Taylor Swift is an American singer-songwriter who began as a country music star and subsequently pivoted to become a mainstream pop artist.
Overall, Taylor Swift is one of the most successful female celebrities of all time, and arguably one of (if not the) biggest name(s) in the modern music industry. She was born on December 13, 1989, making her 32 years old.
Taylor Swift grew up rich and is one of the world’s highest-paid celebrities (Credit: Brian Friedman / Shutterstock)
Taylor Swift first rose to success in the music industry when she was just 16 years old, meaning that she has spent her entire adult life in the public eye.
Having worked in the industry for so long, Swift has had more than enough time to amass an enviable fortune. Here’s just how much Taylor Swift is worth in 2022.
Taylor Swift’s Net Worth
As of 2022, Taylor Swift is estimated to be worth approximately $400 million. This impressive worth scored her a spot in both Forbes’s list of top-earning women in music and in their 2021 List of World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
Taylor Swift is the privileged daughter of wealthy plutocrats with parents involved in the financial business in Philadelphia (Credit: Brad Camembert / Shutterstock)
Beyond her overall net worth, Swift’s annual salary is nothing to laugh at, either. Taylor Swift was the only woman to make it onto Rolling Stone’s list for the 10 Highest-Paid Musicians of 2021. She came in at #10 and is reported to have earned around $80 million in 2021 alone.
It is undeniable that Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry, and her net worth reflects her extraordinary success. So, how exactly did she get here?
Taylor Swift’s Career Trajectory
Taylor Swift has been working as a full-time singer-songwriter since she was a young teenager.
She has been a songwriter with Sony since she was 15 (making her the youngest songwriter ever to sign with them), released her debut album at just 16 years old, and has worked hard to get to the top of the music industry ever since.
We imagine this is what Taylor Swift looks like whenever she sees her bank statement (Credit: Carrie Nelson / Shutterstock)
While a detailed review of Swift’s career could fill an entire book, here’s a brief overview of how she did it:
2006 – First Single and Album
Taylor Swift releases her first single, Tim McGraw in the summer of 2006, and releases her self-titled debut album in the fall.
The album was an instant success, peaking at No.1 on the Billboard top country albums chart and at No.5 on the Billboard 200 list.
2007 – Breakthrough Video of the Year Award
Taylor Swift’s awards start flowing in (spoiler alert: there are many more to come). Tim McGraw wins the Breakthrough Video of the Year award at the 2007 CMT Music Awards.
2008 – Second Studio Album
Swift’s second studio album, Fearless, is released in November 2008. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and instantly took her career to new heights.
Taylor Swift has scored numerous awards and Billboard Hot 100 number-one songs (Credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock)
The album would go on to sell 4 million copies, making Swift the bestselling musician of the year in the United States.
2009 – Best Female Video Award
Taylor Swift wins Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards for her single You Belong With Me.
This is also the infamous night where Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech for the award, sparking a long-running feud between the two musicians. From April 2009 to July 2010, Swift also went on tour for her album Fearless.
2010 – Third Studio Album
Speak Now, Swift’s third studio album was released in October 2010, and also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
2011 – Second Concert Tour
Taylor Swift embarks on another tour for Speak Now, which would gross over $123 million in revenue.
Taylor Swift received five surfboard trophies in a white Rafael Cennamo dress at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards on August 7, 2011, at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, California (Credit: Jaguar PS / Shutterstock)
2012 – Fourth Studio Album
Swift’s fourth studio album, Red, is released in the fall of 2012. Unsurprisingly, much like her past few albums, Red debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Red was Swift’s first foray into pop music, which would allow her to reach even more mainstream success in the near future.
2013 – Third Concert Tour
The Red tour begins, gaining Swift even more publicity (and money).
2014 – Fifth Album
In October 2014, Taylor Swift releases a brand new pure-pop album 1989. This would be by far her most mainstream album to date, and this was reflected in the album’s sales.
Singer Taylor Swift in a Reem Acra dress at Z100’s Jingle Ball 2014 at Madison Square Garden on December 12, 2014 in New York City (Credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock)
Once again, it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with the largest sales week for an album since 2002.
2015 – Fourth Concert Tour
Taylor Swift spends most of the year on a worldwide tour for 1989, which grossed approximately $250 million in revenue.
2016 – Year of Awards
Taylor Swift wins three Grammy Awards in February, including her second Album of the Year award (the first being for Fearless). This makes her the first woman ever to win album of the year twice for their own album.
In the summer of 2016, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West launched a public attack on Taylor Swift (who had been feuding with West over the lyrics about her in his song Famous), which led to Swift disappearing from the public eye for months.
2017 – Sixth Album
She’s back- in September 2017, Taylor Swift returned from her hiatus after her public feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. She releases her new single Look What You Made Me Do, which has numerous nods to the feud and her… reputation.
In December 2017, she releases Reputation, her sixth album. Despite the public’s less than stellar view of her at the time, the album would still debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
2018 – Fifth Concert Tour
For almost the entire year, Taylor Swift is on tour for Reputation. It is her first-ever all-stadium tour, proving that her fans are not only loyal but also growing in number.
