From the outside looking in, Hollywood stars just have the life. What’s better than singing in front of big crowds, signing autographs and getting paid a boat-load of money? Of course, that may sound easy, but all that money comes from a lot of hard work, many hours of practice and late nights song-writing.
How do they do it? We don’t have the answers, but we can tell you just how much these top 10 pop stars have made throughout their careers and a little bit about just how hard they’ve worked to get it.
10 Shawn Mendez - $38 million
Shawn Mendez may not be the highest on this list, but he certainly is the youngest, which is why a net worth of $38 million is so impressive. At only 21-years-old, Mendez has released 10 albums (including EPs and reissues) as well as 20 music videos and 15 singles.
In addition, out of the 253 awards he’s been nominated for since his career started in 2013, he’s taken home over 90 of them.
9 Ariana Grande - $100 million
Beginning as an actress with a ground-breaking voice, Ariana Grande is one of the highest-paid and popular women in Hollywood. It's well known that she been consistently making tens of millions of dollars on every tour she’s gone on.
In fact, Dangerous Woman’s tour made the star around $70 million alone. Not only has she been so successful in popularity and money, but Grande has also been named Billboard’s Woman of the Year in 2018. At just 26 years old, she’s made quite a mark on the music industry.
8 P!nk - $110 million
With the real name Alecia Moore, P!nk is a classic punk-pop artist if “classic” includes the early 2000s. This may have been when Moore and her persona were most popular, but really, she started back in ‘95 with her first performances being in clubs at the young age of 14.
Now, she has worked her career to an amazing level selling millions of copies of her albums, right from the beginning. With a net worth of $110 million, there’s no way she got where she is without blood, sweat, and tears.
7 Ed Sheeran - $160 million
While he isn’t at the top of this list, a $160 million net worth is an insane amount of money and any “regular” person would agree. Ed Sheeran didn’t come into the spotlight until his debut of The A Team in 2011, but he has been writing (song, plays and otherwise) since 2005. According to The Street, Sheeran was supposed to hit billionaire status by the time he was 30 years old; and at 29, he’s not too far from it.
Fun fact: the young man began his singing career at the age of four, performing in front of his church in the 90s. Now, as of 2019, he’s making around $110 million a year.
6 Bruno Mars - $175 million
Bruno Mars, whose name is actually Peter Hernandez, made his big shot with songs like The Lazy Song and Just the Way You Are. Now, he’s a multi-millionaire having sold over 20 million albums and over 200 million singles worldwide. Not only this, but he has been said to make an average of $60 million to $75 million a year.
Of course, the 34-year-old pop and funk artist was born with music and dance in his blood, as he tells the story of his parent meeting in Hawaii when his mother was a hula dancer.
5 Justin Timberlake - $250 million
Starting off as a member of NSYNC, Justin Timberlake has grown immensely since his first projects in the famous boy-band. Getting close to his 40s, the talented artist is an actor and record producer.
While he is married with a family, the star has been involved in a few controversies, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t worked hard to get where he is. He started young, acting in shows like The All-New Mickey Mouse Club House. Of course, he is most known for his music, no doubt!
4 Lady Gaga - $275 million
Beginning her music career at the age of four when she first began learning how to play the piano. Going to an all-girls Catholic School, she says she’s always been seen as too provocative or eccentric.
N0w, she is known for her amazing, dramatic performances and her breathtaking, eye-catching uniforms and outfits. Born as Stefani Germanotta, she is said to make around $90 million a year, but she has had “bad” years where the numbers have sunken by around $50 million.
3 Taylor Swift - $360 million
With a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, Taylor Swift has been performing since she was just a child. At the young age of 30, she is one of the most influential artists in the world - not just Hollywood. Swift’s career began in 2004 when she was 14, becoming the youngest artist signed by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house and, at age 15, she signed her first record deal.
Since then, she has been nominated for 738 awards, winning over 300 of them. According to Business Insider, the young star makes over $185 million every year, before taxes. Can you imagine having that much money?
2 Rihanna - $400 million
Rihanna has been around for what feels like such a long time. From as early as Disturbia, Umbrella, and Live Your Life to her newest album in 2016, the 32-year-old has an astonishing net worth of $400 million.
In both 2012 and 2018, she was listed as Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World “one of the coolest, hottest, most talented, most liked, most listened to, most followed, most impressive artists at work today.” She’s been described as extremely admirable for her ability to stride through her career on her own terms.
1 Beyoncé - $500 million
Beyoncé is an American actress, singer, dancer and songwriter who is estimated to make around $115 million a year. Along with her extensive list of discography, she’s starred and acted in everything from television shows to music videos to movies. On top of that, the 38-year-old has been nominated for over 1,000 awards, winning 569 of those nominations.
And finally, she has built her career while also starting a family, getting married to Jay-Z and having three since. Talk about super-mom!
