylor-swift-becomes-worlds-richest-female-musician-heres-who-is-right-behind-her/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, Taylor Swift becomes world's richest female musician.

00:06Here's who's right behind her.

00:09Taylor Swift has leapfrogged singer and beauty mogul Rihanna to become the world's richest

00:13female musician.

00:15This follows the blockbuster success of Swift's Eras tour.

00:19Other major female artists, including Madonna and Beyonce, rank just outside the billion

00:24dollar club.

00:27Swift is now worth $1.6 billion, Forbes estimates, up $500 million from last October, when Forbes

00:34reported Swift had become a billionaire with a then-estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.

00:41Swift, who is 34 years old, became the first musician to become a billionaire solely based

00:47on the value of songs and performances in 2023.

00:52Forbes estimates her music catalog is worth $600 million, and her tours and royalties

00:57have pocketed her another $600 million.

01:00She also owns an estimated $125 million in real estate.

01:05Her jump to billionaire status was driven largely by her ongoing Eras tour, which began

01:10in March 2023 and is set to conclude in December.

01:14Last year, Forbes estimated the first leg of the Eras tour alone earned her $190 million.

01:20The Eras tour became the first-ever concert tour to surpass $1 billion in total gross,

01:26according to what Pulse Star reported in December.

01:29Forbes ranked Swift the fifth most powerful woman in the world in 2023, making her the

01:34highest-ranked entertainer and putting her in the company of the world's most influential

01:38political and business leaders.

01:41On our Forbes' World's Most Powerful Women list, we cited the impact her Eras tour has

01:45had on local economies and the dedication of her fanbase, known as Swifties.

01:50Swift was also named the 2023 Time Person of the Year, and she has been considered an

01:55influential figure in politics.

01:57Her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris last month was credited with a spike in visits

02:01to Vote.gov, a voter registration website.

02:06Right behind Swift is Rihanna at $1.4 billion, whose wealth largely comes from her stakes

02:11in her cosmetics and lingerie companies rather than her music catalog.

02:16Rihanna, who is 36 years old, became a billionaire in 2021, Forbes estimated, largely because

02:22of the value of her stake in Fenty Beauty, the cosmetics company she launched in 2017.

02:28She owns a 50% stake in the company, as well as an estimated 28% stake in lingerie brand

02:34Savage Fenty.

02:36Both companies are named after the singer, whose real name is Robin Fenty.

02:40She launched her latest beauty line, Fenty Hair, in June.

02:45Forbes ranked Rihanna as the 74th most powerful woman in the world in 2023.

02:50The rest of her wealth comes from her music catalog.

02:52She has 14 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, the third most of any artist, only behind The

02:58Beatles and Mariah Carey.

03:00She performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023, a brief break from her years-long

03:05hiatus from her music career.

03:07She hasn't released an album since her 2016 album, Anti.

03:12After Swift and Rihanna is Madonna, who is one of the world's top touring artists with

03:16more than $1.6 billion in total gross across all her concert tours.

03:21However, Madonna is just behind billionaire status with an estimated net worth of $850

03:27million in May.

03:30Beyonce was worth an estimated $760 million as of May, which increased last year after

03:35she pocketed about $100 million from her Renaissance World Tour.

03:40In August, we reported that she could approach billionaire status depending on the performance

03:44of her new whiskey brand called Sir Davis, which is under the LVMH empire.

03:50Canadian star Celine Dion is worth an estimated $550 million, much of which comes from her

03:56successful Las Vegas concert residencies.

03:59EGOT-winning singer-actress Barbara Streisand, who published a nearly 1,000-page memoir last

04:04year, is worth an estimated $460 million.

04:09Country superstar Dolly Parton is worth $450 million, Forbes estimated in May, much of

04:15which comes from her stake in the Tennessee family theme park Dollywood and the estimated

04:20$150 million value of her music catalog.

04:24Katy Perry is worth an estimated $350 million, following the reported $225 million sale of

04:30her music catalog in 2023 and a stint as a judge on American Idol that reportedly earned

04:36her $25 million per season.

04:40For full coverage, check out Conor Murray's piece on Forbes.com.

04:45This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:48Thanks for tuning in.

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