TikTok has proven to be a lucrative business for content creators.
According to findings from FandomSpot.com, some social media personalities are making up to US$11m via the Chinese platform – and beauty influencers are cashing in. But who is in first place?
The highest paid influencer in the beauty industry is Addison Rae.
As well as a singer and actress, she is the founder of Item Beauty, a ‘clean’ brand that hit the market in August last year.
Her brand has proven a popular choice among fans, having recently landed a place on-shelf at LVMH’s Sephora.
To date, she boasts 82.5 million TikTok followers – more than double her Instagram following – and has a net worth of $5m, according to the findings.
The results make her the third highest paid TikTok influencer, second only to Brent Rivera, a social media personality with a net worth of $6.5m; and restaurateur Burak Özdemir, at the top with $11m.
Charli D’amelio, who has worked with the likes of beauty royalty James Charles and fronted campaigns for cosmetics favourite Morphe, came in fifth place, second among the beauty influencers, with a following of 122.5 million and net worth of $4m.
Behind her is older sister Dixie in 12th place on the 2021 TikTok Rich List, with a net worth of $2.9m and following of 54.3 million.
Read the full list below:
- 1. Burak Özdemir - @cznburak, 45.9m followers, $11m
- 2. Brent Rivera - @brentivera, 40.3m followers, $6.5m
- 3. Addison Rae - @addisonre, 82.5m followers, $5m
- 4. Jeremy Lynch - @jeremylynch, 13.2m followers, $5m
- 5. Charli D'amelio - @charlidamelio, 122.5m followers, $4m
- 6. Michael Le - @justmaiko, 49.8m followers, $4m
- 7. Kimberly Loaiza - @kimberly.loaiza, 48.8m followers, $4.1m
- 8. Noah Schnapp - @noahschnapp, 19.1m followers, $3m
- 9. Zach King - @zach King, 63.1m followers, $3m
- 10. Dominik Elizabeth Reséndez Robledo - @domelipa, 38.4m followers, $3m
- 11. Khabane Lame – @khaby.lame, 102.9m followers , $2m
- 12. Dixie D’amelio – @dixiedamelio, 54.3m followers, $2.9m
- 13. Loren Gray – @lorengray, 53.7m followers, $2.6m
- 14. Jamil & Jamel Neffati – @neffatibrothers, 14m followers, $2.5m
- 15. Josh Richards – @joshrichards, 25.5m followers, $1.5m
- 16. Spencer Polanco Knight – @spencerx, 54.4m followers, $1.2m
- 17. Holly Hubert – @hollyh, 16.3m followers, $600k
- 18. Olivia Neill – @olivaneil, 1.2m followers, $400k
- 19. Bella poarch – @bellapoarch, 78.7m followers, $300k
- 20. Younes Zarou – @youneszarou, 36.9m followers, $300k
Beauty breaks social
Many of today’s well-known beauty entrepreneurs started off their careers in content creation.
Social media sensation and beauty entrepreneur Huda Kattan began her journey in cosmetics via YouTube, alongside her beauty-related blog more than ten years ago.
Today, she is still a prolific figure on YouTube with more than four million subscribers, as well as a powerful presence on other channels.
Creative Director for Byredo and MUA Isamaya Ffrench introduced her own YouTube channel back in May; while Hailey Bieber, whose beauty brand has been on the verge of a launch for more than a year, welcomed fans into her life with intimate videos and content six months ago.
Meanwhile, MUAs including Charles and Jeffree Star, have used their social media platforms to connect with mass audiences and talk about their product launches.
Cosmetics aficionados looking to increase their salaries could look to beauty YouTubing as a potential profession; YouTubers can earn up to £600,000 on average annually, according to creative community hub DIYS.com.