The number of recording artists with billion-dollar fortunes is now five, according to Forbes, and two of those singers have connections to the Philadelphia region.
The latest musician to cross the threshold is Beyoncé, whose recent Cowboy Carter Tour grossed $400 million in ticket sales and an estimated $50 million in merchandise. She joins her husband, rapper and Roc Nation founder Jay-Z, in the billionaire singers’ club, alongside one of his label’s biggest stars, Fenty Beauty founder Rihanna. According to Forbes, the only other musicians to amass 10-figure fortunes are Berks County’s Taylor Swift and Jersey Shore icon Bruce Springsteen.
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By the magazine’s count, Swift became a billionaire in October 2023 through the earnings of her nearly two-year-long Eras Tour and the value of her music catalog. Her wealth only has increased as her tour continued and she claimed full ownership of her catalog in May. Forbes estimates her current net worth at $1.6 billion.
The Boss’s financial backstory is a little more complicated. Forbes first pegged him as a billionaire in July 2024, while he was in the midst of his most successful tour. Springsteen had sold his catalog to Sony three years earlier for $500 million. But the Jersey rocker later disputed his worth, saying he was not a billionaire. Forbes has continued to list him as one on their annual rankings, apparently refuting Springsteen’s claims to the contrary.
“Now according to Forbes magazine, I’m a billionaire,” Springsteen said at a January performance. “I wish I was, but that, ladies and gentlemen, is fake news. Because if I was a billionaire, first thing that I’d do is buy another car. Second thing I’d do, I’d buy another guitar. But really, they should have known their business, but they did not.”
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