Beyoncé becomes fifth musician to join the billionaire club

There are lots of ways to describe Beyoncé: pop star, cultural icon, secretive mega-celebrity — and, now, billionaire.

The musician has officially added enough zeros to her net worth to reach billionaire status, according to Forbes.

It's a feat only a few music artists have accomplished. Forbes counts five in total, including Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Beyoncé and none other than her own husband, Jay-Z (though estimates by other publications put a few others, including Paul McCartney and Selena Gomez, in the category).

While some other musical billionaires have successful business ventures to credit for their wealth, Forbes says its Beyoncé's massively valuable music catalog and high-grossing tours that pushed her into 10-figure territory.

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Her Cowboy Carter tour — a 32-stop show that criss-crossed the U.S. and Europe, involving more than 350 crew members and extravagant props like a golden horse and a flying car — grossed over $400 million US in ticket sales alone, according to estimates from Pollstar, with another $50 million coming from merchandise, according to Forbes's own estimates.

Those stats, which are similar to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, made it the highest-grossing country music tour of all time, as the pop musician veered into the genre on her latest album.

Because Queen Bey puts on her own tours through Parkwood Entertainment — the production company she started in 2010, which houses nearly all of her ventures, including her music and documentaries — that means her company will reap more of the profit, according to Forbes.

The magazine estimates the star will rake in $148 million US pre-tax in 2025.

A handful of product lines have helped out, too. She's partnered with Moët Hennessy to make SirDavis whisky and with Adidas to make now-discontinued activewear line Ivy Park, as well as making a few perfumes over the years.

Brand partnerships, like one this year with Levi's, along with concert films and streamed performances have also added to her wealth, Forbes says.

Her contemporaries have crossed over into the billionaire category in recent years for a range of ventures. Rihanna became a billionaire in 2021 mostly on the back of her beauty line, Fenty Beauty, and her lingerie line Savage x Fenty.

Taylor Swift's music and touring pushed her over the line in 2023, and Springsteen, who sold his music catalogue full of tracks about doing an honest day's work for around half a billion in 2021, became a billionaire just last year.

The other half of the now-billionaire couple, Jay-Z, reached nine-zero status in 2019 because of his growing empire of liquor partnerships, clothing line Rocawear and the streaming service Tidal, plus some good business moves with a stake in Uber.