It's not news to anyone that celebrities all make way more money than the rest of us. Not only do things like movies, TV shows, music, and sports pay way more than most average jobs, but many stars have one, two, or even more side hustles that rake in tons of extra cash. And while we do expect famous people to have hefty bank accounts, some celebrities have surprisingly high net worths even for their lucrative career fields.
For example, who could guess that being a magician could be an almost billion dollar career — or that sports stars can make billions even after retiring from the game for good? Plenty of celebs are millionaires, but few have as much money as the 20 famous people on this list.
When it comes to expanding upon one's wealth, take note: Most of these celebs have a diverse asset portfolio. Actors aren't only making money from doing movies, musicians aren't just raking in money from touring, and sports stars don't just play ball. A lot of these really wealthy famous people invested their cash in real estate, shares of companies, or even starting their own businesses. Having multiple sources of income helps drive up their net worth.
That's why celebs do endorsement deals, start their own clothing or beauty lines, or partner with other companies to release products. It's all about maximizing the wealth. Some are better (or luckier) than others when it comes to growing their wealth, but all of these stars are rolling in the dough. And, their net worths are likely to just keep on growing as they invest in multiple revenue streams.
Here are 20 celebs who have super high net worths, and how they brought that money in.
Ed Sheeran
Estimated net worth: $206 million
The 29-year-old singer may be worth a little over $200 million now, but he's on track to be a billionaire by the time he's 30, according to a 2019 article from Fox Business. Contributing to his growing wealth are his world tours, which rake in hundreds of millions of dollars. His Divide tour reportedly pulled $500 million in sales. So love him or hate him, Sheeran is staying on top.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Estimated net worth: $280 million
It feels like The Rock is in a ton of big budget movies every year, and he's got the cash to show for it. In addition to the millions he makes from the film industry, he's had partnerships with Under Armour and owns part of Voss Water. In 2018, Forbes named him the highest paid actor, and he posted about it on Instagram. "I work extremely hard but never anticipated (in my wildest dreams) I’d become the highest paid actor in Forbes' history," he said. "I'm the dude who started w/ $7bucks. I'm grateful to the bone and hungry to the core."
Jessica Alba
Estimated net worth: $350 million
Jessica Alba's personal net worth is nothing to sneeze at, and her business net worth is even more, according to Hello magazine. Jessica founded The Honest Company in 2011, and it sells everything from beauty products to baby products. Hello reported that the company is worth a $1 billion, and that Jessica owns a decent percentage of the company stock. She's just investing in herself.
Taylor Swift
Estimated net worth: $360 million
Although she's one of the most popular artists around, Taylor Swift isn't one of the richest. Still, $360 million is nothing to sneeze at. Taylor makes most of her money through her tours. Business Insider reported that she added a lot to her net worth with her Reputation tour, which netted $345 million in 38 shows. She also has a hefty real estate portfolio and a multimillion dollar contract with Universal Music Group.
Shania Twain
Estimated net worth: $400 million
Shania Twain has been in the music business since the '90s, and she's racked up quite an impressive amount of wealth over the last few decades. Forbes named the singer one of the top earners among all country musicians, because she brought in $29 million in 2019 alone. Not only does she make money from selling her albums, but her Las Vegas residency brings in consistent high income.
Jennifer Lopez
Estimated net worth: $400 million
J.Lo may not have been up for an Oscar this year, but at least she has $400 million. The actress and singer has been called "the hardest working woman in showbiz," and her bank account reflects that. Her money comes from her high-paying acting gigs, her music tours, and her endorsement deals. She also has a clothing line and perfume business worth around $2 billion.
Get that money, girl!
Beyoncé
Estimated net worth: $400 million
With about half the fortune husband Jay-Z has, Bey is still rolling in the dough. According to Business Insider, her money mostly comes from her music, tours, endorsement deals, and things like her recent clothing line with Adidas called Ivy Park. Her Formation tour alone made $250 million, as did her On The Run II tour with Jay-Z.
Judge Judy
Estimated net worth: $420 million
Much of Judge Judy's (real name Judy Sheindlin) money comes from her TV show of the same name, which has been on since 1996. But she's also made some savvy business deals over the years that have made her even more cash. One of her biggest moves was selling the rights to her TV episode catalog for $100 million in 2017, according to Forbes.
