00:00Today on Forbes, Taylor Swift becomes world's richest female musician.
00:06Here's who's right behind her.
00:09Taylor Swift has leapfrogged singer and beauty mogul Rihanna to become the world's richest
00:13female musician.
00:15This follows the blockbuster success of Swift's Eras tour.
00:19Other major female artists, including Madonna and Beyonce, rank just outside the billion
00:24dollar club.
00:27Swift is now worth $1.6 billion, Forbes estimates, up $500 million from last October, when Forbes
00:34reported Swift had become a billionaire with a then-estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.
00:41Swift, who is 34 years old, became the first musician to become a billionaire solely based
00:47on the value of songs and performances in 2023.
00:52Forbes estimates her music catalog is worth $600 million, and her tours and royalties
00:57have pocketed her another $600 million.
01:00She also owns an estimated $125 million in real estate.
01:05Her jump to billionaire status was driven largely by her ongoing Eras tour, which began
01:10in March 2023 and is set to conclude in December.
01:14Last year, Forbes estimated the first leg of the Eras tour alone earned her $190 million.
01:20The Eras tour became the first-ever concert tour to surpass $1 billion in total gross,
01:26according to what Pulse Star reported in December.
01:29Forbes ranked Swift the fifth most powerful woman in the world in 2023, making her the
01:34highest-ranked entertainer and putting her in the company of the world's most influential
01:38political and business leaders.
01:41On our Forbes' World's Most Powerful Women list, we cited the impact her Eras tour has
01:45had on local economies and the dedication of her fanbase, known as Swifties.
01:50Swift was also named the 2023 Time Person of the Year, and she has been considered an
01:55influential figure in politics.
01:57Her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris last month was credited with a spike in visits
02:01to Vote.gov, a voter registration website.
02:06Right behind Swift is Rihanna at $1.4 billion, whose wealth largely comes from her stakes
02:11in her cosmetics and lingerie companies rather than her music catalog.
02:16Rihanna, who is 36 years old, became a billionaire in 2021, Forbes estimated, largely because
02:22of the value of her stake in Fenty Beauty, the cosmetics company she launched in 2017.
02:28She owns a 50% stake in the company, as well as an estimated 28% stake in lingerie brand
02:34Savage Fenty.
02:36Both companies are named after the singer, whose real name is Robin Fenty.
02:40She launched her latest beauty line, Fenty Hair, in June.
02:45Forbes ranked Rihanna as the 74th most powerful woman in the world in 2023.
02:50The rest of her wealth comes from her music catalog.
02:52She has 14 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, the third most of any artist, only behind The
02:58Beatles and Mariah Carey.
03:00She performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023, a brief break from her years-long
03:05hiatus from her music career.
03:07She hasn't released an album since her 2016 album, Anti.
03:12After Swift and Rihanna is Madonna, who is one of the world's top touring artists with
03:16more than $1.6 billion in total gross across all her concert tours.
03:21However, Madonna is just behind billionaire status with an estimated net worth of $850
03:27million in May.
03:30Beyonce was worth an estimated $760 million as of May, which increased last year after
03:35she pocketed about $100 million from her Renaissance World Tour.
03:40In August, we reported that she could approach billionaire status depending on the performance
03:44of her new whiskey brand called Sir Davis, which is under the LVMH empire.
03:50Canadian star Celine Dion is worth an estimated $550 million, much of which comes from her
03:56successful Las Vegas concert residencies.
03:59EGOT-winning singer-actress Barbara Streisand, who published a nearly 1,000-page memoir last
04:04year, is worth an estimated $460 million.
04:09Country superstar Dolly Parton is worth $450 million, Forbes estimated in May, much of
04:15which comes from her stake in the Tennessee family theme park Dollywood and the estimated
04:20$150 million value of her music catalog.
04:24Katy Perry is worth an estimated $350 million, following the reported $225 million sale of
04:30her music catalog in 2023 and a stint as a judge on American Idol that reportedly earned
04:36her $25 million per season.
04:40For full coverage, check out Conor Murray's piece on Forbes.com.
04:45This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:48Thanks for tuning in.
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