List of music artists by net worth

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American rapper Jay-Z is the wealthiest music artist in the world, with Forbes estimating his net worth at US$2.5 billion in 2024. Jay-Z @ Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter Foundation Carnival (crop 2).jpg
American rapper Jay-Z is the wealthiest music artist in the world, with Forbes estimating his net worth at US$2.5 billion in 2024.

The following is a list of music artists with the highest recorded net worth (also known as wealthiest musicians or richest musicians), based on calculations by reputable publications such as Forbes and The Sunday Times Rich List . As of 2024, five music artists have reached the billionaire status on Forbes reports: Jay-Z leading the list with US$2.5 billion, and becoming the first billionaire music artist, followed by Taylor Swift, the first billionaire with music as the primary income, and Rihanna, the first female artist to become a billionaire.

Contents

When Forbes 400 Richest Americans debuted in 1982, Yoko Ono was the only musician listed, with a net worth of $150 million (equivalent to $474 million in 2023), largely due to the music royalties of her late husband's band the Beatles. [1] In 1991, Forbes estimated Michael Jackson's net worth at $230 million (equivalent to $515 million in 2023), making him the wealthiest musician and the second wealthiest entertainer, behind comedian Bill Cosby. [2] It is estimated that Jackson's estate is worth over $2 billion as of 2024. [3] [4]

Forbes lists are dominated by American artists, while musicians of other nationalities have built their wealth predominantly in the U.S., such as Celine Dion. Reports from others business-related publications such as Bloomberg L.P. could differ; for instance, they valued Kanye West at US$6.6 billion in 2021, while West himself measured at least US$3.3 billion in 2020. [5] [6] Outside of Forbes, net worth estimations could vastly vary amid same artists and different sources, as some media outlets have published estimations from various websites and lists such as CelebrityNetWorth, Bankrate and Sunday Times Rich List. Artists such as Bono and Paul McCartney have been claimed to achieve billionaire status, albeit denied by Forbes. [7] [8]

Forbes

American singer Taylor Swift is currently the wealthiest female musician, with a net worth of US$1.6 billion as of 2024. Taylor Swift at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.jpg
American singer Taylor Swift is currently the wealthiest female musician, with a net worth of US$1.6 billion as of 2024.

The following are music artists with a net worth of over $300 million (adjusted for inflation) according to Forbes . The artists are listed based on the nominal figure of their most recently available estimation.

Music artists with the highest net worth reported by Forbes
ArtistsNationalityLifetimeNet worthReport yearRef.
Latest
estimation
Peak
estimation
Peak estimation
adjusted in 2023 $
LatestPeak
Jay-Z United States1969–present$2.5 billion$2.5 billion2024 [9]
Taylor Swift United States1989–present$1.6 billion$1.6 billion2024 [10]
Rihanna Barbados1988–present$1.4 billion$1.7 billion$1.77 billion20242022 [11] [12]
Bruce Springsteen United States1949–present$1.1 billion$1.1 billion2024 [13]
Jimmy Buffett United States1946–2023$1 billion$1 billion2023 [14]
Madonna United States1958–present$850 million$850 million2024 [15]
Dr. Dre United States1965–present$800 million$953 million2019 [16]
Beyoncé United States1981–present$760 million$800 million$800 million20242023 [17] [18]
Sean "Diddy" Combs United States1969–present$740 million [lower-alpha 1] $820 million$1.02 billion20192017 [20] [21]
Julio Iglesias Spain1943–present$600 million [lower-alpha 2] $600 million2023 [22]
Celine Dion Canada1968–present$550 million$550 million2024 [23]
Barbra Streisand United States1942–present$460 million$460 million2024 [24]
Dolly Parton United States1946–present$450 million$450 million2024 [25]
Jon Bon Jovi United States1962–present$410 million$521 million2016 [26]
Kanye West United States1977–present$400 million$2 billion$2.08 billion20242022 [27] [6]
Michael Jackson United States1958–2009$350 million$580 million2003 [2]
Katy Perry United States1984–present$350 million$350 million2024 [28]
Mariah Carey United States1969–present$225 million [lower-alpha 3] $331 million2007 [29]
Yoko Ono Japan1933–present$150 million$474 million1982 [1]

Sunday Times Rich List

The following are music artists from the United Kingdom with a net worth of over £300 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List .

