Taylor Swift hits billionaire status; drops new album
Billionaire FILE PHOTO: Taylor Swift attends "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" Concert Movie World Premiere at AMC The Grove 14 on October 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. She is now on Bloomberg's Billionaire Index. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
ByNatalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
It’s been a big week for Taylor Swift.
Not only has she been the center of attention for weeks at Kansas City Chiefs games because of her apparent romantic connection with Travis Kelce, she dropped a new album overnight Friday and made it on the billionaire’s list.
Bloomberg was the first to report that her name now ranks with powerhouses such as Elon Musk (No. 1 with $199B), Jeff Bezos (No. 3 with $143B) and Mark Zuckerberg (No. 10 with $105B) on the publication’s Billionaire Index.
She also joins entertainers such as Rihanna, who became a billionaire in 2021, as well as Jay Z and Beyoncé, who became billionaires in 2017, CNN reported.
So how did she break into the billionaire brotherhood? Bloomberg said it’s because of her Eras Tour, calling her “essentially a multinational conglomerate” and a “charismatic CEO” with “significant economic power.”
She performed 53 concerts in the U.S., which added $4.3 billion to the gross domestic product.
Bloomberg used assets and earnings that are confirmed or were part of publicly disclosed amounts that considered the value of her music catalog, five homes, streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets and, of course, merchandise. That number was adjusted to account for travel costs, tour production costs, commissions for managers and agents, and, unfortunately, taxes.
Swift’s catalog of music is worth $400 million, then the publication added $370 million from her concert tickets and merchandise sales, $120 million from Spotify and YouTube, $110 million for her homes and $80 million for her music sale royalties. All of that adds up to $1.08 billion.
Chris Leyden, SeatGeek’s director of growth and marketing, told CNN, “She’s not just a performer — she’s an economic phenomenon.”
She’s showing no signs of stopping.
She’s been taking the spotlight from the gridiron at every NFL game she’s attended over recent weeks, cheering on her apparent boyfriend Kelce, hanging out with her famous friends and even chatting up 87′s mom. Swift’s attendance at the games jacked up ticket prices more than 40%, CNN reported.
Swift is also getting ready to start the South American leg of her Eras Tour next month.
Friday brought the re-release of her hit album “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” which, when first released, earned 10 Grammy nominations, CNN reported. It’s the latest of the of Taylor’s Version releases of her past albums, which she announced in 2019.
The album, which was released Friday exactly nine years after it originally came out, includes five unheard tracks from the vault, including one that apparently references her past relationship with Harry Styles, E! News reported.
In a note penned to fans and shared on social media, Swift wrote, “I was born in 1989, reinvented for the first time in 2014 and a part of me was reclaimed in 2023 with the re-release of this album I love.”
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years Here are some memorable photos of Taylor Swift through the years. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2006: Country singer Taylor Swift arrives at the 41st annual Academy of Country Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 23, 2006, in Las Vegas. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2007: Music artist Taylor Swift performs during the Academy of Country Music New Artists' Party for a Cause show at the MGM Grand Conference Center on May 14, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2008: Singer Taylor Swift arrives at the 50th annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center on February 10, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2009: Kanye West (left) jumps onstage after Taylor Swift (center) won the "Best Female Video" award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009, in New York City. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2010: Musicians Kary Perry and Taylor Swift during the 52nd annual Grammy Awards Salute to Icons Honoring Doug Morris held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 30, 2010, in Beverly Hills, California. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2011: Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez perform onstage during the "Speak Now World Tour" at Madison Square Garden on November 22, 2011, in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2012: Taylor Swift performs onstage during the MTV EMA's 2012 at Festhalle Frankfurt on November 11, 2012, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for MTV)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2013: Taylor Swift arrives at the 55th annual Grammy Awards on February 10, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2014: Musician Taylor Swift attends the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2015: Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on February 8, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2016: Recording artist Taylor Swift attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016, in Beverly Hills, California. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2017: Musician Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Super Saturday Night Concert at Club Nomadic on February 4, 2017, in Houston. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for DIRECTV)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2018: Taylor Swift attends the 2018 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on October 9, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2019: Taylor Swift performs during the TIME 100 Gala 2019 Dinner at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TIME)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2020: Taylor Swift attends the 2020 Sundance Film Festival "Miss Americana" Premiere at Eccles Center Theatre on January 23, 2020, in Park City, Utah. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2021: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner accept the Album of the Year award for "Folklore" onstage during the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2021: Taylor Swift attends the "All Too Well" New York Premiere on November 12, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) (DIMITRIOS.KAMBOURIS@GETTYIMAGES.COM/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2021: Writer-director Taylor Swift attends a premiere for the short film "All Too Well" at AMC Lincoln Square 13 on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) (Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2022: Taylor Swift speaks during a graduation ceremony for New York University at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2022: Taylor Swift waves to graduates as she participates in a graduation ceremony for New York University at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management) (Mat Hayward/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years Taylor Swift performs onstage during "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 01, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management) (Kevin Mazur/TAS24/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS)