This week, news broke that Bachelor franchise “influencers” received $20k PPP loans amidst the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Many found this to be surprising use of support funds; awarding loans to Instagram money-makers.
That isn’t to say that social media isn’t an incredible place to expand your brand and business. It’s proven to be one of the fastest and best ways to achieve growth when it comes to popularity and profitability in registered small businesses. It was an incredible vessel to so many people during one of the most trying and isolating times in lockdown, and was even a source of inspiration to create passion projects and try something new.
There are also many Instagram ‘influencers’ that are influential due to their status, talent or fame, and that is something we can’t relate to but are intrigued by.
Instagram planning and scheduling tool Hopper HQ has released its top ten list of the richest people on Instagram in 2021. The list includes celebrities, athletes, influencers and the esteemed “entrepreneurs” that these days just seems to mean anyone that has worked out how to make money fast.
Now in its fifth year, Hopper HQ’s annual list has become a barometer of Instagram influence and reveals the highest-earning celebrities and influencers on the social media platform per post.
Cristiano Ronaldo takes the top spot for the first time this year, obtaining the highest ever amount in the List’s history, with a whopping average earning of $1.6 million per post. It’s also the first time in five years that a Kardashian or Jenner hasn’t ranked in the top three.
HopperHQ.com, analysed internal and publicly available data to reveal its top ten, with the data considering factors such as average engagement, how often they post, industry variables and number of followers.
The top 10 in the 2021 Celebrity Instagram Rich List:
(Celebrity, number of followers and estimated cost per post):
- Cristiano Ronaldo – 303 million followers – $1,604,000 per post
- Dwayne Johnson – 247 million followers – $1,523,000 per post
- Ariana Grande – 245 million followers – $1,510,000 per post
- Kylie Jenner – 242 million followers – $1,494,000 per post
- Selena Gomez – 239 million followers – $1,468,000 per post
- Kim Kardashian – 230 million followers – $1,419,000 per post
- Lionel Messi – 220 million followers – $1,169,000 per post
- Beyonce Knowles – 187 million followers – $1,147,000 per post
- Justin Bieber – 179 million followers – $1,112,000 per post
- Kendal Jenner – 170 million followers -$1,053,000 per post
The five years’ worth of data shows that, like celebrities, the amount social media influencers can charge per post is continuously increasing.
Topping the list for a third year in a row, Youtube star Eleonora Pons now charges over $150,000 per post, closely followed behind rising Tiktok star Charli D’Amelio whose earnings have more than doubled in the last year, increasing by 107%.
The top 5 in the 2021 Influencer Instagram Rich List:
- Eleonora Pons – 44 million followers – $180,000 per post
- Charli D’Amelio- 42.3 million followers – $ 172,700 per post
- Addison Rae – 38.2 million followers – $155,800 per post
- Sommer Ray – 26.5 million followers – $108,300 per post
- Dixie D’Amelio – 24.4 million followers – $99,800 per pos
“Five years on it’s still incredible to see the growing influence these celebrities can have on the social media platform, but with ever-growing follower numbers and the sheer amount of exposure each of their posts have, it’s no surprise how valuable content from these celebrities can be,” says Mike Bandar, co-founder of HopperHQ.
“As COVID-19 continues to impact all our lives, it appears that Instagram is the one of the few places not negatively impacted by the pandemic, and with people using the app more than ever before, some could say it was inevitable earnings would peak this year.”
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