Beyoncé's $500m Net Worth is Built Around Star Power That Refuses To Dim

I looked at how her husband Jay-Z became a billionaire a couple of weeks back, and now I breakdown how Beyoncé became wealthy too. Beyoncé Knowles has been famous for so long (Destiny’s Child’s “No, No, No” was released in October of 1997) and wealthy for much of that time that estimating her exact net worth is difficult because her investments, holdings, royalties, social media and more keep appreciating in value and generating income for the multi media entertainer/businesswoman. Most estimates seem to place her current net worth to be around the $500 million mark. So, let’s deep dive into Queen B's fortune and see how she made it. 

Music

It makes sense that music is still one of Beyoncé’s biggest revenue generators as that is primarily what she is known for. In 2019, London’s Evening Standard estimated Bey’s album sales to have amassed $13 million in income which is small change compared to the money she generates from touring.

Here are her impressing tour stats:

• Dangerously In Love (10 days) grossed $3.6 million in November 2003

• Verizon Ladies First Tour (With Alicia Keys and Missy Elliot) grossed $22 million in April 2004.

• The Beyoncé Experience grossed $90 million over 96 shows in April — December 2007

• I Am…World Tour grossed $119.5 million over 108 shows from March 2009 to February 2010.

• The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour grossed $229.7 million over 132 shows from April 2013-March 2014

• The Formation World Tour grossed $229.7 million over 49 shows from April to October 2016.

• In 2014, the first Jay-Z and Beyoncé “On The Run” tour grossed $100 million in the US. The Second installment in 2018 topped $253 million.

In addition to her tours, Beyoncé has performed numerous residencies and private shows, and festivals. She was reported to have made over $3 million for her 105-minute Coachella set.

Back in 2010, she was rumored to have been paid $2 million to sing at dictator Colonel Gadaffi’s son’s wedding and she also performed at heiress Isha Ambani’s elaborate wedding in December 2019.

As for her touring revenue, an artist of Beyoncé’s stature can expect to net at least 75% of the ticket price. 

Endorsement Deals

Beyoncé started securing endorsement deals soon after she was famous. One of her earliest was with the cosmetics brand L’Oreal back in 2001. The following year inked her first deal with Pepsi to appear in their “Gladiator” ad. She became the face of Samantha Thavasa handbags in Japan in 2004. The same year she was one of the faces of McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it” ad campaign and became the face of two fragrances for Tommy Hilfiger called True Star and True Star Gold. Destiny’s Child appeared in a 2005 Target commercial and print campaign while appearing on rival retailer, Walmart’s “Home for the Holidays,” campaign the same year.

In 2007 the endorsement deals started to flow thick and fast, with Samsung, DirecTV, American Express, and the fragrance Diamonds by Emporio Armani. In 2009 Beyoncé starred in an ad for the Nintendo DS game Rhythm Heaven and two for Style Savvy, a fashion game featuring her short-lived (2006-2012) fashion line House of Deréon. That same year she had promotional deals with Vizio and Crystal Geyser water in Japan. 

In 2012 she re-aligned with Pepsi for $50 million. The soft drink powerhouse sponsored her 2013 Super Bowl Halftime Show, along with her “Mrs. Carter Show” World Tour. In 2013 she partnered with Swedish fashion retailer H&M for a number of ads, one featuring her song, “Standing on the Sun.” The following year she appeared in ads for car giant Toyota.

Netflix

As Beyoncé moved to embrace streaming platforms, she signed a $60 million deal in 2018 to provide Netflix with three pieces of content. The first was a documentary entitled “Homecoming” centered around her 2018 Coachella performance and released in April 2019. 

Disney

It was reported in early June of 2020 that Disney was in talks with Beyonce to work on three films, including Black Panther 2, in a deal worth $100 million. Bey previously voiced Nala in The Lion King and created an entire companion album for the movie. The rumor emanated from British tabloid The Sun. Its veracity could not be determined and no official statement has since been made.

