How did Taylor Swift make her fortune, and how does she spend it? The Eras Tour billionaire made multiple savvy business moves, and now has 8 houses, a private jet and loves to give to charity
Taylor Swift never fails to impress.
At 15 years old, she was the youngest songwriter to ever sign with Sony. She now has 14 Grammys on her shelf – including four for album of the year, the most of any artist in history – several tours under her belt, 10 studio albums, a long list of chart-topping songs, and a beloved fan base who dub themselves “Swifties”.
Such success makes Swift one of the world’s highest-paid celebrities and one of the richest female singers. According to a Bloomberg News analysis published on the eve of her 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album re-release last October, Swift has officially built a billion-dollar empire.
Forbes recently confirmed her US$1.1 billion net worth, citing in part her massive ongoing Eras Tour and its subsequent concert movie.
Swift has been strategic and generous with her money, investing in a sprawling US$84 million real-estate portfolio and often donating to causes she supports.
See how Swift earns and spends her fortune below.
How did Taylor Swift make over US$1.1 billion?
According to Forbes, which published a series of 2024 billionaire reports in early April, Swift is the first musician to reach 10-figure status solely based on songwriting and performing (rather than brand deals or business ventures).
Swift’s vast fortune is primarily thanks to her valuable discography and earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets and merchandise. However it was the pop star’s record-breaking Eras Tour, which began in March 2023, that propelled the singer to billionaire status.
Swift’s five-continent tour has been nothing short of a sensation. It’s the first tour ever to gross over US$1 billion in revenue and is on track to become the highest-grossing tour of all time.
In October 2023, after Swift toured 56 dates across the US and Mexico, The Eras Tour had already generated US$780 million and added US$4.3 billion to America’s gross domestic product, according to Bloomberg Economics.
She made bank from her concert film …
The movie version of the tour broke box office records before it was even released. It grossed more than US$261 million worldwide.
Worldwide ticket presales had already exceeded US$100 million before the film was released (a day early) on October 12, 2023, AMC Theatres reported.
Once Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour had left cinemas, Swift struck a deal with Disney+ to release the film’s extended version on streaming. According to Puck News, Disney paid upwards of US$75 million for the exclusive rights.
Citing anonymous sources, the outlet reported that Disney’s Bob Iger outbid Netflix and Universal Pictures (which handled VOD distribution for the film in December) for the streaming rights by offering the huge sum, which the other two streamers couldn’t match.
She has endorsement deals with big brands
These partnerships include Capital One, AT&T, Stella McCartney, Elizabeth Arden perfumes, American Express, Keds, Diet Coke, Walmart, and Apple.
But touring is Swift’s biggest moneymaker, including merch
The 1989 World Tour grossed more than US$250 million worldwide in 2015, according to the Los Angeles Times.
She earned even more during her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. Reputation sold over 1 million copies in its debut week. At the time, the Reputation Stadium Tour also broke the record for the highest-grossing US tour ever, according to Billboard. Swift earned an average of US$7 million per show, more than double the US per concert average during the 1989 tour.
But her tours don’t just bring in ticket sales. Swift also makes a huge sum of money from merch.
Last April, Forbes estimated that Swift’s coveted on-site merchandise – which she sells at an average price of US$80 – could add an estimated US$87 million in proceeds to her fortune.
She also sells a lot of albums
Swift amassed an estimated US$230 million in record sales following the release of her 2022 album Midnights.
According to The Guardian, Swift’s massive album sales for Midnights brought in US$230 million for Swift’s label Universal.
With more than 1.5 million equivalent album units earned in the US in its first week, Midnights landed the biggest week for an album in seven years (since Swift’s own album Reputation).
Swift embarked on a mission to re-record her first six albums after Braun, whom she accused of “incessant, manipulative bullying,” bought the legal rights to her back catalogue in 2019. He later sold the master recordings to a private-equity company.
She released the first instalment in the series, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), in 2021. It debuted atop the Billboard 200 – indicating this would be a lucrative venture for Swift. Later that year, Swift’s new version of Red became one of the year’s top-selling albums. The two re-recorded albums helped plant Swift on the The Highest-Paid Entertainers 2022 list from Forbes.
She has since released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). The latter sold over 1.6 million copies in its first week, surpassing the original and becoming Swift’s biggest debut total to date.
She now has an impressive property portfolio
Swift has amassed an impressive fortune – and she knows how to spend it. Her real-estate portfolio is worth a reported US$150 million, and consists of eight properties in four different states.
In Nashville, she owns a 3,240 sq ft condo worth an estimated US$3 million and a 5,600-square-foot Greek Revival estate worth an estimated US$2.5 million. The latter is the cheapest property she owns.
In LA, Swift owns a 10,982 sq ft Beverly Hills mansion worth nearly US$30 million, and in 2017 she was trying to turn it into a historic landmark, according to Teen Vogue.
Across the coast, Swift owns an estate with seaside views in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, for which she reportedly paid US$17.75 million. Sprawling across 12,000 sq ft, it has plenty of room for parties and even reportedly inspired her song “The Last Great American Dynasty.”
She also owns a private jet
To get between her various homes, the singer owns her own private jet. The Dassault 7X is registered to Island Jet Inc., a holding company listed under the same address as Taylor Swift Productions, according to Business Insider.
She used to have two private jets, but quietly sold one amid criticism of her carbon footprint. (“Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals,” a rep for Swift said in a statement. “To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect.”)
She loves to dine out with Travis Kelce and her squad
Swift often spends money dining out with her friends and romantic partners, especially when in New York City.
In the past, she’s been spotted at The Fat Radish, The Spotted Pig, Sarabeth’s, L’Asso, Nobu, and Vita Carota.
She gives away a small fortune to charitable causes
Swift has always been generous with her money, supporting good causes and helping those in need.
On her 24th birthday, she donated US$100,000 to the Nashville Symphony, according to People. She also pledged US$4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame to fund an education centre.
Her commitment to education doesn’t stop with music; Swift also donated US$50,000 to NYC public schools, People reported.
She has provided support during natural disasters, donating US$1 million to the victims of Louisiana floods and US$500,000 to Nashville flood relief.
She also gifted US$13,000 each to two mums who were struggling financially because of the pandemic.
And then there are the two famous cheques she wrote in 2014 for US$1,989 – an ode to her bestselling album – which she sent to two fans to pay a student loan and to donate to a dance marathon benefit.
More recently, she has been donating to food banks across America that coincide with her Eras Tour route.
She also helps out her fellow pop stars
For several years, Kesha was embroiled in a defamation lawsuit after she accused the music producer Dr. Luke, her former mentor, of “unrelenting abuse” and rape.
The Rainbow singer revealed Swift’s donation during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017, describing Swift as “a f****** sweetheart. Very, very sweet, very, very genuine, extremely generous, picks up the phone every time I call her. My mom doesn’t even always pick up the phone!”
Swift has also proven herself to be incredibly savvy with investments
In 2022, Swift pulled out of a US$100 million sponsorship deal with Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX after she questioned the company on whether it was selling “unregistered securities”.
- From her sold-out Eras Tour and the concert film rights she then sold to Disney+, to endorsement deals with Diet Coke and Walmart, and refusing to endorse FTX – Swift knows what she’s doing
- The Speak Now singer has splashed out on several houses in the US, and made generous donations to everyone from Kesha to those affected by hurricanes and Covid-19