Who’s the richest member of Girls’ Generation? Net worths, ranked – from Taeyeon’s solo career and Yoona’s collab with Miu Miu, to Jessica Jung’s business success
- The K-pop idol girl group under SM Entertainment are back with a new album ‘Holiday Night’ coming in August – but Jessica remains the richest, despite leaving in 2014
- Seohyun was discovered by SM Entertainment in the US, then had a solo career, as did Sooyoung and Taeyeon who also earn millions from YouTube vlogs
Debuting in 2007 under SM Entertainment, Girls’ Generation, aka SNSD, is an icon of second-generation K-pop that has been dubbed “the Nation’s Girl Group” of South Korea. In 2020, it became the second girl group in the world to sell over 100 million digital and physical records, joining The Supremes, according to Koreaboo. Its song Gee holds the record as the most-downloaded idol group song in the history of South Korea, according to AllKPop.
The group initially consisted of nine members including Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, Seohyun – and Jessica, who left in 2014 to pursue her own business activities.
Aside from enjoying a profitable share of the group’s activities, each member has also built up her own empire. Most of it comes from forays in acting and lucrative endorsements, bringing the band’s estimated combined net worth to a whopping US$100 million. But who is the richest? (Net worths all according to Seoulspace.)
9. Tiffany: US$3 million
Born in the US, Tiffany Young was discovered by SM Entertainment at age 15 and moved to Seoul to join the group. In 2017, she returned to Los Angeles, where she embarked on a successful solo career.
Her singles Over My Skin and Lips on Lips won her an award for best solo breakout at the iHeart Radio Music Awards, per Bangkok Post. A huge part of her earnings comes from hosting shows like Breakfast with Tiffany, Girls Planet 999, Pet Vitamin and more.
Last year, she made her musical dream come true too, appearing in the South Korean production of the Broadway musical Chicago, per KpopStarz. Plus, she’ll be happy to pocket even more cash with her acting debut this year: she will be starring in upcoming drama The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate.
8. Seohyun: US$4 million
She also earns a good amount from endorsements with beauty brands like The Face Shop, Pantene and Clinique.