Forget struggling for your art. Forget the starving artist trope. In today’s music industry, the best way to measure success is in streams—and stocks. Yes, we’re talking about the artists whose net worths are hitting Billionaire Status (cue fancy echoes) and who manage to rake in millions each year by doing…well, pretty much nothing at this point. They’ve built empires so efficiently that they could sit back and let the royalty checks roll in. Here are the top five chart-toppers in the “I’m Rich and You’re Not” genre.
Check out these top billionaire music artists.
1. Jay-Z
Net Worth: $2.5 Billion
Income Streams: Music, liquor, luxury brands, tech, and anything else he’s had a second to invest in.
Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter isn’t just a rapper; he’s practically the music industry's Warren Buffett. Beyond his lyrical talents, he's got stakes in everything from champagne (Ace of Spades) to cognac (D’Ussé) to his record label, Roc Nation. Oh, and there’s Tidal, his "artist-owned" streaming service (though he eventually sold it to Square for a cool $297 million).
It’s like he looks for every industry ripe for disruption, swoops in makes a fortune, and then casually sells it for even more. Does Jay-Z still record? Occasionally, but he doesn’t have to. His music legacy may be iconic, but his Midas touch has kept him at billionaire status.
2. Rihanna
Net Worth: $1.7 Billion
Income Streams: Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty, music (when she feels like it).
Remember when Rihanna used to release music? It feels like forever ago because nowadays, she’s your go-to source for high-end makeup and lingerie.
The only album she’s releasing is one filled with shades of foundation. Fenty Beauty has been her ticket to billionaire status, and she barely needs the music world to keep her on top.
Fans have begged for years for her new album, but why should she hustle when her makeup line rakes in nine figures a year? At this point, the album is a myth—like Bigfoot or punctual public transit.
3. Kanye West (Yes, even after the controversies)
Net Worth: Currently fluctuates, but once peaked near $1.8 Billion
Income Streams: Music, Yeezy brand, deals with Adidas, and, of course, headlines.
Love him or loathe him, Kanye West knows how to turn chaos into cash. Sure, he lost a billion here and there with his Adidas fallout, but with his Yeezy brand and music royalties still stacking up, he remains comfortably within the millionaire—if not billionaire—range. His albums may still generate revenue, but it's his fashion ventures that have turned him into a mogul. Ye does music like a side hustle these days, showing up just when you thought he’d been banned from every social media platform known to man.
4. Taylor Swift
Net Worth: $1.1 Billion Income Streams: Record-breaking tours, re-releases, merch, and good ol' songwriting.
Taylor Swift is proof that pop stardom can pay and then pay again. Her recent Eras tour generated more money than some countries' GDPs.
And, in a plot twist fitting for Swift herself, she’s re-recording her entire discography just to reclaim the rights. It’s like recycling but with Billboard hits. Taylor’s so big now that her tour has become an “era” of its own.
She might make music, but she’s really in the business of nostalgia—and making bank on it. Her fans wouldn’t even blink if she sold Swift-branded oxygen at this point. They’d buy it.
5. Dr. Dre
Net Worth: $850 Million (it was a billion at one point!)
Income Streams: Beats by Dre, music, producing other artists, and just…being Dr. Dre.
Dr. Dre might not have dropped an album in forever, but that’s because he has Beats by Dre money. Do you remember those headphones? The ones everyone had in the 2010s? Apple paid Dre $3 billion for the brand, making him a near-billionaire in one sale.
Since then, he’s kept a low profile, with occasional appearances and even rarer music. What’s a little more music revenue when you've got Apple money? Dre proves that sometimes, making one smart business move can eclipse a lifetime of hits.
These five artists don’t just break records—they cash in on them.
Talent can take you far in the music world, but smart investments take you farther. If you're an aspiring artist hoping for a multi-million dollar empire, you may want to swap out the studio time for a good financial planner.