The 21 Richest Celebrities In The World 2021

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PHOTO: Kim & Kayne. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

Who are the richest celebrities in the world today? As you are about to see, the MINIMUM net worth required to be one of 21 richest celebrities in the world right now, is $600 million. When we published our very first ranking of celebrity wealth back in 2010, Diddy took the top spot with a net worth of $500 million. So the richest celebrity in the world back in 2010 wouldn’t even break the top 20 in 2021.

Here’s another mind-blowing anecdote: When we first began tracking Kim Kardashian‘s net worth back in October 2009, we pegged her personal fortune at $10 million. $10 million. She probably spends that much in a month now. So how rich is Kim today? Has she officially breached billionaire status? How about her soon-to-be ex-husband Kanye West? Certainly a billionaire, but how many billions? And how did Kim’s half-sister Kylie Jenner rank this year? When we initially posted our list of the richest people in the world 2020, Kylie was in the top 3. A month later we had to make a MAJOR downward adjustment.

Two quick pieces of housekeeping before we get into our list:

First, if you can’t wait a year for this list, you can always check out our real time list of the 50 richest celebrities in the world.

Secondly, a caveat about athletes. This year we decided to NOT include athletes or politicians in our list below. That means you won’t see Donald Trump ($2 billion net worth), Magic Johnson ($600 million), Lionel Messi ($600 million), Tiger Woods ($800 million) or Michael Jordan ($2.2 billion). You also won’t see LeBron James, but his $500 million wouldn’t have been enough to make the cut this year anyway.

We’ll publish a dedicated list of the richest athletes very soon.

So let’s get to it!

The 21 Richest Celebrities in the World 2021:

#21 Howard Stern Net Worth: $600 million

The self-proclaimed “King of all Media”, Howard Stern earned hundreds of millions of dollars from his nationally syndicated radio show which ran from 1986 to 2005. He then jumped to Sirius Satellite Radio with the first of several $500 million contracts. He has earned well-over $1 billion from Sirius alone. In December 2020, Howard confirmed that he had signed a new 5-year $600 million deal. After production costs, Howard’s annual cut is around $90 million (before taxes and fees). At his current schedule of three new shows per week, 40 weeks per year, Howard earns $333,333 per show post-tax. Howard is one of many celebrities on this list who own over $100 million worth of personal real estate. Howard’s real estate portfolio includes a $50 million NYC penthouse, a $30-40 million Hamptons mansion and a Palm Beach mansion that he bought for $52 million in 2013.

#20: Dolly Parton Net Worth: $650 million

Singer. Songwriter. Actress. Entrepreneur. Theme park tycoon. Philanthropist (whose foundation directly contributed to the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine). Does anyone else on the planet beat Dolly Parton’s resumé? Not only has Dolly sold over 100 million albums of her own music, songs she has penned have sold hundreds of millions of copies after being covered by other artists. The most famous example being “I Will Always Love You”, which as you know, was covered by Whitney Houston and featured prominently in the 1992 movie “The Bodyguard”. Whitney’s version is one of the best-selling singles in music history and has earned Dolly at least $20 million in royalties over the last three decades. Dolly’s song catalog/royalty rights alone are worth a minimum $300 million based on recent comparable catalog sales (Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks). Her theme park Dollywood is one of the 25 most-visited theme parks in the US with more than 3 million annual visitors.

#19: Kylie Jenner Net Worth: $700 million

When we posted our list of the 30 richest celebrities in the world in March 2020, Kylie initally ranked near the top with a net worth of $1.2 billion. Two months later, Forbes posted an article titled “Inside Kylie Jenner’s Web of Lies – And Why She’s No Longer A Billionaire”, in which the author claimed to have been duped by Kylie and Kris Jenner for years. Forbes claimed that literally all the numbers Kylie and Kris had provided over the previous years were inflated or flat-out false. They also alleged that the duo used “forged tax documents” to prove inflated earnings and net worth. Not to toot our own horn, but CelebrityNetWorth had spent about two years publicly disputing exaggerated reports of Kylie’s wealth. We ultimately acquiesced when Forbes put their stamp on a net worth of $1.2 billion.

Today we peg Kylie Jenner‘s net worth at an extremely-respectable $700 million. She drops from the top 10 to #19 on this year’s list.

#18: James Cameron Net Worth: $700 million

Terminator. Titanic. Avatar. Aliens. True Lies… James Cameron is a box-office powerhouse. As of this writing, his movies have grossed around $6.3 billion worldwide. James has generated several massive windfalls during his career that have jolted his wealth into the stratosphere. For example, when “Titanic” went over-budget during production in 1996, James famously gave up his entire $8 million salary in exchange for back-end points. When the movie generated $2.2 billion, James found himself sitting on a $650 million payday. Thanks to a similar profit-sharing deal, James earned around $350 million from the first “Avatar”, with a whole slate of Avatar movies on the way. So between just those two movies alone, James has earned over $1 billion pre-tax. His net worth would be much higher had James not been married FIVE times. He paid ex-wife and “Terminator” star Linda Hamilton a $50 million settlement after being married for just 18 months.

