Billionaires Taylor Swift & Magic Johnson: A Simple Wealth Strategy

Taylor Swift was recently named a newly-minted billionaire by Forbes, with an estimated worth of $1.1 billion. The 33-year-old’s “Eras” tour has become a financial phenomenon, earning $780 million from ticket sales alone, minting Swift as the first musician to reach billionaire status exclusively through the prowess of her music and live performances.

There’s a lesser-known route, though, Swift could have taken to hit the billion-dollar mark — compound interest. Following her first headlining tour in 2009, Swift, already the top-selling solo artist of 2008 with her ‘Fearless’ album, earned an impressive $18 million.​​ If Swift opted to invest that sum into the diversified stock index, she could potentially near the billion-dollar mark by 2048, simply through the compounding effect. From 2009 to 2023, the S&P 500, with dividends reinvested, averaged an annual return of 14.11%. Swift’s $18 million earnings from 2009 would be worth $114 million today, solely through S&P 500 performance.