With creative minds, well-honed skills, and a knack for business, these individuals have made it into the billionaires club.
Forbes’ latest report on the world’s billionaires revealed the celebrities who have achieved this huge milestone. From pop stars to top athletes, these are the famous names raking in big money through their craft and their businesses.
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Top of Their Game
Four athletes made it into this year’s list of billionaires—Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and Magic Johnson.
With a net worth of $3.2 billion, Jordan was the first billionaire athlete back in 2015. A huge chunk of his earnings comes from his brand partnership with Nike. In 2010, he bought the Charlotte Hornets NBA team for $175 million then sold his stake in 2023 for $3 billion. After the sale, he became the first professional athlete to join the Forbes 400.
Following the basketball legend, Woods’ net worth sits at $1.3 billion. According to Forbes, he and James are the only athletes who became billionaires while still active in their respective sports. The famous golfer had plenty of endorsements, the most notable of which was also a partnership with Nike.
While James has earned $1.2 billion on and off the court, he has been busy investing in real estate and businesses. He has stakes in Blaze Pizza, Fenway Sports Group, and his own production company SpringHill. James is still currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, just coming out of the NBA season finale a few weeks ago.
Johnson’s net worth ties with James’ at $1.2 billion. He was at the height of his basketball career before the high salaries and endorsement deals. He later made his fortune from business deals and owning NFL, MLB, and WNBA teams. The majority of his earnings comes from a 60% ownership stake in the life insurance company Equitrust.
Music Stars Rising
Some of the world’s biggest musicians—Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Jay-Z—have reached billionaire status.
Swift became a billionaire last year, in the middle of her highly successful Eras tour. According to Forbes, she’s the first musician to make the list based primarily on her songs and performances. She’s earned an estimated $500 million through royalties and touring, her music catalog is valued at $500 million, and she has around $125 million in real estate.
Rihanna, another pop star turned self-made billionaire, earned most of her fortune through her two successful brands. She became a billionaire with her cosmetics line Fenty Beauty while her Savage x Fenty lingerie line already had a $1 billion valuation in 2021.
Meanwhile, Jay-Z became hip-hop’s first billionaire back in 2019 through his business ventures. In 2021, he sold a 50% stake in his champagne empire, Armand de Brignac, to luxury goods giant LVMH. His other assets include a fine art collection, his music catalog, and shares in companies like Block and Uber.
From TV to Fortunes
Daytime talk show host Oprah Winfrey and reality television star Kim Kardashian have a couple of things in common. Both rose to fame as thousands tuned into their TV shows, building their own empires to grow their fortune.
Winfrey became the first black female billionaire in 2003. Along with her hit talk show, she has also turned a profit through her company Harpo Productions, by producing films such as The Color Purple, Beloved, and Selma. Her other ventures include her own cable channel (now sold to Warner Bros. Discovery), a stake in Weight Watchers, and a sprawling real estate portfolio. She now has a net worth of $2.8 billion.
Most of Kardashian’s $1.7 billion fortune comes from her stake in Skims, her shapewear business. In 2023, the company was valued at $4 billion. She also had a cosmetics and fragrance company, KKW Beauty, which she closed in 2021. The following year, she launched SKKN By Kim, a high-end skincare collection.
Lights, Camera, Action!
Three of these celebrity billionaires are all well-known film directors. At the top is George Lucas with a net worth of $5.5 billion.
Lucas is best known for creating huge franchises such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones. He also founded the production company Lucasfilm which he sold to Disney in 2012 for $4.1 billion. Now mostly retired from directing blockbuster films, Lucas has been working more on independent features.
He is also focused on philanthropy. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, a spokesperson for Lucasfilm said that most of the profit from the sale went to a foundation focusing on educational issues.
Another blockbuster director, Steven Spielberg, made the list with a net worth of $4.8 billion. The multi-awarded filmmaker has movies like Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park under his belt. He also worked closely with Lucas while directing the Indiana Jones movies. Aside from directing, Spielberg founded production company Amblin Entertainment and film studio DreamWorks, producing even more successful films.
The man behind the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Peter Jackson, joins the billionaires list with a net worth of $1.5 billion. While the franchises have grossed $6 billion worldwide, most of Jackson’s wealth comes from his visual effects company, Weta Digital. In 2021, he sold a portion of it to Unity Software for $1.6 billion.
Banner image via Instagram @oprah.
