Taylor Swift is now the richest female music star in the world, boasting a staggering net worth of $1.6 billion (£1.2bn). Her landmark The Eras Tour has taken the world by storm since its launch in March 2023. It recently achieved the record-breaking feat of becoming the first-ever concert tour to surpass the $1 billion (£770m) gross threshold.

But it’s not just the resounding success of The Eras Tour that's paved the way for Swift to become one of the richest people on the planet. Read on to discover all of the savvy and surprising business moves Swift made to become a billionaire. 

All dollar amounts in US dollars.

A significant portion of Swift's fortune comes from her touring triumphs. About 15 years before the Eras Tour became a global phenomenon, a 19-year-old Swift embarked on her debut world tour, the Fearless Tour (pictured). Between April 2009 and July 2010, she performed 119 shows worldwide.

The tour grossed $66.5 million, equivalent to $96 million (£74m) in 2024 money. While impressive for a debut tour, it was only the beginning of even greater successes to come.

Taylor 'swiftly' kicked off her second global trek, the Speak Now World Tour. Between February 2011 and March 2012, she performed 110 shows across North America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. With an estimated attendance of 1.6 million, the tour grossed $123.7 million. In today's money, that's around $170 million (£130m). 

The Red Tour followed between March 2013 and June 2014. It pulled in $150.2 million, the equivalent of a stellar $200 million (£153m) in 2024 money.

Swift's 1989 album and tour marked her game-changing transition into pop music. During this era, she released some of the biggest hits of her career, including Shake It Off and Style.

The 1989 World Tour (pictured) visited Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania, with Swift performing for over 2.2 million people. This fourth tour grossed $250.7 million, equivalent to $333 million (£257m) today.

In late 2016, Swift decided to take a break from the spotlight following a highly publicised fallout with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, during which she faced intense media scrutiny.

She made an epic return in November 2017 with the release of her sixth studio album, Reputation. The dark and moody record ushered in Swift's 'villain' era, and she addressed the controversies surrounding her in songs such as Look What You Made Me Do and I Did Something Bad.

2018's Reputation Stadium Tour (pictured) was a resounding success, attracting over 2.8 million concertgoers across 53 shows. The tour grossed $345.7 million, equivalent to $434 million (£335m) in 2024 money.

Swift's record-shattering The Eras Tour kicked off in March 2023.

The monumental tour became the highest-grossing of all time after surpassing the $1 billion (£770m) gross mark. By the time it wraps it's projected to gross an unprecedented $2.165 billion (£1.7bn) in ticket sales alone. When factoring in other revenue streams such as merchandise, The Eras Tour is expected to generate a staggering $4.1 billion (£3.2bn) in total.

Swift reportedly banks an average of $13.6 million (£10.5m) for every concert she performs. However, touring is not the only income stream that's helped her join the ranks of the exclusive 10-figure club...

Swift has made many smart business moves throughout her career. A recent example includes capitalising on the success of The Eras Tour with the concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.

Fans flocked to theatres to see the movie, which made a sensational $261.6 million (£201m), making it the highest-grossing concert film ever.

It's unknown how much money Swift earned personally from the movie, but it's likely to be a significant sum. The business-savvy star bypassed the traditional Hollywood distribution system and made a deal directly with the AMC movie theatre chain, allowing her to bank a bigger share of the box office profits. 

In another money-spinning move, Swift is set to release The Eras Tour Book in November, further capitalising on the success of her record-breaking tour. The self-published book will retail exclusively at Target for $39.99 (£31).

By opting to self-publish instead of working with a traditional publisher, Swift is maximising her personal profits. However, critics argue that this decision could disrupt the publishing industry, as publishers often rely on celebrity books and memoirs to support their business models.

It's not the first time Swift’s bold business decisions have sparked a backlash...

Swift often releases multiple versions of the same album in various formats. For instance, she's issued 36 different variants of her latest record, The Tortured Poets Department, across CD, digital, vinyl, and cassette.