Taylor Swift won several more awards in a Balmain dress at the 2018 American Music Awards on October 9, 2018, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles (Credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock)
In November 2018, Taylor Swift announces that she is leaving her record label, Big Machine Records.
2019 – Seventh Album
In August 2019, Taylor Swift releases her seventh album Lover. Like every single album so far other than her debut album, Lover would debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
In November 2019, Taylor Swift speaks out against her former label, Big Machine Records, for selling her masters to Scooter Braun, whom she has felt disrespected by for years.
Taylor Swift accepted the first-ever Icon award at the Teen Choice Awards 2019 at Hermosa Beach on August 11, 2019 in Hermosa Beach, California (Credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock)
As a result of this, she announces that she will be re-recording her first six studio albums so that she will be able to own her music.
2020 – Eight Album
In July 2020, after being MIA for months (mainly due to the global COVID-19 pandemic), Taylor Swift surprise-drops Folklore, her eighth album.
Even though the album had absolutely no publicity up until 24 hours prior to its release, it still debuted at No. 1. In December, she does it again and surprise-drops Evermore, her ninth album, which would also debut a No. 1.
2021 – Re-Recorded Albums
In the spring of 2021, Taylor Swift released the first of her re-recordings, with Fearless (Taylor’s Version).
In the fall of 2021, she released the second of her re-recordings, with Red (Taylor’s Version). Both re-recordings would reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
How Does Taylor Swift Make Her Money?
As can be seen above, Taylor Swift’s career is multi-faceted. Because she is both a singer and a songwriter, she earns a pretty penny from her album sales, both from the physical CDs sold (mainly at the start of her career) and nowadays, through streaming services like Apple and Spotify.
Taylor Swift as Bombalurina in the 2019 musical fantasy film Cats (Credit: Working Title Films / Amblin Entertainment)
She also occasionally lends her songwriting abilities to other artists and receives royalties that way.
However, like many other performing artists, Taylor Swift earns a bulk of her net worth through tours, merchandise sales, and brand partnerships.
As can be seen in the timeline above, Taylor Swift has gone on tour and sold specific merchandise for every single album released, and has had partnerships with brands such as Diet Coke, CoverGirl, Apple, and Starbucks.
How Does Taylor Swift Spend and Invest Her Money?
With all the money at her disposal, Taylor Swift has made some note-worthy purchases.
Swift has an $84 million real estate portfolio, that includes properties in Nashville, Beverly Hills, Rhode Island, and New York.
Taylor Swift made her acting debut in the drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the year 2009 (Credit: CBS)
She also reportedly owns two private jets and has been known to take her friends, significant others, and tourmates on glamorous vacations.
Beyond her personal spending, Swift has also donated millions of dollars to charity for causes such as natural disaster relief, education, and has even donated money directly to her individual fans.
How Does Taylor Swift’s Net Worth Compare to Other Singers?
When compared to other pop princesses, Taylor Swift’s net worth is in line with the industry standard.
Rihanna has the largest net worth of the current A-list female musicians, with a net worth of a whopping $1 billion, though a large chunk of that is due to her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, and her lingerie line, Savage x Fenty.
Beyoncé has an estimated $4o0 million and Lady Gaga is worth approximately $320 million. Britney Spears is said to be worth just $70 million, though this is largely due to the conservatorship she was placed under for a number of years.
Conclusion
Taylor Swift is one of the wealthiest female musicians alive today and has amassed her net worth of $400 million through years of dedication, talent, and hard work.
Oh to be Taylor Swift. You’d think that the pop star would be used to all the paparazzi, but apparently, that’s not the case.
In April 2016, her bodyguard was captured on camera threatening to call enforcement on trespassing paparazzi.
Taylor Swift covers her hair with a hood as she leaves a store on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles on April 7, 2016 (Credit: WENN)
The presence of sirens soon proved that the threats were not empty.
Taylor tried to sneak out of the back of an Yves Saint Laurent store during the ordeal, but fans and the paparazzi were already awaiting to catch a glimpse of her.
Taylor Swift wears a Soia & Kyo jacket with distressed Frame Jeans bottoms while out in Los Angeles (Credit: WENN)
Taylor kept her Soia & Kyo jacket zipped up, and the hood over her head as she tried to shake off the cameras.
The singer paired her jacket with distressed denim from Frame Jeans and finished her look with a Saint Laurent bag and her used-and-abused Topshop “Magnum” boots.
We’re not exactly sure why Taylor had to call the cops since she has run-ins with the paparazzi on a daily basis.
Taylor Swift wears her favorite pair of Topshop booties out shopping (Credit: WENN)
At least Tay didn’t seem as agitated as her bodyguard despite the mysterious ensemble. Speaking of, doesn’t this outfit feel a little “Bad Blood” to you?
Taylor’s heeled “Magnum” boots flew off the shelves a long time ago, but check out the brand’s latest collection at Nordstrom.
Topshop “Master Tortoise Shell” Booties, $160
Topshop “Mega Buckle” Booties, $150
Topshop “Muse Bone Heel” Booties, $160