#17: Bono Net Worth: $700 million

Best known for being the lead singer of U2, Bono has actually made the majority of his net worth outside of music. He oversees a vast real estate portfolio, with investments primarily in his native Dublin. For example, in 1992 Bono and bandmate The Edge acquired the Clarence Hotel in Dublin. They proceeded to convert it into a five-star, luxury hotel. Bono and The Edge co-own hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate in Ireland. Bono is also a founder of the investment firm Elevation Partners. Elevation invested around $200 million into pre-IPO Facebook. The stake was worth $1.5 billion when Elevation decided to cash out. Oh, and let’s not discount his success with U2! In addition to selling an estimated 170 million albums worldwide, U2 is consistently one of the highest-grossing bands in the world– when they tour.

#16: Dr. Dre Net Worth: $780 million

Dr. Dre slips a few spots compared to last year when his net worth peaked at $820 million. And this time next year Dre may not even rank in the top 50 of richest celebrities. Why? Unfortunately, Dre is likely about to pay his soon-to-be ex-wife Nicole, a MASSIVE divorce settlement. Nicole filed for divorce in June 2020 after 24 years of marriage. There is reportedly no pre-nup. Their divorce has been anything but friendly. The divorce stress may have been partially responsible for landing Dr. Dre in front of some actual doctors back in January after he suffered a brain aneurysm. As you know, the majority of Dre’s wealth comes from the company Beats by Dre. When Dr. Dre and his co-founder Jimmy Iovine sold Beats to Apple in 2014 for $3 billion, they each owned 25% of the company. They each earned $750 million pre-tax from the sale. They both received roughly 1 million Apple shares as part of the sale. Apple’s shares split 4-1 in 2020. If Dre still owns all 4 million Apple shares, they’re worth $508 million at today’s closing price.

#15: Tyler Perry Net Worth: $800 million

Tyler Perry is another celebrity where CelebrityNetWorth differs from the reporting of Forbes. Forbes has reported that Tyler Perry is a billionaire. Based on the tracking we’ve done for over a decade, Tyler’s net worth has not quite cracked billionaire status. Tyler grosses $200-250 million per year, with $150 million coming each year from a single deal with ViacomCBS. As of this writing he has produced over a dozen “Madea” movies, generating just under $700 million at the global box office. Each movie costs less than $10 million to produce. Tyler writes, directs and produces his movies entirely on his own, entitling himself to around $300 million in profits generated by this one franchise.

When Tyler’s TV production talents were lured from the CW to TBS, he was given a $200 million guarantee and 100% ownership of his shows. Tyler proceeded to spend around $60 million to produce content, pocketing the remaining $140 million. Tyler Perry Studios is a production company located on 330 acres in Atlanta that was formerly a military base called Fort McPherson. Tyler spent $250 million building out the studio, which would eventually serve as the home of movies like “Black Panther” and TV shows like “The Walking Dead”. In a given year, Amazon alone spends $100 million RENTING the studio’s facilities for its own productions. Some other quick hits: Tyler owns around $50 million worth of personal real estate. His private jet cost $125 million after all customizations. Tyler generously allowed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to live at his $20 million Beverly Hills mansion — rent-free — after they fled the UK.

#14: Celine Dion Net Worth: $800 million

The Canadian singer/songwriter has sold more than 220 million albums worldwide and is still an extremely hot live concert ticket. Her most recent Courage World Tour sold out all 52 North American stops. The European leg had just commenced, and was fully sold out, before being cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a touring year, Celine earns around $50 million in concert revenue. To American pop audiences, Celine is probably still best-known for her 1997 single, “My Heart Will Go On”. The song went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song after being included in James Cameron’s “Titanic”. Between 2000 and 2010 Celine Dion was the highest grossing entertainer in the world. When you add up ticket sales, record sales, merchandise and every other source of income, Celine’s empire grossed over $720 million in that period! Of that amount, $500 million came from worldwide ticket sales. Of that $500 million, $350 million came from her Las Vegas show alone.

#13: Madonna Net Worth: $850 million

It goes without saying that Madonna is one of the most successful musical artists of the last 30 years. Like the aforementioned Dolly Parton, Madonna is a powerhouse in several non-entertainment ventures. Madonna’s art collection is worth a minimum of $100 million. Maybe $300 million+ in the right art market. She owns pieces by artists including Picasso, Damien Hirst, Diego Rivera and Marilyn Minter. Madonna owns around $100 million worth of global real estate– that we know about. At one point she owned six properties in London alone. In 2009 she paid $32 million for a 12,000 square-foot townhouse in New York City. She owns a 50-acre equestrian estate in the Hamptons. As of this writing, she has produced four fashion brand collaborations. Through her holding company, MG Icon LLC, Madonna has launched a line of skincare, perfume and accessories.