Beyoncé is officially a billionaire.
The pop sensation-turned-country musician is now the fifth musician is the world to achieve billionaire status, according to Forbes.
The milestone is largely due to the success of her 2024 debut country album, “Cowboy Carter,” which paved the way for commercial opportunities, the NFL’s 2024 Christmas halftime show, three Grammys and the Cowboy Carter Tour, which grossed over $400 million — the highest-earning country music tour of all time.
Still, before her pivot to country music, Beyoncé was well established as a pop magnate. The 44-year-old musician’s 39-city, 56-show Renaissance World Tour drew over 2.7 million concertgoers and grossed more than $579 million. She followed the tour with “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” which made nearly $44 million worldwide in ticket sales.
Beyoncé is also the most decorated Grammy Award winner, with a staggering 35 golden gramophones, including wins for album of the year and song of the year. She has been nominated 99 times.
In 2010, Beyoncé launched her business empire, Parkwood Entertainment, and brought all her music, documentaries and concerts to the company, giving herself financial independence and creative control.
Her empire also includes the whiskey label Sir Davis, clothing line Ivy Park (which was discontinued in 2024) and a hair care brand, Cécred.
“When I decided to manage myself, it was important that I didn’t go to some big management company,” she said during a 2013 interview promoting her self-titled album, “Beyoncé.” “I felt like I wanted to follow the footsteps of Madonna and be a powerhouse and have my own empire and show other women when you get to this point in your career you don’t have to go sign with someone else and share your money and your success — you do it yourself.”
Beyoncé began paving her road to superstardom during the early 1990s, when the then-9-year-old Beyoncé formed the group Girl’s Tyme, which evolved into Destiny’s Child, which earned two Grammys and nine nominations.
The new billionaire’s next venture might be a focus on raising her three children — Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir Carter. In a recent interview with GQ, the musician said she only wants to tour while her children are not in school and hopes to provide them with normalcy as they grow up.
“I build my work schedule around my family. I try to only tour when my kids are out of school. I always dreamt of a life where I could see the world with my family and expose them to different languages, architecture, and lifestyles,” she told the outlet.
“Raising three kids isn’t easy. The older they get, the more they become their own individuals with unique needs, hobbies, and social lives. My twins are God-sent. Parenting constantly teaches you about yourself. It takes a lot of prayer and patience. I love it. It’s grounding and fulfilling.”
Here are the four other billionaire musicians.
Jay-Z
In June 2019, Jay-Z was the first musician to become a billionaire, per Forbes.
The hip-hop artist and husband to Beyoncé launched his own record label, Roc-A-Fella Records, before releasing his 1996 debut album, “Reasonable Doubt.” He has since released 13 albums — all of which were No. 1 albums — and four collaborative albums.
Jay-Z has won 25 Grammy Awards with 89 nominations.
“Most times rappers end up broke or nowhere,” he said in a 2005 interview with GQ. “It’s time for someone to take it to the next level, to become an executive and open the doors for the culture.”
Jay-Z, who grew up in a housing project in Brooklyn, helms a diverse business empire, including a music catalog worth roughly $75 million, the champagne label Armand de Brignac, the streaming platform Tidal and entertainment company Roc Nation, as well as a multimillion-dollar art collection and millions in real estate.
Rihanna
Rihanna became the first female musician to achieve billionaire status in August 2021, according to Forbes.
In 2021, the outlet estimated Rihanna’s worth at $1.7 billion — the bulk of which she made through her cosmetic brand, Fenty Beauty.
Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty in 2017 in hopes of building a cosmetic brand “so that women everywhere would be included.”
The Barbados-born pop sensation has also topped the charts with her eight albums, two of which were No. 1 albums. She has won nine Grammy Awards with 34 nominations. Rihanna’s first hit, “Pon de Replay,” was released when she was 17 years old.
“I left home as a teenager, and I left everything I knew: my family, my friends, my food, my culture,” she told Harper’s Bazaar in February. “I came to a big city by myself, and the only option for me was to win. I knew that I had to win.”
Taylor Swift
Following her mega-successful Eras Tour, in October 2024, Taylor Swift became the second female musician to be a billionaire, with as estimated worth of $1.1 billion, per Forbes.
Swift was the first musician to achieve billionaire status solely based on her songs and performances. By the end of her nearly two-yearlong Eras Tour, Swift had made $2,077,618,725 in ticket sales — cementing its place as the highest-selling concert tour in history.
With 12 original albums and four “Taylor’s Version” albums, Swift has won 14 Grammy Awards with 58 nominations, including record of the year and album of the year.
In 2023, Time magazine named Swift the Person of the Year.
“Nothing is permanent,” she told Time in response to earning the title and her record-breaking year. “So I’m very careful to be grateful every second that I get to be doing this at this level, because I’ve had it taken away from me before. There is one thing I’ve learned: My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art.”
Bruce Springsteen
“Born in the USA” singer Bruce Springsteen was named a billionaire in July 2024 by a “conservative” Forbes estimate — though the singer himself disputes the claim.
“I’m not a billionaire,” he told The Telegraph. “I wish I was, but they got that real wrong. I’ve spent too much money on superfluous things.”
According to Forbes, Springsteen passed the billion-dollar mark through selling his entire music catalog to Sony for an estimated $500-$550 million, generating $380 million in 2023 from ticket sales and selling more than 71 million albums in the U.S. and another 140 million worldwide.
Springsteen, who grew up in a working-class family in New Jersey, has won 20 Grammy Awards with 51 nominations, including song of the year and best rock song.