After nearly a decade in the global spotlight, The Weeknd is about as ubiquitous as the literal weekend. He's sold tens of millions of albums, made headlines for dating some of the world's most famous women, and churns out songs so catchy that there's a good chance you're humming "Blinding Lights" as we speak. Next up, he'll take on one of the biggest, most influential gigs in the music industry: the Super Bowl halftime show, which is reserved for superstars only, from Beyoncé to Prince to, most recently, J.Lo and Shakira.
The Weeknd's halftime show will span about 12 minutes and, as he revealed in a press conference ahead of the performance, will be spread across the field and the stadium, a feat that has never been done before and is possible this year only because of the reduced attendance at the game. In an interview with Billboard, his team confirmed that, on top of the millions of dollars in production costs put up by the NFL, he also shelled out $7 million from his own pocket to achieve his exact vision for the show. The Super Bowl gig is famously unpaid—though it's been known to significantly boost album sales and streaming numbers—but that's no issue to The Weeknd, already a multimillionaire in his own right. Here's what we know about his overall net worth.
How much is The Weeknd worth?
Exact figures aren't known, but The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, is believed to have a net worth somewhere between $80 million, per The Wealth Record, and $100 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth's analysis. The numbers add up: In 2017, Forbes listed The Weeknd as the sixth highest-paid entertainer in the world. That year, he raked in an estimated $92 million due to the success of his Starboy album and the more than $1.1 million he earned for each stop on the album's world tour.
Even without touring, though, The Weeknd has continued to bring in millions every year. In the summer of 2019, he came in at number 87 on Forbes' list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities, taking in $40 million in the previous year. He dropped off the list in 2020, but likely still earned quite a bit of cash, judging by Billboard's report that his latest album, After Hours, was the third top-selling album in the U.S. last year, and its second single, "Blinding Lights," was 2020's second best-selling digital song.
Where does The Weeknd's wealth come from?
The vast majority of the Canadian singer-songwriter-producer's net worth is obviously derived from album sales and tour dates. According to his recent Billboard profile, The Weeknd's upcoming After Hours tour, which will kick off in early 2022, is already beginning to sell out arenas and is estimated to earn him between $1.2 million and $1.4 million per show.
Outside of his work in the spotlight, The Weeknd is also a producer and the co-founder of XO, a record label that is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group's Republic Records. He's also landed dozens of sponsorship deals, including a collaboration with original Juul developer Pax Labs, with whom he developed a vape that played his song "The Hills," as well as apparel partnerships with Puma, H&M, and A Bathing Ape. And in 2017, he launched a collab with Marvel, appearing at Comic-Con on the studio's behalf and serving as the inspiration for a Starboy comic book superhero.
How does he spend his money?
The Weeknd has allotted much of his wealth to philanthropic endeavors. This past August, for example, he launched the Black Hxouse initiative to support and empower BIPOC entrepreneurs. He's also donated tens of thousands of dollars to causes and organizations including Black Lives Matter, the Equal Justice Initiative, the University of Toronto's Ethiopic Studies program, MusiCares, and several hospitals and churches in his native Toronto.
On a more material realm, the musician is also the owner of a $21 million penthouse in Beverly Hills—a lavish 8,200-square-foot space that he purchased at the end of 2019—and a 12,500-square-foot mansion in the Kardashian-Jenner-beloved neighborhood of Hidden Hills, which has been on the market since last summer and is currently asking $22 million.
