Self-made women Beyoncé and Taylor Swift continue to break their own records and write “The Manuscript” for success.
June 7th, 2024
By Justin Conklin, Forbes Staff
“L
ights, camera, and smile,” Taylor Swift sings on one track off her new double album, The Tortured Poet’s Department. She certainly has plenty to smile about, as does fellow pop star Beyoncé. This past year has been phenomenal for both superstars, with hugely popular tours, super successful movies based on those tours and new albums to boot. Those factors lifted their net worths and raised their ranks on Forbes’ recently released list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women.
The two women have a long friendship, supporting each other’s successes over the years. In 2021, Beyoncé sent Swift a bouquet to celebrate her win of Album Of The Year for Folklore at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Most recently, each of them attended the premieres for the films of their record-breaking tours.
Swift is now worth an estimated $1.3 billion–up from $1.1 billion in October and $740 million on the 2023 Self-Made Women list. The boost last fall came as a result of the first leg of her Eras Tour, which added an estimated $300 million to her fortune. The $200 million jump in her fortune since October came thanks to the increased value of her catalog–now worth an estimated $600 million–plus royalties earned from all the play her songs get, in addition to an estimated $55 million in her earnings from the film version of The Eras Tour, which was released in mid-October. Swift now ranks No. 24 on the 100-person strong Self-Made Women list, up from No. 34 a year ago.
The chanteuse continues to dazzle crowds with all new costumes and choreography on her Eras Tour as it moves through Europe, with new music from the double album The Tortured Poets Department, released in April. The 31-track album broke multiple records, including ones she’d previously set: It reached 1 billion streams within five days of its release and claimed the top 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100–prompting a celebratory billboard in Times Square.
Beyoncé, meanwhile, wrapped up her five-month, 17-country Renaissance World Tour last October with an estimated $100 million in earnings for her. In December she released the film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, which documented the creation and execution of The Renaissance World Tour; it pulled in nearly $44 million at the box office. Then in March she released her first country album, Cowboy Carter, which incorporated and sampled musical powerhouses both past and present, including Chuck Berry, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Cowboy Carter received over 300 million streams in its first full week of release and broke Spotify’s record (which Swift then broke the following month). Together these milestones helped boost her fortune by $220 million since last year to an estimated $760 million, and moved her up three notches from a year ago on the Self-Made list to No. 45.
Queen B still has more in store. In February, she launched her own high-end (and pricey) hair care line, Cécred; it’s too soon to have made a difference in her fortune but we’ll revisit it next year. And she will share the silver screen with daughter Blue Ivy in Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel set to hit theaters in late December.
Read on to see how these two dynamic women on America’s Richest Self-Made Women list stack up.
The Basics
How are Beyoncé and Taylor Swift considered self-made? And what does “Self-Made Score” mean? Check out this detailed explainer of the Forbes Self-Made Score.
Marital Status
BEYONCÉ
Married to Jay-Z since 2008. The couple has three kids: Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir.
TAYLOR
Swift has been dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce since fall of 2023. Kelce was most recently spotted supporting Swift in mid-May at an Eras Tour show in Paris.
Streaming & Social
The world remains enamored with both women in a landscape where some celebrities are losing their digital goodwill. Swift saw a 9% increase in Instagram followers while the Beyhive grew 3% on the platform. That was enough for Beyoncé to keep her lead on that platform. She has also nearly doubled her monthly listeners on Spotify, while Swift has claimed the title of number 1 streamed artist on the platform.
Number Of Social Media Followers
Spotify Ranking
30th / 1st
Source: Influential
Top Streamed Song On Spotify
Source: Influential
Spotify Monthly Listeners
Source: Influential
Top Youtube Video
BEYONCÉ
‘Halo’
TAYLOR
‘Shake It Off’
Source: Influential
Albums
For both artists, creating hits may be one of the most notable ways they declare “I Was Here.” Swift’s album count has jumped ahead this year with the release of The Tortured Poet’s Department and last year’s re-releases of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Beyoncé has presented her fans with an album full of depth and history in Cowboy Carter, leaving fans with electric anticipation for what act iii may have in store.
BEYONCÉ
TAYLOR
Platinum, Multi-Platinum and Diamond Records
EGOT Status
Swift added two Grammy awards and a new record to her mantle this year. She’s the only artist in Grammy history to win Album Of The Year four times. But Bey continues her reign as Queen of the Grammys, retaining her crown as the most awarded artist in Grammy history, with 32 awards. Speculation and rumor have abounded since Swift filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on May 11 for “Female Rage: The Musical” after coining the phrase to describe the new additions to The Eras Tour setlist. No word yet on what Swift plans to do with the trademark. Neither star has earned the coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award winner) status yet, but just give it some time.
Beyoncé’s Grammy Wins
Taylor’s Grammy Wins
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IMAGE CREDITS
HEADER
KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES; JULIEN DE ROSA/GETTY IMAGES
THE BASICS
PHOTOS BY LARRY BUSACCA/GETTY IMAGES FOR COACHELLA; DAVE HOGAN/GETTY IMAGES; EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES; JOHN SHEARER/TAS23/GETTY IMAGES; ETHAN MILLER/ACMA/GETTY IMAGES; TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT 2021
STREAMING & SOCIAL
PHOTOS BY KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE; 13TH WITNESS/INVISION FOR PARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENT/AP; CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ/THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
EGOT STATUS
Beyoncé’s Grammy Wins: PHOTOS BY FRANK MICELOTTA/GETTY IMAGES; STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES (2); CHRIS POLK/FILMMAGIC; MICHAEL CAULFIELD/WIREIMAGE; STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE (2); JASON LAVERIS/FILMMAGIC; ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES/GETTY IMAGES (2)
Taylor’s Grammy Wins: PHOTOS BY MICHAEL CAULFIELD/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES; STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE; DAN MACMEDAN/WIREIMAGE; JASON LAVERIS/FILMMAGIC; JAY L. CLENDENIN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/GETTY IMAGES; JOHN SHEARER/GETTY IMAGES
Statue Credits: PHOTOS BY MICHAEL BUCKNER/CONTRIBUTOR; STEVE GRANITZ/ CONTRIBUTOR;MICHAEL TULLBERG/STRINGER; JEMAL COUNTESS/STRINGER
EDITORIAL CREDITS
Creative Director: ALICIA HALLETT-CHAN, Senior Art Director: FERNANDO CAPETO, Design: YUNJIA YUAN, Photo: GAIL TOIVANEN
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