Music artists with the highest net worth reported on the Sunday Times Rich List
Artist(s)NationalityLifetimeNet worthReport yearRef.
Latest
estimation
Peak
estimation
Peak estimation
adjusted in 2023 £
LatestPeak
Paul McCartney [lower-alpha 4] United Kingdom1942–present£1 billion£1 billion2024 [32]
U2 Ireland1976–present£625 million£665 million2022 [33]
Andrew Lloyd Webber United Kingdom1948–present£504 million£820 million£1.03 billion20232019 [34] [35]
Coldplay United Kingdom1997–present£471 million£501 million2022 [36]
Elton John United Kingdom1947–present£470 million£470 million2024 [37]
Sting United Kingdom1951–present£320 million£341 million2022 [38]
Mick Jagger United Kingdom1943–present£318 million£338 million2022 [39]
Keith Richards United Kingdom1943–present£303 million£322 million2022 [33]
Ed Sheeran United Kingdom1991–present£300 million£300 million2023 [40]

Other sources

The following are music artists with a net worth of over $500 million according to other reputable business-related publications, such as Bloomberg.

ArtistsNationalityLifetimeNet worth Adjusted in 2023 $Report yearSourceRef.
Selena Gomez United States1992–present$1.3 billion2024 Bloomberg [41]

Artists' estates

In 2020, one Elvis Presley's state executive told Rolling Stone magazine that artist's estate was worth between US$400-500 million. [42] As of 2024, the estate of Michael Jackson has been valued over US$2 billion. [3] [4]

See also

Notes

  1. Forbes has not updated the net worth of Sean "Diddy" Combs since 2019. However, former Forbes editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg estimated Combs' net worth at $1 billion on a Substack report in 2022. [19]
  2. Julio Iglesias' net worth according to Forbes Spain.
  3. Forbes has not reported an updated estimation of Mariah Carey's net worth since 2007.
  4. Paul McCartney's estimation includes his wife Nancy Shevell's wealth, hence Forbes disputed McCartney's status as a billionaire. Shevell's family owns a trucking company which generates over $300 million per year in revenue. In 2008, McCartney disclosed personal net assets of £387,012,000 (about $600 million) as part of divorce proceedings with ex-wife Heather Mills. In 2013, Forbes estimates his net worth roughly at $650 million. [30] As of 2024, McCartney has yet to appear on Forbes's world's billionaires list. [31]

Related Research Articles

The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and has been published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989. The editorial decisions governing the compilation of the Rich List are published in the newspaper and online as its "Rules of engagement".

<i>Forbes</i> 400 Annual list of wealthiest Americans

The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by Forbes magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is published annually around September. Peter W. Bernstein and Annalyn Swan describe the Forbes 400 as capturing "a period of extraordinary individual and entrepreneurial energy, a time unlike the extended postwar years, from 1945 to 1982, when American society emphasized the power of corporations." Bernstein and Swan also describe it as representing "a powerful argument – and sometimes a dream – about the social value of wealth in contemporary America."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakshmi Mittal</span> Indian steel magnate (born 1950)

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is an Indian steel magnate, based in the United Kingdom. He is the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's second largest steelmaking company, as well as chairman of stainless steel manufacturer Aperam. Mittal owns 38% of ArcelorMittal and holds a 3% stake in EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is a Dutch billionaire businesswoman, and the owner of a 25% controlling interest in the world's second-largest brewer, Heineken N.V. As of July 2024, Forbes estimated her net worth at US$14.1 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black billionaires</span>

Black billionaires are individuals who are of predominantly African ancestry with a net worth of at least US$1 billion.

