Taylor Swift officially becomes a billionaire: Fortune reaches 1.1 billion USD thanks to the epic Eras Tour – see how this pop star makes and spends her fortune
Taylor Swift performs onstage during The Eras Tour at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.Natasha Moustache/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Taylor Swift never fails to impress.
At 15 years old, she was the youngest songwriter to ever sign with Sony. She now has 12 Grammys on her shelf, several tours under her belt, an endless list of chart-topping songs and albums, and a beloved fan base who dub themselves “Swifties.”
Such success makes Swift one of the world’s highest-paid celebrities and one of the richest female singers. According to a Bloomberg News analysis published on the eve of the rerelease of her “1989” album, she has now officially built a billion-dollar empire.
Bloomberg puts Swift’s current net worth at $1.1 billion, thanks in part to her massive 146-date worldwide Eras Tour and its subsequent tour movie. It comes after Forbes estimated Swift had a net worth upwards of $740 million in July.
Swift has been strategic and generous with her money, investing in a sprawling $84 million real-estate portfolio and often donating it to causes she supports and people in need.
Below, see how Swift earns and spends her fortune.
Taylor Swift currently has an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.
Taylor Swift attends the “All Too Well” New York Premiere on November 12, 2021 in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Bloomberg News reported her net worth in October 2023. Swift is one of the few people to reach billionaire status almost exclusively from her music and performances, the outlet reported, citing publicly disclosed and traceable assets and earnings.
Her fortune is primarily comprised of her extensive discography, five homes, and earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets, and merchandise, according to Bloomberg.
Representatives for Swift did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment regarding the estimation.
The pop star’s record-breaking Eras Tour, which began in March 2023, is what has propelled the singer into billionaire status.
Taylor Swift performs onstage during The Eras Tour at Gillette Stadium on May 19, 2023, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Scott Eisen/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Swift’s 146-date worldwide Eras Tour has been nothing short of a sensation. It’s on track to make history as the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first tour to gross over $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported in June.
Since touring 56 dates across the US and Mexico between March and August 2023, it has generated $780 million, according to Forbes.
It has also added $4.3 billion to America’s gross domestic product alone, according to Bloomberg Economics.
It’s expected to have a similar effect on the likes of South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe when she tours those territories in late 2023 and throughout 2024.
The movie version of the tour broke box-office records before it was even released. To date, it has grossed more than $170 million.
Taylor Swift attends the Los Angeles premiere of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
Worldwide ticket presales had already exceeded $100 million before the film was released (a day early) on October 12, 2023, AMC Theatres reported.
According to ticketing service Fandango, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” set a new record for the highest first-day ticket sales in 2023. It has also become the highest-grossing concert movie of all time, surpassing “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.”
Swift, who bypassed movie studios to personally fund the concert movie, can expect to see the film take home even more in the next few weeks but according to Box Office Mojo, it has already grossed $178 million worldwide.
Swift has endorsement deals and partnerships with high-profile brands.
Taylor Swift’s 2022 Capitol One commercial. Capital One/YouTube
These partnerships include Capital One, AT&T, Stella McCartney, Elizabeth Arden perfumes, American Express, Keds, Diet Coke, Walmart, and Apple, which presumably bring in a lot of income.
Aside from brand partnerships and endorsements, touring is Swift’s biggest money maker. The 1989 World Tour grossed more than $250 million in 2015.
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That’s according to the Los Angeles Times.
She earned even more during her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018.
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It ended up being the second highest-grossing tour that year, according to the Grammys. It made $315 million on more than 2.6 million ticket sales.
But her tours don’t just bring in ticket sales. She also makes an insane amount of money off her merch.
Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Forbes estimated that her coveted on-site merchandise — which she sells at an average price of $80 —could add an estimated $87 million in proceeds to her fortune.
Swift amassed an estimated $230 million in record sales following the release of her 10th studio album “Midnights” in 2022.
Taylor Swift/TikTok
The Guardian reported her massive sales brought in $230 million for Swift’s label Universal.
