Taylor Swift reached billionaire status thanks to her showstopping Eras Tour — see how the pop star makes and spends her fortune
After nearly two decades as a superstar, Taylor Swift's net worth has skyrocketed. She's officially built a billion-dollar empire — the Eras Tour alone grossed over $2 billion.
Dec 9, 2024 - 19:30
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Taylor Swift's net worth is $1.1 billion, Bloomberg News reported and Forbes confirmed.
The pop star is a prolific songwriter who's amassed a significant fortune throughout her career.
Here's how Swift earns and spends her fortune, from real estate to charitable donations.
At 15 years old, she was the youngest songwriter to ever sign with Sony. She now has 14 Grammys on her shelf — including four for album of the year, the most of any artist in history — several tours under her belt, 11 studio albums, a long list of chart-topping songs, and a beloved fan base who dub themselves "Swifties."
Swift has been strategic and generous with her money, investing in a sprawling $84 million real-estate portfolio and often donating to causes she supports.
See how Swift earns and spends her fortune below.
Hillary Hoffower, Libby Torres, and Taylor Nicole Rogers contributed to a previous version of this article.
Taylor Swift has an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.
According to Forbes, which published a series of 2024 billionaire reports on Tuesday, Swift is the first musician to reach 10-figure status solely based on songwriting and performing (rather than brand deals or business ventures).
Swift's vast fortune is primarily thanks to her valuable discography and earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets, and merchandise.
Representatives for Swift did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment regarding the Forbes report.
The pop star's record-breaking Eras Tour, which began in March 2023, propelled the singer to billionaire status.
Swift's 21-month, five-continent Eras Tour was nothing short of a sensation. By the end of its first year, it had become the first tour ever to gross over $1 billion in revenue, on track to become the highest-grossing tour of all time.
In October 2023, after Swift toured 56 dates across the US and Mexico, the Eras Tour had already generated $780 million and added $4.3 billion to America's gross domestic product, according to Bloomberg Economics.
Throughout 2024, Swift also made stops in Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Canada, and 11 countries throughout Europe.
By the end of its run, the Eras Tour had grossed over $2 billion.
This figure was confirmed by Taylor Swift Touring, the singer's production company. All 149 stadium shows were sold out, and the company said over 10 billion people attended the Eras Tour.
The movie version of the tour broke box-office records before it was even released. It grossed more than $261 million worldwide.
Worldwide ticket presales had already exceeded $100 million before "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" was released (a day early) on October 12, 2023, AMC Theatres reported.
According to ticketing service Fandango, the film set a 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, received half of the box office earnings for the film, which grossed $261 million worldwide.
Swift cashed in on her blockbuster Eras Tour movie again by selling the streaming rights to Disney for more than $75 million.
According to Puck News, Disney paid upwards of $75 million for the exclusive rights.
Citing anonymous sources, the outlet reported that Disney's Bob Iger outbid Netflix and Universal Pictures (which handled VOD distribution for the film in December) for the streaming rights by offering a huge sum, which the other two streamers couldn't match.
Swift also released an Eras Tour photo book, which sold over 800,000 copies in its first weekend.
As she did with the Eras Tour film, Swift circumvented traditional routes and opted to self-publish instead, ensuring she would get more of the book's revenue.
She earned even more during her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018.
At the time, the Reputation Stadium Tour broke the record for the highest-grossing US tour ever, according to Billboard. Swift earned an average of $7 million per show, more than double the US per-concert average during the "1989" tour.
But her tours don't just bring in ticket sales. Swift also makes a huge sum of money from merch.
In April 2023, Forbes estimated that Swift's 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's latest album, "The Tortured Poets Department," sold millions of copies in a matter of weeks.
This sum was thanks to huge streaming totals and physical album sales, especially vinyl, which Swift sells more successfully than anyone else. According to a Billboard report from November 2023, one in every 15 vinyl albums sold in the US is one of Swift's.
On November 30, 2024, "Poets" was certified 6x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, meaning it has sold at least 6 million copies in the US.
Swift amassed an estimated $230 million in record sales following the release of her 2022 album "Midnights."
According to The Guardian, Swift's massive album sales for "Midnights" brought in $230 million for Swift's label Universal.
With more than 1.5 million equivalent album units earned in the US in its first week, "Midnights" landed the biggest week for an album in seven years (since Swift's own album "Reputation").
Swift made $52 million in 2021 after rerecording earlier work that was acquired (and then sold) by Scooter Braun.
She released the first installment in the series, "Fearless (Taylor's Version)," in 2021. It debuted atop the Billboard 200 — indicating this would be a lucrative venture for Swift. Later that year, Swift's new version of "Red" became one of the year's top-selling albums.
She has since released "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" and "1989 (Taylor's Version)." The latter sold over 1.6 million equivalent units in its first week, surpassing the original's total.
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.
Swift needs a way to travel among all these homes. She reportedly owns a Dassault private jet.
The Dassault 7X is registered to Island Jet Inc., a holding company listed under the same address as Taylor Swift Productions, Business Insider previously reported.
There's no word on how much she paid for these vehicles, but a brand new Dassault 900 has a list price of $44 million, according to Business Jet Traveler. Elon Musk owns a similar model that cost about $26 million.
Swift often spends money dining out with her friends and romantic partners, especially when in New York City.
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.
On her 24th birthday, she donated $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony, according to People.
Swift pledged $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame to fund an education center.
Her commitment to education doesn't stop with music; Swift also donated $50,000 to NYC public schools, People reported.
She has donated millions to support victims of natural disasters.
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.
The checks were sent out in 2014, according to People.
More recently, she has donated huge amounts to food banks along her Eras Tour route.
She also helps out her fellow pop stars. She gave Kesha $250,000 to help with legal fees during her lawsuit against Dr. Luke.
For several years, Kesha was embroiled in a defamation lawsuit after she accused the music producer Dr. Luke, her former mentor, of "unrelenting abuse" and rape. (Dr. Luke denied the allegations, and they reached a settlement in 2023.)
The "Rainbow" singer revealed Swift's donation during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017.
Kesha described Swift as "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, Swift 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."
As Business Insider reported, many other celebrities such as Tom Brady and Stephen Curry failed to do so and were subsequently sued for endorsing the now-bankrupt crypto exchange.