American singer Taylor Swift has garnered attention, but this time it's not for her concerts or record-selling album. Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for Presidency on X after the end of Tuesday night’s presidential debate against Donald Trump.
The world-renowned singer with a net worth of $1.1 billion made it to the Forbes Billionaire List in 2023.
Music Mogul: Swift's Streaming Success
Tours, concerts, and record-selling albums are a major source of income for her. She also gained billionaire status on Forbes World’s Billionaires list in October last year.
According to Bloomberg’s research, Swift earns around $175 million from music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The physical sale of her albums along with engagement with fans on various social media platforms adds nearly $125 million to her purse. Additionally, she owns $150 worth of real estate.
Advertisement
How influential is Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift, with millions of fans in and outside America, is one of the most powerful celebrities in the world. Recently, in August 2022, Swift sold nearly 200 million albums, clinching the title of ‘bestselling musicians of all time’, according to an American website, LocalSYR.com.
She is a winner of 14 Grammy Awards and has Guinness World Records for 98 labels. She has been featured thrice as Time’s magazine as one of the most influential people in the world in 2010, 2015, and 2019, according to the American website, CelebrityNetworth.
Her influence is so vast that it has a huge impact on the economy. In fact, in 2023, Taylornomics, a term to define the business boost followed by Swift’s 20-city Eras Tour in the U.S, gained momentum. According to the Wall Street Journal, her tour brought in more customers for hotels, restaurants, and bars, helping them to recover from the financial downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advertisement
Why Taylor’s support for Kamala has made her a Republican target?
While she was expressing her political support for Harris, there were others from the opposition who heavily criticised her.
Donald Trump warned her and said, “She seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.” While Trump’s vice presidential candidate JD Vance called Swift a “childless cat lady” and “fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans" in a lengthy post on X.
X owner Elon Musk, who is famous for verbal battles on his social media platform and has recently been endorsed by Trump to head his efficiency commission, too, attacked Swift in a post. “Fine Taylor-you win-I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life,” said Musk.
Swift, one of the most influential celebrities globally, could easily sway voters' minds through her posts. Perhaps that’s what got those from the Republican Party and its supporters to pour criticism on her.
Consequently, using a custom link shared by Swift within just 24 hours of her post on X, nearly 340,000 people visited the voter registration website, according to the BBC.
Just one email a week