LOS ANGELES, December 29, 2025 – Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has officially crossed the $1 billion net worth threshold, becoming the fifth musician to achieve billionaire status, according to a new report from Forbes. The 44-year-old superstar's wealth surge is largely attributed to the monumental success of her 2024 album Cowboy Carter and its accompanying 2025 tour, which became the highest-grossing concert run of the year and the top-earning country tour in history.
Forbes estimates that Beyoncé earned approximately $148 million before taxes in 2025 alone, placing her as the third-highest-paid musician globally for the year. This includes revenue from touring, music catalog royalties, sponsorships, and merchandise. The Cowboy Carter Tour, a 32-show stadium trek that ran from April to July 2025, grossed $407.6 million from 1.6 million tickets sold, per Billboard Boxscore and Pollstar data. Additional merchandise sales at shows added an estimated $50 million.
Produced entirely by Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment, the tour allowed her to retain higher profit margins compared to traditional promoter-led runs. The outing broke over 40 venue records and marked the shortest tour to ever surpass $400 million in grosses. It also made Beyoncé the first woman and the first American act to have two separate tours exceed $400 million, following her 2023 Renaissance World Tour, which earned $579.8 million across 56 dates.
Beyoncé's journey to billionaire status began in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time with over 60 million records sold worldwide. Her solo debut, Dangerously in Love (2003), launched a career that has now spanned over two decades, with global sales exceeding 200 million records. She holds the record for the most Grammy wins by any artist, with 35 trophies, including her first Album of the Year win in February 2025 for Cowboy Carter.
The Cowboy Carter era represented a bold genre pivot into country music, featuring hits like "Texas Hold 'Em," which made Beyoncé the first Black woman to top the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The album debuted at No. 1 and sparked widespread cultural conversations about Black contributions to American roots music. Supporting ventures included high-profile commercials with Levi's, a $50 million Netflix Christmas Day NFL halftime performance in 2024, and launches like her Cécred haircare line (2024), which achieved rapid sell-outs and strong projections, and SirDavis whiskey.
Unlike some peers who built fortunes primarily through non-music brands, Forbes notes that Beyoncé's wealth stems almost entirely from her music empire. By controlling her masters, touring production, and catalog through Parkwood—founded in 2008—she maximizes earnings. Previous milestones include the $579 million Renaissance tour and direct distribution deals, such as her 2023 concert film earning a significant share of its box office.
Beyoncé joins an exclusive club of musician billionaires: her husband Jay-Z ($2.5 billion), Taylor Swift ($1.6 billion), Rihanna ($1.4 billion), and Bruce Springsteen. The Carters' combined net worth now exceeds $3.5 billion, solidifying their status as one of entertainment's most powerful couples. As a mother of three, Beyoncé has often emphasized balancing family with her boundary-protected career, stating in interviews that "no amount of money is worth my peace."
This achievement caps a transformative year for the icon, who continues to redefine artistic and commercial success while championing cultural reclamation and innovation.