Ivy Park/Adidas

Having initially debuted in 2016 in a joint venture with British retailer Top Shop, Beyoncé pulled her Ivy Park collection after sexual harassment claims against Top Shop owner Philip Green. B gained full control of the brand by purchasing back shares. She then aligned it with German sports giant Adidas. Though the terms weren’t released, Adidas and Beyoncé clearly hope the affiliation can emulate the company’s pact with Kanye West. A slew of top models have been recruited for the brand’s new collection.

Peleton

In November 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, when home workouts were all the rage, Beyonce announced a partnership with Peleton, with exclusive classes and membership gifts, and employment opportunities given to students of historically black colleges. Her song “Countdown" was used in the fitness brand’s ad campaigns.

Tiffany & Co

She teamed up with hubby Jay-Z, in a first, to jointly endorse Tiffany & Co. in the luxury jeweler’s “ABOUT LOVE” campaign. In doing so, Beyoncé became only the fourth woman ever to wear the firm’s luxury Yellow Diamond.

The jeweler stated, "Beyoncé and Jay-Z are the epitome of the modern love story," As a brand that has always stood for love, strength, and self-expression, we could not think of a more iconic couple that better represents Tiffany's values. We are honored to have the Carters as a part of the Tiffany family."

Parkwood Entertainment

In 2010, Beyoncé officially formed Parkwood Entertainment - named after a street in her native Houston, Texas. A management, production, and entertainment company, with offices in New York and LA, its first release was the film Cadillac Records in 2008 in which Beyonce starred as singer Etta James. In 2009, she starred in and executive produced the thriller Obsessed, also made through Parkwood.

In 2013 Parkwood released Beyoncé’s documentary, Life Is But A Dream which garnered 2.3 million viewers for the initial broadcast, the largest audience for an HBO documentary since Nielsen revised its method of measuring viewership in 2004.

The label has released all of Beyoncé’s solo albums since it formed and the business entity partnered with Adidas for the Ivy Park fashion line. In 2015 Parkwood expanded into managing the careers of recording artists Chloe x Halle and Sophie Beem and Ingrid.

The company hired Steve Pamon from JP Morgan Chase as COO and President of the company, in 2016, a sign that it would be stepping up its business ventures. The same year the label released Beyoncé’s groundbreaking audio-visual album, Lemonade. In 2020, Parkwood released Black Is King, with Walt Disney, a Black-themed companion to their film version of The Lion King in which Beyoncé was the voice of Nala.

Parkwood Ventures

In 2021 Beyonce hired Ex-Goldman Sachs executive, Janki Lalani Gandhi as managing director of Parkwood Ventures, which was founded in 2013, where she will oversee investments, finance, and strategy. Gandhi was previously involved in Sachs’ Cross Markets and Consumer Retail Groups, which were focused on beauty and fashion handling mergers and acquisitions.

Real Estate

Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z have bought and sold several pieces of real estate over the years, both separately and jointly. Their current holdings include:

• A mansion in the Hamptons called Pond House purchased for $26 million in 2017

• A 30,000 square-foot home in Bel Air, was also purchased in 2017 for $88 million a full basketball court, 2 acres of land, a 15-car garage, media room, multiple pools, and bulletproof windows. Records show the couple took out a $52 million mortgage for the home which puts their monthly payment around $250,000. Although, if a portion of the home is used for business purposes, there might be tax deductions for they are eligible for. 

• A $4 million private island in the Bahamas.

Conclusion

Beyoncé’s career has been one of careful and planned growth. From her early days as a pop/soul princess to her current stature as a cultural icon, brand Beyoncé has grown with her. No longer content to simply front endorsement for other companies, like her husband Jay-Z , these days she tends to be involved in a profit-sharing arrangement with any company she does business. However, unlike her husband who has a myriad of businesses that are unrelated to his status as an artist, Beyoncé is still very much the figurehead of her enterprises. 

After years of releasing albums secretly and online with moderate sales figures, Beyoncé is returning to a conventional album launch format for her new “Renaissance” set. With one of the biggest hits of her career in “You Can’t Break My Soul,” expect BK saturation in the upcoming months. After all, when Beyoncé’s star shines brightest, everything around her shines as well.