In the world of fame, there are a good number of celebrities who have risen to stardom and have networth that singles them out.These personalities have hit billions strictly from their businesses/career and their earnings is largely associated to how well they have utilized their fame.
As far back in October 2023, Taylor Swift accomplished a feat no other musician had before. She became a billionaire strictly off of earnings from her music and performances.
According to Forbes World’s Billionaires list, here are A-listers on the ranking who have become billionaires in the past four years. spurred by entertainers capitalizing on their brand and fame.
Most on this list have made their billions from their own entrepreneurship and ventures outside of their claim to fame.
Pop star Rihanna, for example, built her fortune mainly from her stake in two billion-dollar companies, makeup brand Fenty Beauty, a joint venture with luxury giant LVMH, and lingerie maker Savage X Fenty.
Jay-Z became hip hop’s first billionaire thanks to two alcohol companies, D’Usse Cognac and Armand de Brignac Champagne. He sold a 50% stake in the latter to LVMH, and he also has stakes in Uber and Block, among other investments.
Michael Jordan earned less than $100 million from his basketball career, but pocketed big bucks from Nike. Jordan had his biggest score in August, when he sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets at a sky-high $3 billion valuation.
The World’s Richest Celebrities:
Here are the 10 celebrities who have turned their fame into enough fortune to make the 2024 World’s Billionaires list.
1. George Lucas
The 79 year old director has a net worth of $5.5 Billion.
The Star Wars director, who debuted as a billionaire in 1997, is the richest celebrity. This feat is largely possible thanks to his production company Lucas Film, which he sold to Disney in 2012 for more than $4 billion in cash and stock.
2. Steven Spielberg
With a net worth of $4.8 Billion, the 77 year old U.S. citizen joined the list in 1994. He is the first director to make the cut, after a string of hits that included Jaws, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List.
Spielberg once told Forbes “I’m a gambler.
“I haven’t taken a salary for almost a decade now.”
Instead, he negotiated to get a percentage of gross sales for his movies, and he still gets a slice of every ticket sold at Universal theme parks thanks to the Indiana Jones series.
3. Michael Jordan
He has a net worth of $3.2 Billion, 61 years of age and in 2015 he became the first billionaire athlete.
Jordan has raked in more than $1.8 billion from brand partnerships, most famously Nike’s Jordan brand.
He also made a very wise investment in 2010, buying the Charlotte Hornets NBA team for $175 million. He sold the team in August 2023 for $3 billion.
4. Oprah Winfrey
The daytime talk show host has a net worth of $2.8 Billion.
The 70 year old U.S. citizen became the first black female billionaire in 2003.
Oprah has built her brand into a media and business empire, including investments in real estate and her own production company.
5. Jay-Z
A hip-hop star who’s married to Beyonce has a net worth of $2.5 Billion.
According to Forbes, Jay Z sold a 50% stake in his champagne brand, Armand de Brignac, to luxury goods giant LVMH in 2021 for at least $300 million, and a majority stake in his cognac label D’Usse in 2023 for a reported $750 million to Bacardi.
He also owns stakes in Uber and Block. His net worth does not include his wife Beyonce’s own half-billion-dollar fortune.
Others who made it to the list are:
Kim Kardashian with a Net Worth of $1.7 Billion The 43 year old U.S citizen became a billionaire from her beauty and clothing brands. Her shapewear line Skims was valued at $4 billion in a 2023 funding round, and she sold 20% of KKW Beauty makeup company to Coty in 2020 for $200 million.
Next is Peter Jackson. The 62 year old New Zealand citizen has a net Worth of $1.5 Billion.Jackson made most of his fortune from his visual effects company, Weta Digital, which sold a portion of its assets to game maker Unity Software in 2021. That deal netted the New Zealander nearly $1 billion in cash and stock.
Another celebrity on the list is Tyler Perry with a net Worth of $1.4 Billion. Perry earned massively over a three-decade career in creating and acting in TV shows, movies and stage plays.
Pop star Rihanna is also on the list.The 36 year old Barbados citizen has a net Worth of $1.4 Billion.
The pop star has stakes in two billion-dollar brands: cosmetics company Fenty Beauty and lingerie business Savage X Fenty. Both are named after the Barbados-born singer, whose real name is Robyn Fenty.
We also have Tiger Woods on the list. Tiger Woods, a five-time Masters’ winner has earned over $1.7 billion in his career, the bulk of it is from endorsements. The 48 year old athlete has a net Worth of $1.3 Billion.
His most notable brand deal, a nearly three-decade partnership with Nike, came to an end in January. Woods soon announced his own clothing line, Sun Day Red.
These celebrities have done incredibly well for themselves.