Taylor Swift, who became a billionaire late last year, was included on the annual Forbes Billionaires List for the first time Tuesday, joining 13 other celebrities, who have a collective estimated net worth of $31 billion.
KEY FACTS
Swift became a billionaire in October in large part because of her record-breaking Eras Tour, which became the first tour in history to gross more than $1 billion.
The Eras Tour grossed an estimated $1.04 billion off of its first 60 shows alone, according to estimates by Pollstar, and Swift’s tour has dates scheduled in Europe and North America through 2024.
With her October accomplishment, Swift joined four other billionaire musicians—Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Jimmy Buffet—but is the first musician to become a billionaire solely based on her songs and performances without relying on a side hustle.
Forbes estimated in October that about $500 million of her fortune was cash from music royalties and touring, another $500 million was from the increasing value of her music catalog—much of which she has been re-recording and releasing—and $125 million of her net worth came from real estate.
FORBES VALUATION
Forbes estimates Swift’s net worth is about $1.1 billion as of Tuesday afternoon.
BIG NUMBER
That’s how many celebrities—including Swift—were on this year’s Billionaires List. George Lucas, known for directing “Star Wars,” is the wealthiest celebrity on the list, in large part because of his production company Lucasfilm, which he sold to Disney in 2012. Jay-Z and Rihanna are the only other musicians on the 2024 list.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The debut of Swift’s new album is on April 19. She announced her 11th studio album—“The Tortured Poets Departments”—after winning Best Pop Vocal Album for “Midnights” at the Grammys in February. The album has 16 songs and one bonus track, and Swift has announced there are four variations of the album, each of which will have a different bonus track.
KEY BACKGROUND
Swift had a record-breaking and memorable 2023. In addition to becoming a billionaire and launching her Eras Tour—which began as a retrospective of her 17-year career and 10 albums, but morphed into a financial phenomenon—Swift was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, began a relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce and released the “Eras Tour” film, which grossed more than $261 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Swift also released two re-records of previous albums—“Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and “1989 (Taylor’s Version)”—last year as part of her quest to regain control of her first six albums, the rights to which sold by Scooter Braun to Shamrock Capital for $300 million, something Swift said happened behind her back. Swift’s accolades led her to join 264 other new billionaires on Forbes’ list this year, up from just 150 new billionaires the year before.
