Jeffree Star Is Rich AF — and His YouTube Earnings Are Just a Drop in the Bucket
May 12 2020, Updated 4:42 p.m. ET
After seeing how much Jeffree Star spends on handbags, you might worry about his financial future. Honey, a b---h is just fine. The YouTube personality and makeup mogul is, in fact, loaded. He's reportedly pulling down $50 million a year — more than enough to justify having a few Birkins in the closet.
But how did he get all his money, you might ask? The short answer is he's got his perfectly manicured fingers in a lot of pies.
First, Jeffree Star's YouTube earnings are nothing to sneeze at.
Though it's not where the bulk of his money comes from, Jeffree is doing very well for himself on YouTube as one of the most popular creators on the platform. He currently has 13.6 million subscribers and shows no signs of stopping, and it's estimated his videos pull in up to $35K a week.
However, that's substantially lower than, say, PewDiePie, who reportedly makes around $7M a year on his channel (nearly half of which YouTube pockets). While it's safe to say Jeffree rakes in an easy six-figure salary from his channel, it's definitely not his main gig.
His makeup company, on the other hand, is an empire.
According to the makeup artist himself, his line of cosmetics nets him $150 million a year. It's not entirely clear if that's revenue or straight profit in his pocket, but since he's independent, rather than operating under a larger brand, it's safe to say he gets a healthy cut of the action.
He also has numerous investments in real estate and marijuana.
Any wealth management expert will stress the importance of diversifying, and Jeffree clearly got that message somewhere along the line, because he has a lot of smaller investments in various industries. This way, if the "celebrity cosmetics" bubble bursts, Jeffree knows he can rely on income from a lot of other sources. And I mean, a lot.
He tells Shane Dawson he owns a few investment properties — in addition to his three homes for personal use. And then there's his businesses. "I love investing, I'm a businessman," he said.
"I own an entire shipment and fulfillment center, I own a merchandise company, I print and manufacture everything myself. So I have about 10 businesses that I'm currently running besides my brand which is the giant cosmetics company."
He also has ventured into the marijuana industry, producing weed grinders and other paraphernalia. And, since that's a growing industry as more and more states legalize recreational use, that's a pretty smart business move.
Really, that's what it comes down to: Jeffree has an insane instinct for business and a lot of hustle. While other cosmetics moguls' self-made status is, ahem, questionable, that's one thing about Jeffree that's not controversial. He started his company with his life savings and definitely didn't grow up rich.
But all of that money doesn't make Jeffree a selfish man.
As the COVID-19 crisis sweeps across America, leading the national unemployment rate to spike to the highest it's been since the aftermath of the Great Depression, many people are without their usual source of income. To help those going through immense financial hardships during this unprecedented time, Jeffree has been sharing his wealth, sending some of his followers money to help them out.
"Drop me your #cashapp and I’m gonna help as many people as my limit will allow today!" Jeffree tweeted. "Use hashtag #JeffreeStarApproved so I can see you! Today I'm just gonna reply to people I'm helping & not share anyone's struggles. Love you Star Family."
This isn't the first time Jeffree has doled out money to his fans. He's done this once every couple of weeks while most of the country is on lockdown, and he's made it clear he plans to continue doing it while the pandemic continues.
