There’s some serious money in making music, particularly for those with a combined talent for music and business.
Country singers rarely reach the widespread acclaim of the likes of Beyoncé or Megan thee Stallion, but a rare few rocket past the level of their peers to become superstars in their own right. Country music has a massive fanbase, after all, and it largely revolves around a few, cherry-picked favorites. Those favorites have made some serious cash off their popularity, with some pulling in enough cash to rival music royalty like Prince.
The richest country singers
The wealthiest musicians in the world are, in some cases, also among the richest people in the world. Sure, Taylor Swift doesn’t quite boast pockets that run Donald Trump deep, but our girl will surpass the disgraced president any day now. Swift is a tough figure to beat, in the world of music, but you shouldn’t expect to see her on this list. She got her start in country, its true, but Swift’s primary fame came through her shift over to pop music. She’s broadly considered a pop star, these days, and besides — it’s unfair to expect even the wealthiest of country music stars to rival TayTay’s unmatched popularity.
10. Alan Jackson — $150 million
There’s not a person on this list who isn’t absolutely rolling in cash, so look for down on their luck country stars elsewhere. As the least-wealthy of the most wealthy, Alan Jackson comes in last on this list, with a still-staggering net worth of $150 million. The longstanding star accumulated that number over nearly three and a half decades on the scene, and through the release of more than 20 separate albums.
9. Luke Bryan — $160 million
Coming in with a solid $10 million more than Alan Jackson we have Luke Bryan, who’s sitting pretty on $160 million net worth — and that’s despite boasting around half the album count of Jackson. Bryan’s only released seven studio albums over the course of his decade-and-a-half-long career, alongside seven compilation albums, and eight extended plays. Even if we count every one of these releases as a separate album, that only puts Bryan at 22. That’s more than a dozen less than Jackson, but they clearly netted the country star a fair bit more, on average.
8. Kenny Chesney — $180 million
Alan Jackson and Luke Bryan have enviable fanbases of their own, but Kenny Chesney is the first major name on this list. The 55-year-old has nearly 30 years worth of releases under his belt, and a huge number of them shot to the top of Billboard’s Hot Country charts. He is easily among country’s most-watched country singers, and — with tours selling out across the country — it’s really no wonder he’s worth a good $20 million more than Luke Bryan, with a net worth of $180 million.
7. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw — $200 million
This one is rough, because individually Faith Hill and Tim McGraw wouldn’t even qualify for this list. But combined, they’re worth a full $200 million, and since they share finances, Celebrity Net Worth lumps the two together. Its only fair that we do the same, since their incomes have been intertwined since the late ‘90s. Even if they split — god forbid — each half would fall back on tens of millions of dollars, at least. McGraw was pulling in a good $38 million a year back in 2015, according to Forbes, and even if that number dropped recently, he’s got little reason to be concerned. Hill, meanwhile, continues to pull in money from a diverse range of projects, adding her acting resume to a lengthy career in music. As a pair, the longstanding couple are comfortably nestled in the middle of this list, and among the genre’s wealthiest.
8. Kenny Rogers — $250 million
Kenny Rogers is a star of an earlier era than your Faith Hills or George Straights, but he still had a net worth to compete with the modern favorites. Ahead of his 2020 death, Rogers was worth a full $250 million, earning him a nice cozy position in the middle of this list. That number was attained over the course of a four-decade career that spanned the world of music and dipped into movies and television. He made numerous marks on the world of entertainment between his debut in the mid-’70s and his final studio album release in 2015, and his fans will long remember him for all his hard work.
5. George Strait — $300 million
George Strait first rose to fame in the early ‘80s, so he’s had a grip on the world of music for a good while now. He’s not quite as popular these days as he was back in his heyday, but Strait’s fanbase is still plenty large. Back in 2014 he was breaking records with his tours, and he remains one of the best selling musical artists of all time. Which is probably the main culprit behind his impressive $300 million net worth, along with the whooping 33 albums he’s seen go certified platinum. And he’s not even among the top five richest country singers.
4. Toby Keith — $400 million
As it turns out, a bulk of the wealthiest country artists in the U.S. share a general net worth. At some point the actual number stops mattering much, since it seems absurd to assume that anyone can spend upwards of $400 million in a lifetime. That’s what Toby Keith is worth, despite starting his career almost two decades after the record-breaking Strait. The man started his own label after less than a decade on the scene, and the ten studio albums he’s released through it have all done well — and likely earned him a good chunk of that $400 mil.
3. Garth Brooks — $400 million
With more than 20 awards under his belt — including a whopping 17 American Music Awards — it’s really no wonder that Garth Brooks is among the top earners on this list. He’s worth a full $400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, a number he’s earned over nearly 40 years on the country music scene. In that time, he’s pumped out countless hits, and remains the only artist in history to have the Recording Industry Association of America grant him a full nine certified Diamond albums. Even the Beatles didn’t manage that.
2. Shania Twain — $400 million
Brooks isn’t technically beat out by Shania Twain — since the pair share a $400 million net worth — but considering how few albums she’s released in comparison, the number becomes more impressive. Twain made her hundreds of millions off the release of six studio albums, three compilation albums, and three remixes — with plenty of tours and singles tossed in, of course — while Brooks made his off of 23 separate album releases. That makes her songs worth far more, in general, and earns her an extra shout-out on this list.
1. Dolly Parton — $650 million
Which brings us to the highest earner on this list, a woman who vastly outpaces even her closest competition. Our country queen, Dolly Parton, is worth a whopping $650 million, and she’s worth every penny. An absolute icon, and a generous one at that, there’s no one who deserves such high-dollar payouts as much as Parton, particularly when you consider how many philanthropic pursuits she’s been part of over the years. Over more than 50 years lending her beloved voice to the world of music, Parton has donated millions to various causes, and it’s barely made a dent in her towering net worth. I guess that’s what being an icon gets you.