Selena Gomez may have risen to fame through the Disney Channel pipeline, but she became a billionaire entirely on her terms. On September 6, 2024, Bloomberg announced that the multi-hyphenate actress, singer, producer, health advocate, and business leader ranked on its Billionaire Index with a net worth of $1.3 billion.
At 32 years old, that made Gomez one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires and placed her slightly ahead of best friend Taylor Swift, whose net worth was pegged by Forbes at $1.1 billion as of March 2024.
But while Swift’s wealth generation has played out on a very public stage, making headlines while speaking out against Apple for not paying her streaming royalties, or feuding over her catalog with her former manager Scooter Braun, for instance, Gomez’s ballooning bottom line seems almost like a side effect to her mission to empower people.
Gomez has used her fame to raise awareness for Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease she was diagnosed with in 2013. She also has been a vocal advocate for mental health issues after receiving treatment for depression, anxiety, and psychosis in her early 20s. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2018 and chronicled her journey to wellness in the Apple TV+ documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me.”
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In 2020, alongside the launch of her cosmetic line, Rare Beauty, Gomez introduced the Rare Impact Fund, which expanded access to mental health services and education for young people, a cause that is supported by one percent of sales from her makeup line.
In addition, in 2022, Gomez started the mental health platform Wondermind, and thanks to major investments by funders including Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures, its valuation reached $100 million in less than a year.
Gomez said she created Rare Beauty to show people that makeup can be a fun form of self-empowerment, and she has nurtured it into one of only a few successful celebrity-branded cosmetic lines — which is a rare feat in itself.
Currently, Rare Beauty is the third-largest celebrity makeup brand by annual revenue; only Rhianna’s Fenty Beauty and Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics are more popular.
Celebrity makeup brands by revenue
| Brand | 2023 Revenue |
|---|---|
Fenty Beauty |
$600 million |
Kylie Cosmetics |
$380.4 million |
Rare Beauty |
$350 million |
According to Bloomberg, Gomez has Rare Beauty to thank for her entrance into the billionaire’s club — it’s responsible for more than 80% of her net worth.
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How did Selena Gomez become famous?
On July 22, 1992, Gomez was born in Grand Prairie, Texas. Her parents, Mandy and Rick, met in high school, and Mandy gave birth to Gomez when she was only 16 years old.
The couple lived in a rough neighborhood that was plagued by gangs; Mandy told Entertainment Tonight that she worked three jobs to provide a better life for her daughter. Gomez was named after Selena Quintanilla, the late Tejano singer from nearby Corpus Christi.
Mandy herself was interested in show business and often brought young Selena to auditions. Her father, Rick, stayed largely out of the picture during Gomez’s early years, largely due to her interest in acting, although they would eventually reconnect.
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Mandy and Rick got divorced when Gomez was five; Mandy went on to remarry Brian Teefey, and the couple became Gomez’s first managers.
Right before Gomez’s ninth birthday, Mandy found an open casting call for the TV show “Barney and Friends.” Gomez beat out 1,400 other child actors to win the part of Gianna, a character she would portray from 2002–2004.
Gomez also had bit parts on other shows like “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Hannah Montana,” and “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” as well as the movie “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” (2003), before her mainstream breakthrough on the Disney Channel, starring as Alex Russo on “Wizards of Waverly Place.”
The series ran for four seasons, and its popularity spawned crossovers into other shows, like “The Suite Life on Deck” as well “Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie,” which won a 2009 Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program. Gomez also recorded three songs for the film’s soundtrack.
What is Selena Gomez’s 2024 net worth?
Gomez’s $1.3 billion fortune breaks down into the following:
Bloomberg; Canva
Gomez’s diverse array of business interests encompass nearly every aspect of her life, from child stardom to her music career and, currently, her platform as a role model and advocate for mental health.
Rare Beauty: $1.1 billion
Gomez has a 51% founding stake in the makeup brand which, according to Vogue, tied alongside Makeup by Mario as the top-selling cosmetics line in 2023 on TikTok and Instagram, demonstrating a combined media value of over $300 million.
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Curiously, Bloomberg reported that Gomez weighed selling the line in early 2024, although ultimately decided not to. Rare Beauty has a current valuation of $2 billion, making it one of the year’s “most sought-after M&A targets,” according to The Business of Fashion.
Endorsements: $89.7 million
While Gomez has taken breaks from social media throughout her career, notably a nearly four-year hiatus after receiving a kidney transplant in 2017 (donated by another bestie, actress Francia Raisa), Gomez has nonetheless amassed an enormous social following — in fact, her 424 million Instagram followers makes her the platform’s most-followed woman.
Gomez leverages this exposure to great effect, often filming herself putting on her line of makeup products before one of her TV shows, which no doubt inspires her fans to do the same. In fact, it is estimated that for every sponsored post she makes on Instagram, Gomez receives $1.7 million.
Gomez also signed endorsement deals with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Coach, ($10 million), Puma ($30 million), and Louis Vuitton ($10 million), to name a few.
Music: $85 million
Bloomberg estimates that Gomez has made $23 million from her album sales, which includes the three albums she recorded as part of Selena Gomez & the Scene: “Kiss and Tell” (2009), “A Year Without Rain” (2010), and “When the Sun Goes Down” (2011), as well as her three solo albums, “Stars Dance” (2013), “Revival” (2015), and “Rare” (2020).
Gomez is said to have minted more than $62 million from her concert tours. Her 2016 Revival Tour alone generated more than $30 million in ticket sales.
Acting: $16.9 million
Gomez reportedly made $3,000 per episode of “Barney and Friends,” but when she signed on to “Wizards of Waverly Place,” her paychecks magically grew: Bloomberg estimates she made a total of $3 million from her time on the original series.
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In January 2024, Gomez announced she would be returning to Waverly for a new series, “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place;” it features appearances from its original leads, Alex and Justin (played by Davis Henrie), along with a new main cast and is set to premiere on October 29, 2024 on the Disney Channel.
Gomez also returned to the small screen in 2020, starring in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” a role that reportedly rakes in $6 million per season. The show also features her friends, Steve Martin and Martin Short, and has been nominated for several 2024 Emmy Awards.
Selena Gomez’s real estate holdings
According to Architectural Digest, Gomez currently owns a residence in New York City’s Upper East Side, although its details are not publicly available.
In addition, she purchased the Encino, Calif. mansion of late rock star Tom Petty for $4.9 million in 2020. The 11,000-square-foot mansion comes with six bedrooms, ten bathrooms, a large pool, and, naturally, a recording studio.
She has flipped several other properties throughout the country over the years including a house in Tarzana, Calif. that she sold to singer Iggy Azalea in 2014 for $3.45 million, a Calabasas, Calif. mansion she sold for $4.5 million in 2015, a 10,000 square-foot Fort Worth, Texas, abode that she sold in 2018 for $2.7 million, and a Studio City, Calif. bungalow she sold for $2.368 million in 2020.
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