Celebrity 100 was an annual list compiled and published by Forbes magazine from 1999 to 2020, preceded by the Forbes Top 40 entertainers list. Until 2014, the rankings were made based on a complex combination of factors, including earnings, social media following, magazine covers and a range of qualitative metrics, with the aim of "measuring power". Since 2015, Forbes had solely factored pretax earnings, before deducting fees for managers, lawyers and agents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Triguboff</span> Australian property developer and founder of Meriton (born 1933)

Harry Oskar Triguboff is a Chinese-born Australian billionaire real estate developer, and one of Australia's richest people. He is the founder and managing director of Meriton and is known as "high-rise Harry".

The Financial Review Rich List, formerly known as the BRW Rich 200, is a list of Australia's two hundred wealthiest individuals and families, ranked by personal net worth published annually in The Australian Financial Review Magazine, a supplement of The Australian Financial Review, published by Nine Publishing. The list provides a short summary on some of the known business activities of the individuals and families, together with commentary on how their ranking has changed from the previous year, if listed.

Zack O'Malley Greenburg is an American writer, journalist and former child actor. He spent a decade as a senior editor at Forbes magazine, covering music, media and entertainment. He is also the author of five books, including Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office and A-List Angels: How a Band of Actors, Artists, and Athletes Hacked Silicon Valley. He played Lorenzo Odone in the 1992 film Lorenzo's Oil.

<i>The Worlds Billionaires</i> Annual ranking of the worlds billionaires by Forbes magazine

The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking of people who are billionaires, i.e., they are considered to have a net worth of US$1 billion or more, by the American business magazine Forbes. The list was first published in March 1987. The total net worth of each individual on the list is estimated and is cited in United States dollars, based on their documented assets and accounting for debt and other factors. Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from these lists. This ranking is an index of the wealthiest documented individuals, excluding any ranking of those with wealth that is not able to be completely ascertained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Cannon-Brookes</span> Australian businessman (born 1979)

Michael Cannon-Brookes is an Australian businessman who is the co-founder and chief executive officer of software company Atlassian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Farquhar</span> Australian businessman (born 1979)

Scott Farquhar is an Australian businessman who is the co-founder and the former co-chief executive officer of software company Atlassian. Farquhar often carries the epithet of accidental billionaire after he and his business partner Mike Cannon-Brookes founded Atlassian with the aim to replicate the A$48,500 graduate starting salary typical at corporations without having to work for someone else. Farquhar and Cannon-Brookes were Australia’s first technology billionaires.

Thomas Joseph Morris is a British billionaire businessman and the founder of retail chain Home Bargains.

Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani is an Indian billionaire businessman and investor. He is the founder and chairman of retail chain DMart. Damani is referred to as the "retail king" of India.

<i>Forbes</i> list of the worlds highest-paid dead celebrities

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The Estate of Michael Jackson is a legal entity established following the death of American singer Michael Jackson in 2009 for the purpose of administering his property and overseeing his posthumous income. Jackson's last will was filed by the attorney John Branca at the Los Angeles County courthouse on July 1, 2009. Signed July 7, 2002, it names Branca and accountant John McClain as executors; they were confirmed as such by a Los Angeles judge on July 6, 2009. All assets are given to the (pre-existing) Michael Jackson Family Trust, the details of which have not been made public. The Associated Press reported that, in 2007, Jackson had a net worth of $236.6 million: $567.6 million in assets, which included Neverland Ranch and his 50% share of Sony/ATV Music Publishing' catalogue, and debts of $331 million. The guardianship of his three children is given to his mother, Katherine, or if she is unable or unwilling, to singer Diana Ross. Jackson's will allocates 20% of his fortune as well as 20% of money made after death to unspecified charities.

The highest-paid musicians in the world have been reported annually by Forbes since at least 1987. For measurement, the magazine used pretax earnings—before deducting fees for agents, managers or lawyers. Most of the lists were estimated within a June-to-June scoring period, except for 1999, 2021, and 2022 when a calendar year period was used instead.

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