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- What are the Highest-Paid Influencers in 2021?
Influencer marketing has been on the rise during the last few years and it keeps gaining momentum. It’s expected that by 2022, the industry will be worth no less than $15 billion. There are over half a million active influencers on Instagram. And the highest-paid influencers earn fabulous amounts of money for advertising brands.
The people listed below charge jaw-dropping prices for every sponsored post and are still being coveted by marketers.
TOP-20 rich people on Instagram
1. Kylie Jenner
Country: USA
Age: 23
Follower count: 210 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $1, 200 000 per post
People learned about Kylie Jenner thanks to the Keeping Up with the Kardashians show. But since she got herself an Instagram account, she beat her elder sisters to the punch with seeming ease. Now she is the highest-paid IG star in the whole world with a multimillion following, her very own beauty brand, and a lifestyle to make you eat your heart out. In 2019, Forbes named Kylie the youngest female billionaire. Her net worth is estimated to be over $1 billion.
Apparently, all this doesn’t stop Kylie from charging incredible amounts of money for every post in which she unassumingly advertises world-famous brands like Louis Vuitton. So unassumingly, in fact, that she was criticized multiple times for “forgetting” to disclose the brand sponsorships.
Country: USA
Age: 27
Follower count: 216 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $996, 000 per post
Ariana Grande got famous outside Instagram and let’s admit it, she got so many followers thanks to her music career and not the other way around. No surprise there. Billboard named her the most productive performer of the last decade, NME – the most influential artist of the decade, and Forbes included her in the list of the highest-paid artists. So it’s quite possible that the title of the most popular woman on Instagram (based on follower count) became just another item in her vast collection of accomplishments.
All that and more lets Ariana Grande charge nearly a million US dollars for every post that includes a brand endorsement.
Country: Portugal
Age: 35
Follower count: 255 million
Niche: sports
Rates: $975, 000 per post
Ronaldo is probably the most expensive professional player in the history of soccer. In 2009, the Real Madrid football club paid a whopping 80 million pounds to British Manchester United for Ronaldo’s transfer. Now a forward for Italian Juventus, Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese football player of all time. What’s more, he is officially considered to be the best soccer football player of our time. In his track record, there is the Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) award, European Golden Shoe award, Best football player of the year awards, and quite a number of unique sports records. Long story short, Christiano Ronaldo doesn’t suffer from the lack of attention from fans. And the fact that he is the most popular man on Instagram with his record-breaking 255 million followers is just another proof of that.
Ronaldo’s Instagram feed is filled with both football-related content and photos of his family. And of course, there is a place for sponsored content as well. The biggest companies don’t hesitate to pay as much as nearly a million US dollars for endorsements from Ronaldo.
Country: USA
Age: 40
Follower count: 200 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $910, 000 per post
At this point, Kim Kardashian is not as much of a TV personality, socialite, entrepreneur as a symbol of our time. For her massive number of fans, she is an idol. Every event in her life is an instant page-oner. Every little thing that she says or does, where she goes generates lots of buzz on the media.
Her fans seem to be happy to get any updates from Kim. No matter what she posts on her Instagram feed, they accept with great enthusiasm. Taking all that into account, it must hurt a little bit to know her little sister is the most popular one on the platform. But a little over $900, 000 paid for each sponsored post should be more than enough to make the pain go away.
5. Selena Gomez
Country: USA
Age: 28
Follower count: 204 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $886, 000 per post
Selena Gomez the singer, actress, composer, songwriter, model, and UNICEF goodwill ambassador. Her career launched in 2002, and since then, it’s been extremely busy. Filming multiple movies, performing at lots of concerts, recording many albums. Unfortunately, this has adversely affected her health. It seems, however, that her mental and physical health issues only made her still more popular with her fans. Her Instagram account is proof that someone can really look amazing any time, any place.
Selena Gomez likes to share some details about her life with her followers, which makes them feel they are always abreast of all events in her life. Maybe it’s thanks to her ingenuity and lovability that she now has a massive following and can charge almost 900 thousand US dollars per post.
Country: USA
Age: 48
Follower count: 212 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $882, 000 per post
Dwayne Johnson got famous thanks to wrestling and then he started it all from scratch by building a successful career and winning people over with his endless charisma and charm. These qualities helped him garner quite a following. If you look at the Rock’s feed, you’ll easily see that he has absolutely no problem taking selfies with fans, whether it’s at the gym, in the streets, or anywhere else.
The Rock’s feed is filled with motivational content interspersed with videos and photos of his rigorous workouts. There have been persistent rumors about him considering a political career but he seems undecided on that part.
There’s nothing undetermined about his rates for sponsored content, though. The Rock charges nearly 900 thousand US dollars per post.
