The formula for determining celebrity billionaires evidently varies depending on who’s doing the math.
In September, Bloomberg trumpeted that Selena Gomez had become a billionaire thanks to her Rare Beauty brand. But now Forbes is out with its annual billionaires list, which includes 18 “celebrity” billionaires — but Selena isn’t one of them. Taylor Swift and Rihanna did make the list, though for different reasons.
As Forbes notes, these days celebrities often become billionaires as a result of a side hustle, not the thing they became famous for doing. Rihanna, whose wealth Forbes estimates at $1.4 billion, owes her status to her lingerie company Savage X Fenty and cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, not her singing.
But Taylor is unique in that she has no side hustles: Her $1.6 billion net worth comes almost entirely from her writing songs, recording them, selling them and performing them live. A small portion of her net worth — $115 billion — is tied up in real estate.
The only other musician on the list, Jay-Z, is worth $2.5 billion, per Forbes, mostly because of his two liquor brands, his stake in Uber and a huge art collection.
As for the other celebrity billionaires, Forbes’ list includes newcomers Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Seinfeld and Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as Oprah and Kim Kardashian. Directors Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas also make the list, plus movie mogul Tyler Perry; sports legends LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson; and Law & Order honcho Dick Wolf.
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