Taylor Swift Is Officially a Billionaire, and She's the First Musician to Become One Primarily Due to the Success of Their Music

It's been well over a decade since Taylor Swift became one of the most dominant artists on the planet. Now that she's gearing up to release her twelfth album, some are wondering whether she has officially become one of the wealthiest musicians in the world.

While there are plenty of billionaires in the world, there are actually relatively few musicians who have achieved that status. Here's what we know about whether Taylor is one of them.

Taylor Swift is officially a billionaire. According to Forbes, the pop star has a net worth of $1.6 billion, and is the first musician to achieve that status thanks only to her songwriting and performances rather than brand deals, makeup lines, or business ventures.

Taylor's net worth stems largely from her valuable discography, her concert ticket sales, and sales of her merchandise.

Even more strikingly, it was reportedly Taylor's Eras Tour, which lasted several years and became the biggest-selling tour in the history of concerts, that propelled her to billionaire status. By the end of the tour's first year, it had already grossed over $1 billion in revenue and was set to become the highest-grossing tour in history. It ultimately lasted a total of 21 months. By the end of its run, the tour had grossed more than $2 billion, according to The New York Times.

On top of the success of ticket sales for the tour itself, the tour was also converted into a concert film that made more than $260 million (according to Box Office Mojo) in theaters worldwide. According to Puck News, per anonymous sources, Taylor then sold the streaming rights for the movie to Disney for $75 million, allowing her to make even more money off the success of the concert series.

Eras was enormously successful for Taylor and propelled her all the way to a net worth of $1.6 billion.

As is the case for many musicians, touring is how they bring in the most revenue. While none of Taylor's previous tours were nearly as successful as the Eras Tour wound up being, the 1989 tour, which was more than a decade ago, grossed $250 million when all was said and done, according to the LA Times.

Part of the reason that demand was so pent-up for the Eras Tour was that it had been years since Taylor had gotten the chance to tour because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result, Taylor was essentially touring with new music from four different albums that had never been toured before. Eras was a real catch-up moment that also allowed her fans to see her perform songs from every album she's ever put out, although some got more attention than others.

On the whole, though, it became a once-in-a-generation cultural phenomenon, and as a result, it also made the star of that phenomenon a whole bunch of money. Whether she'll be able to top the success of that remains to be seen, but given that she's already a billionaire, she's probably not too worried.