The practice has drawn criticism, with some calling it a 'cash grab' and labelling Swift a 'capitalist queen'.

Whether it’s a clever business tactic or an exploitation of her fans remains up for debate. However, The Tortured Poets Department spent 12 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 charts, so Swift is clearly profiting from the strategy. And she arguably developed this sharp business acumen after making a disastrous move much earlier in her career...

Back in 2005, a teenage Swift agreed to give up the rights to the masters of her first six albums to secure a recording deal with Big Machine Records. It was a decision she came to regret.

Big Machine was acquired in 2019 by music mogul Scooter Braun, a long-time adversary of the star. Swift has publicly accused Braun of bullying and manipulating her career.

In November 2020, Braun sold Swift’s master recordings to investment fund Shamrock Capital for $300 million without her consent, the equivalent of $365 million (£282m) in today's money. 

Swift couldn’t stop the sale of her masters, but she still retains the publishing rights to her songs as their writer or co-writer, which allows her to block certain uses of the music.

Shamrock Capital expressed interest in working with her, but she declined. Swift explained that as long as Braun continued to profit from the original masters, she couldn’t "bring [herself] to be involved in benefiting Scooter Braun’s interests".

Instead, Swift made the groundbreaking decision to regain control of her work by re-recording her old albums, a series now known as Taylor’s Version. The move allows her to own the new masters while reducing the value of the originals. So far, she's successfully re-released versions of four out of the six albums.

When Swift signed a new record deal with Universal Music Group in 2018, she negotiated to retain full ownership of her future masters.

But that wasn’t the only groundbreaking aspect of the deal. Her contract also includes a key provision that benefits thousands of other musicians. Universal Music Group must share a portion of any future profits from its Spotify shares with all its artists, not just Swift.

This agreement ensures that UMG’s artists will receive payments from the sale of Spotify shares on a non-recoupable basis, meaning they’ll get the money even if they haven’t fully paid off their advances.

Swift reportedly earned over $100 million (£77m) from Spotify alone last year. She secured the title of Spotify’s Top Global Artist of 2023 after achieving a staggering 26 billion streams on the platform.

When factoring in revenue from other music streaming platforms such as Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music, it's estimated Swift earned $200 million (£154m) from music streams in 2023.

Back in 2014, Swift made headlines when she removed her music from Spotify in protest at the platform's free tier and its impact on artists' earnings. However, she made her music available on Spotify again in 2017.

In total, Forbes estimates that Swift has amassed $600 million (£462m) from royalties and touring. Her music catalogue is also valued at a plump $600 million.

In addition to her music income, Swift has grown her fortune through savvy real estate investments. Forbes estimates her property portfolio is worth $125 million (£96m). Her enviable collection includes a luxurious penthouse and a Greek-inspired mansion in Nashville, as well as mansions in Los Angeles and Rhode Island and another penthouse in New York City.

With a staggering 283 million followers, Swift is also one of the most-followed stars on Instagram. For some degree of comparison, this mammoth figure is larger than the populations of Pakistan (240 million), Brazil (216 million), and Russia (144 million).

Over the years, she's leveraged her huge fanbase to secure numerous lucrative endorsement deals with big-name brands such as Diet Coke, CoverGirl, Keds, and Elizabeth Arden. According to Entrepreneur, she's earned at least $33 million (£25m) from the various collaborations.

The recently crowned billionaire is actively using her wealth to make a positive impact on the world. She's donated $1 million (£770k) to the Tennessee tornado relief fund and $5 million (£4m) to US hurricane relief efforts related to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

In remarkable acts of kindness, Swift has also provided financial support to fans in need. For instance, she gifted over $6,000 (£4.6k) to cover one fan's college tuition, and in 2019 she contributed $10,000 (£7.7k) to a fan to assist with medical bills. The following year, she donated $13,000 (£10k) to two mothers’ GoFundMe accounts to help them with rent. 

Food banks in cities that hosted The Eras Tour have reported sizable donations from the star, and Swift has supported many other noble causes over the years, including cancer research and funds for survivors of assault.