Taylor Swift Just Surpassed Rihanna as the World’s Richest Female Musician

Taylor Swift on stage in a purple dress with purple lights behind her

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 7 October 2024

Taylor Swift has claimed her crown as the world's wealthiest female musician. The "Mastermind" behind the record-breaking Eras Tour has reached a staggering net worth of $1.6 billion, per Forbes, putting her ahead of Rihanna, who comes in at $1.4 billion on the magazine's "Real-Time Billionaires List."

The "Shake it Off" singer officially reached billionaire status in October 2023 and made the 2024 Forbes World's Billionaires List for the first time in April 2024, but on Saturday, Oct. 5, she officially passed Rihanna as the richest female musician. Swift is currently ranked as the second-richest musician behind Jay-Z, who has a jaw-dropping net worth of $2.5 billion.

Her fortune is unique as it comes primarily from royalties and touring ($600 million) and her music catalog (another $600 million) versus business ventures. This makes Swift the "first musician to make the billionaire ranking primarily based on her songs and performances," per Forbes.

Taylor Swift wearing a blue sparkly star-covered costume on stage with blue lights and dancers behind her — Swift's Eras tour has contributed to her fortune.

While Rihanna follows closely behind Taylor with a fortune of $1.4 billion, her wealth comes largely from her Fenty empire of brands versus music.

Real estate also plays a part in the "Cruel Summer" singer's wealth, with $125 million across five properties adding to a bank account beyond our "Wildest Dreams."

The unprecedented success of her Eras Tour has certainly played a massive part in Swift reaching billionaire status in the past year, with the shows becoming the first tour to make $1 billion, per Pollstar (via Rolling Stone) and becoming the highest-grossing tour of all time. And if you were among the millions who lined up for merch, those purchases are said to have brought in roughly $200 million alone. That's a lot of Eras Tour hoodies.

In her quest for musical independence, Swift's re-recorded albums have dominated charts. And her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, maintained its throne atop the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks, with 1.4 million copies sold on release day alone, per Forbes.

But even though she's one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, Swift ranks in at number 2,545 on Forbes's list, with Elon Musk claiming the top spot.

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.