Country: USA
Age: 39
Follower count: 161 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $785, 000 per post
The absolute showbiz legend of the 21st century, Beyonce needs no introduction. She is in the top 100 of the most influential music artists, her albums are sold by dozens of millions, her list of awards is endless. Beyonce successfully dominates the scene wherever she goes and whatever she does. Of course, this exposes her to some criticism too.
Not that her army of fans cares about it. Over 160 million followers on Instagram are quite self-explanatory. Beyonce often posts personal photos dedicated to the family letting her fans know what is going on in her life.
And paid endorsements are there as well. The star charges nearly 800 thousand for each of them.
8. Taylor Swift
Country: USA
Age: 31
Follower count: 144 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $748, 000 per post
Ever since her second album got four Grammies, the singer firmly established herself as one of the top-tier music stars. In 2019, she was named one of the highest-paid music artists and the youngest influential woman, according to Forbes. That’s absolutely true: Swift’s influence on modern pop music is phenomenal. But unlike so many of her fellow musicians, she hardly ever becomes the topic of general gossip for all the wrong reasons. And her Instagram profile reflects her down-to-earth nature quite well.
Taylor likes to share stories about her life with her fans. There are all kinds of photos and videos in her feed, from glamorous photoshoots to cat photos.
Today, Taylor Swift enjoys a considerable following of almost 150 million and charges nearly 750 thousand US dollars per post.
9. Neymar da Silva Santos Junior
Country: Brasil
Age: 28
Follower count: 145 million
Niche: sports
Rates: $722, 000 per post
Young but quite famous, Brazilian professional football player is close on Ronaldo’s heels. He currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain and just a few years ago he belonged to the Barcelona football club. Neymar scores spectacular goals and never misses a chance to share some details about his games with his Instagram fans.
Neymar is easily one of the most popular footballers in the world. In his IG feed, he posts a lot of personal photos and selfies with his famous friends like Drake or Steph Curry. And of course, football fans can find videos and photos from the best football matches and other sport-related events.
Neymar is clearly in love with football, as he is in love with himself and the considerable compensation he gets for brand endorsements. These cost a little over 700 thousand US dollars.
10. Justin Bieber
Country: Canada
Age: 26
Follower count: 158 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $722, 000 per post
Justin Bieber’s musical career might not be what it has been a few years ago but he still has quite a few dedicated fans. His track record includes lots of sold albums, music awards, taking part in TV shows. And whatever haters may say, Justin does have a talent for music.
His nearly 160 million Instagram audience is quite active. They love the music artist’s photos with cute and sometimes sentimental captions. Justin updates his profile consistently and shares some stories about his life and his relationship with model Haley Baldwin who he married back in 2018.
Declining career or not, Justin Bieber is still able to earn over $700 thousand for every sponsored post.
11. Nicki Minaj
Country: USA
Age: 38
Follower count: 127 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $651, 000 per post
Nicki Minaj got where she is now thanks to her natural showmanship, powerful charisma, unwavering confidence, and highly provocative nature of whatever she does or says. Of course, all this way from a teenager from a dysfunctional family to a rap star also involved a lot of hard work and cooperation with multiple famous artists, showmen, and businessmen. Thanks to all that, Nicki is now up there in the top 30 list of the richest rap artists. Her songs invariably get to the top of the charts while Nicki gets to take part in various popular shows.
Nicki Minaj loves it when her fans’ attention is focused on her person, so she doesn’t forget to consistently post content on her Instagram feed. And when this content is brand advertising, she gets paid over $650 thousand US dollars for each post.
12. Lionel Messi
Country: Argentina
Age: 33
Follower count: 178 million
Niche: sports
Rates: $648, 000 per post
The man with a truly endless list of sports accomplishments, a professional footballer who can constantly be found at the top of all imaginable football rankings. Permanent candidate for the title of the best football player in history. Lionel Messi, the Argentine footballer is all of that and so much more.
Messi’s profile counts 178 million followers and it seems like the footballer never disappoints his fans. Naturally, many of his posts are dedicated to football, but there are also quite a few photos with friends and family. And when brand endorsement time comes, Messi charges around 650 thousand US dollars per post.
13. Kendall Jenner
Country: USA
Age: 25
Follower count: 148 million
Niche: beauty, fashion
Rates: $611, 000 per post
An elder sister to the leader of this list and a member of the very famous Kardashian family, Kendall Jenner couldn’t help but be included. 25-yeard old Kendall made a name for herself on TV (not just in the notorious Kardashian show), made quite a career in modeling, and is quite a successful businesswoman that owns beauty and clothing brands.
All this popularity and success have easily converted to popularity on social media, Instagram first of all. Kendall has almost 150 million followers and can charge over 600, 000 US dollars per post. That’s much less than what her little sister charges, but still hardly a modest amount.