With 1.578 million equivalent album units earned in the US in its first week, “Midnights” landed the biggest week for an album in seven years, according to Billboard.
Forbes reported that Swift made $52 million in 2021 after rerecording and subsequently releasing earlier work that was sold by her former manager Scooter Braun.
Taylor Swift attends the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
Her new version of “Red” was one of the year’s top-selling albums, and “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” topped the charts when it was released.
Forbes also reported that some of her income that year came from lucrative endorsement deals with Peloton and Starbucks.
All in all, Swift has amassed an impressive fortune — and she knows how to spend it. Her real-estate portfolio is worth over $80 million.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
In Nashville, she owns a 3,240-square-foot condo worth an estimated $3 million and a 5,600-square-foot Greek Revival estate worth an estimated $2.5 million.
In LA, Swift owns a 10,982-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion worth nearly $30 million.
Across the coast, Swift owns an estate with seaside views in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, for which she reportedly paid $17.75 million, according to the New York Post.
Zillow
With 12,000 square feet, it has plenty of room for parties and even inspired her song “The Last Great American Dynasty.”
But that’s nothing compared to the estimated $40 million worth of property Swift owns in New York City on the same block in Tribeca.
Taylor Swift bought this townhouse last year located at 153 Franklin St. It’s next to a complex where she now owns three units. Google Maps
That includes an 8,309-square-foot large duplex penthouse and a four-story townhouse.
Swift needs a way to travel among all these homes, and she reportedly owns two Dassault private jets.
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There’s no word on how much she paid for them, but Elon Musk owns a similar model that cost approximately $26 million.
Swift often spends money dining out with her friends and romantic partners, especially when in New York City.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce leave Waverly Inn in New York City on Sunday. Gotham/Getty Images
In the past, she’s been spotted at The Fat Radish, The Spotted Pig, Sarabeth’s, L’Asso, Nobu, and Vita Carota.
But Swift has always been generous with her money, supporting causes and helping those in need.
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On her 24th birthday, she donated $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony, according to People.
She’s provided support during natural disasters, donating $1 million to the victims of Louisiana floods and $500,000 to the Nashville flood relief.
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She also raised $750,000 through a Speak Now Help Now benefit concert for victims of tornadoes in the southern US in 2011, according to People.
Swift is also supportive of education — she pledged $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame to fund the Taylor Swift Education Center.
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She also donated $50,000 to NYC public schools, People reported.
In 2020, Swift gave $50,000 to a mother of five who lost her husband to COVID-19 days before Christmas.
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She and her mom Andrea Swift quietly made the donation, according to USA Today.
She also gifted $13,000 each to two moms who were also struggling financially because of the pandemic.
And then there are the two famous checks she wrote for $1,989 — an ode to her best-selling album — sent to two fans to pay a student loan and to donate to a dance marathon benefit.
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The checks were sent out in 2014, according to People.
More recently, she has been donating to food banks across America that coincide with her The Eras Tour route.
Taylor Swift attends the 2023 Grammys. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
She made a sizeable donation to the Arizona Food Bank Network as she kicked off the tour in Glendale, Arizona, and has done the same at other stops including Las Vegas, Nevada, and Detroit, Michigan.
She also helps out her fellow pop stars. She gave Kesha $250,000 to help with legal fees during her lawsuit against music producer Dr. Luke.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Rolling Stone reported the donation in an interview with Kesha in 2017.
In the article, the singer said Swift “is a fucking sweetheart. Very, very sweet, very, very genuine, extremely generous, picks up the phone every time I call her. My mom doesn’t even always pick up the phone!”
Swift has proven herself to be incredibly savvy with investments. In 2022, she pulled out of a $100 million sponsorship deal with Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX after she questioned the company if it was selling “unregistered securities.”
Taylor Swift. Getty/Jamie McCarthy
As Business Insider reported, many other celebrities such as Tom Brady and Stephen Curry failed to do so and are now being sued for endorsing the now-bankrupt crypto exchange.