Ryan Seacrest
Estimated net worth: $430 million
The American Idol host is one of the busiest men in television. It seems like he's always doing something, whether it's his radio show, the New Year's Eve celebration, Live with Kelly and Ryan, executive producing on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. He's a great example of a celebrity who's worth a lot because he does a lot.
Dr. Phil
Estimated net worth: $440 million
Dr. Phil rakes in a lot of money from his daytime talk show, but it's not his only source of income. He also executive produces the TV series Bull (which is based on his own life), and shows like The Doctors, and Face the Truth. He's also the author of several self-help books. With all of that income combined, he's sitting pretty at almost half a billion dollars.
LeBron James
Estimated net worth: $480 million
The Lakers star earns about $40 million to play in the NBA, but makes a ton more money from major endorsement deals, his shoe line with Nike, owning two media companies, and having a share of the Beats by Dre company. Athletes make a lot just from their day job of being an athlete, but the big bucks always come from their side projects.
Ellen DeGeneres
Estimated net worth: $490 million
In addition to the likely high salary for her talk show, Ellen DeGeneres makes money from voicing movie characters — like Dory in Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. She also produces television series like Little Big Shots, Splitting Up Together, and her own talk show. Plus, she's leaned into the endorsement world as well, with ads for J.C. Penney, Amazon, and more over the years. It all adds up to quite a lot of money.
Dolly Parton
Estimated net worth: $600 million
Dolly Parton's been in the music business since the '60s, so it makes sense that she's made a fortune over the years. In addition to the income she gets from her songs, Dolly also owns Dollywood theme park, has a book and clothing line, and recently produced a TV series for Netflix. She's the definition of having her fingers in all the pies.
Rihanna
Estimated net worth: $600 million
According to Business Insider, Rihanna is the world's richest female musician, but not all of her money comes from music. In addition to selling records and touring, she's landed sponsorships from companies like Samsung and has a partial stake in the music streaming service Tidal. She also acts in big budget movies like Ocean's Eight. But her real money maker these days seems to be her Fenty company which sells everything from clothing to beauty products. She's basically doing a little bit of everything.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs
Estimated net worth: $740 million
Diddy is the third richest hip-hop star in the world, and that's because he doesn't only do music. He has a partnership with Ciroc vodka, a fashion line, and a TV network — oh, and then there's the music. Diddy is a popular rapper, and has even been asked to work on the soundtrack for the upcoming Hamilton movie. That's gonna pay a pretty penny.
David Copperfield
Estimated net worth: $875 million
Who knew that magic was such a lucrative gig? Illusionist David Copperfield is one of the biggest names in magic, and he gets big checks to go along with that. In 2018, Forbes reported that he was the richest magician around with $875 million and 11 private islands to his name. Where does all that money come from? His Vegas shows, of course.
Jay-Z
Estimated net worth: $1 billion
He may have 99 problems, but money ain't one. Jay-Z is a billionaire, thanks to his diverse portfolio of assets. Forbes reported that the rapper is also in the champagne business, art collecting world, and real estate market. Those are big money makers. Plus he owns the music streaming service Tidal and is founded the entertainment company Roc Nation.
Michael Jordan
Estimated net worth: $1.9 billion
Michael Jordan hasn't played professional basketball in years, but his wealth has been accumulating all the while. His fortune comes in part from Nike royalties for his Jordan product line and endorsement deals. But his biggest money maker is the NBA team he bought in 2014. The Charlotte Hornets stock has raised considerably since Jordan bought the majority share, and it's netted him big bucks.
Oprah
Estimated net worth: $2.7 billion
From daytime talk show host to media mogul, Oprah has had a meteoric rise in the entertainment industry. The billionaire started her own TV channel, has her own magazine, and creates her own TV shows and documentaries through a deal with AppleTV+. So her talk show may be long over, but Oprah's career isn't slowing down any time soon.
George Lucas
Estimated net worth: $6.4 billion
It makes sense that George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars franchise, has a lot of money, but we didn't know he had that much money. Part of that giant fortune comes from the fact that he held the merchandise and licensing rights for Star Wars — and those toys raked in the cash. And then there was the sale of his production company Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 for $4.1 billion. He's now one of the richest men in the movie industry.