14. Khloe Kardashian
Country: USA
Age: 36
Follower count: 127 million
Niche: beauty, fashion
Rates: $598, 000 per post
TV personality, businesswoman, socialite, and yet another member of the Kardashian-Jenner family. Don’t scroll down; it’s the last one on this list. Khloe might be not as insanely popular as her other sisters, but she still does quite well for herself and tries hard to step out of the shadow of her famous family. Her Instagram profile is one of the tools to help her do that. And not unsuccessfully at all. A massive army of 127 million fans seems to enjoy that special Kardashian brand of narcissism and gives Khloe quite a lot of attention. And Khloe doesn’t disappoint, posing in luxury apparel and taking selfies with various celebrities. Needless to say, that kind of lifestyle isn’t cheap so Khloe charges nearly $600, 000 per post.
15. Kevin Hart
Country: USA
Age: 41
Follower count: 102 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $480, 000 per post
Like all other people on this list, Kevin Hart needs no introduction. Producer, actor, experienced scriptwriter. Although, of course, many people know him first of all as a talented standup comedian.
Unsurprisingly, Kevin Hart uses his Instagram profile to advertise his upcoming shows and movies, as well as entertain his 102 million followers with funny remarks and witticisms. Among other things you can find there are family photos and photos with friends and some snapshots of Hart’s everyday life.
And whenever marketers knock on his door, he charges them a hefty amount of 480 thousand US dollars per post.
16. Demi Lovato
Country: USA
Age: 28
Follower count: 97 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $458, 000 per post
It seems like in her 28 years, Demi Lovato experienced quite a lot. Her way to the top was quite thorny and her search for a happy life had its ups and downs. But today, Demi Lovato is a popular pop music artist and Instagrammer. She posts consistently and tells her 97 million followers about her life, her favorite pets, her family, friends, and also her political activism.
Marketers seem to appreciate all that since they are prepared to pay no less than $458 thousand dollars for every post of endorsement published by the celeb.
17. David Beckham
Country: United Kingdom
Age: 45
Follower count: 65,2 million
Niche: sports, celebrity
Rates: $357, 000 per post
David Beckham is a former professional footballer whose active and insanely successful career in sports ended back in 2013. Nevertheless, he doesn’t seem to be willing to rest on his laurels. He used to be famous for his legendary penalty kicks and precise corner kicks but now he builds his personal brands. It seems like his wife, former spice girl Victoria Adams was able to uncover her husband’s potential.
Now David Beckham manages to combine taking care of his three sons and a daughter, social work and managing a football club. How is he able to do all that? Well, maybe you can find some answers if you look at his Instagram feed. He consistently posts updates on his career, his family, and his experiences. And for an occasional sponsored post, he charges 357 thousand US dollars.
18. LeBron James
Country: USA
Age: 36
Follower count: 77,6 million
Niche: sports, celebrity
Rates: $272, 000 per post
LeBron James is quite literally a basketball legend. An L.A. Lakers player, James received the title of the NBA champion multiple times. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the man is considered the most valuable NBA player. He was a member of the NBA all-star team 12 times. The list of his awards and credentials goes on and on.
In 2019, Forbes named James as the highest-paid NBA player. So no wonder he charges nearly $300 thousand US dollars for every sponsored post; one has to maintain the reputation.
19. Priyanka Chopra
Country: India, USA
Age: 38
Follower count: 59,7 million
Niche: celebrity
Rates: $271, 000 per post
Indian model and actress, Miss India 2000, Priyanka Chopra started her acting career in Bollywood and was quite a celebrity in her country before she got famous in the West. The western public got to know her thanks to the Quantico TV show. That launched her Hollywood career and that’s where she met Nick Jonas who she married in 2018.
Actress, singer, model, social activist, it seems like there’s nothing Priyanka can’t do. So it’s not surprising that her Instagram account is thriving with nearly 60 million followers. She posts family photos, as well as glamorous shots and inspirational quotes. And of course, there’s a place for paid endorsements, which cost $271 thousand US dollars each.
Country: Brazil
Age: 40
Follower count: 53,5 million
Niche: sports, celebrity
Rates: $256, 000 per post
More widely knows as Ronaldinho, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira is another former professional footballer who finished his career but didn’t go off the radar. He was, and he still is one of the most recognizable football stars of all time. While his career in sports was still active, he would earn up to $20 million for brand endorsements. And it doesn’t look like he is going to stop that any time soon. Luckily for him, he has quite a substantial Instagram following of 53 million people. And any sponsored content that he posts can cost 256 US dollars per post.
Conclusion
It seems like all the people on this list got famous before they became popular on Instagram. And let’s admit it, they wouldn’t be destitute if the platform wasn’t there. But since it is, no one of these people fails to see its potential in earning even more cold hard cash.
But don’t take it as a sign that if you are not a celebrity, you can’t be Instagram famous. In fact, people tend to trust bloggers with genuine opinions much more than they trust celebs.
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