Taylor Swift surpasses Rihanna as world’s richest female musician

Pop superstar Taylor Swift surpasses Rihanna and is also reportedly the second richest musician in the world after Jay-Z.

The numbers are in and now it’s official: Taylor Swift is the richest female musician in the world, with an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion (approx. €1.45bn).

She overtakes Rihanna to the top spot and now ranks second on the overall list of richest musicians, just behind Jay-Z, who has a net worth of $2.5 billion (approx. €2.2bn).

While Rihanna ($1.4 billion net worth) still holds the title of the “richest female musician of all time,” having once reached a peak net worth of $1.77 billion (approx. €1.6bn), Swift may soon be on her way to claim that title too.

Forbes confirmed the news by updating Swift’s financial status following the historic success of her Eras Tour, and estimates that $600 million of Swift’s wealth comes from tour revenues and royalties, another $600 million from the value of her music catalog, and $125 million from real estate investments.

Swift also reportedly earned $100 million from Spotify streaming royalties alone last year, thanks in large part to her 2022 album ‘Midnights’ and 2023’s re-recorded version of ‘1989’, ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’.

What sets Swift apart is that unlike many musicians, Swift’s fortune primarily stems from her music career and is the only musician in history to achieve a 10-figure net worth mainly from album sales and live performances, rather than from entrepreneurial ventures.

She first billionaire status in October 2023.

Taylor Swift wrapped up the European leg of her Eras Tour in August and is set to close off the tour at the end of this year. Her final stretch starts in the us on 18 October before ending the Eras Tour in Canada early December.

The pop star recently endorsed Kamala Harris for president, much to chagrin of Donald Trump, who predicted the singer would “pay a price” as a result. Trump had previously shared fake AI pictures claiming that Swift and her fans were endorsing him, and Swift’s (authentic) backing led him to share a (not at all unhinged) post on social media reading “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT”.