Taylor Swift: Eras tour ticket sales see her become first musician to make $1bn from songs alone - net worth

Forbes magazine has reported that, Taylor Swift, the celebrated American singer and global pop sensation, has achieved billionaire status.

Now 34, the pop icon has accumulated a remarkable $1.1 billion USD (about £875 million) through the triumph of her Eras Tour and the worth of her expansive back catalogue of music.

“Swift is the first musician to hit 10-figure status solely based on her songs and performances,” Forbes said.

Rihanna, the Barbadian singer, earned her spot on the list thanks to her successful beauty brand, while Jay-Z, the rapper and husband of Beyoncé, secured his place in history as hip-hop's inaugural billionaire in 2019, driven by his diverse portfolio comprising fine art investments, music ventures and stakes in various companies and beverage brands.

But how did Taylor make her first billion? Here is everything you need to know.

How did Taylor make her first billion?

The business magazine believes Swift’s wealth is made up of roughly 500 million dollars (£398 million) from royalties and touring and a similar amount from the worth of her musical works. An additional 125 million dollars (£99 million) comes from her property portfolio.

Following Swift’s recent music gigs, kicking off in March 2023, she became the first artist to surpass one billion dollars (£800 million) in revenue, breaking the Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing music tour.

The concert film, based on her tour, also generated Vue International’s highest ticket sales at the UK and Ireland box office on its opening day.

She also became the biggest-selling global recording artist of 2023, which saw her break another record by topping the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) global artist chart for a fourth time.

Swift has also been trying to regain control of her master recordings by re-recording her back catalogue since 2021 with 'Fearless (Taylor’s Version)'.

Her albums, 2022’s 'Midnights' and 2023 re-releases 'Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)' and '1989 (Taylor’s Version)' have all topped the UK charts.

Who else is on the list?

Swift joins French luxury brand LVMH owner Bernard Arnault, who claims the number one spot as the wealthiest person globally with about 233 billion dollars (£185 billion).

Technology mogul Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, came second on the Forbes’ list with an estimated 195 billion dollars (£155 billion).

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos placed third on the list while Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg took the number four spot and Oracle software co-founder Larry Ellison rounded out the top five.