Selena Gomez is one of the youngest, self-made female billionaires

Selena Gomez is many things: an actress, a singer, a chef, an Instagram icon, and a best friend to Taylor Swift. And now the “Only Murders in the Building” star can add another feather to her cap: she is one of America’s youngest self-made female billionaires.

Gomez, 32, is worth $1.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The sources of her wealth are as diverse as her many careers. More than 80% of her net worth is derived from her Rare Beauty cosmetics brand but she also pulls in money from her acting and singing careers and her partnerships with brands including Coach, Louis Vuitton, and Puma.

“Selena is not just a pop star,” Stacy Jones, founder and chief executive officer of Hollywood Branded, a Los Angeles-based branding agency, told Bloomberg. “She’s a multifaceted businesswoman with diverse income streams contributing to her impressive net worth.”

Crucially, Gomez is also openly vulnerable about her personal life and her struggles with lupus and bipolar disorder. In 2022, she released the documentary “My Mind and Me” chronicling her experience with mental illness. A year before that, she launched the platform Wondermind which connects people to mental health resources.

“You’ve got a real role model of how a celebrity can use their influence and expertise to both do good and create good business,” Wondermind investor Brent Saunders told Bloomberg. “Selena epitomizes that.”

While many celebrities have their own cosmetics lines, the blockbuster success of Rare Beauty is frequently attributed to Gomez’s ability to be open about her struggles.

“We really tried to absorb as much as we could about what makes her so special and why people love her so much and that’s kind of where the essence started,” Rare Beauty chief digital officer Mehdi Mehdi told Women’s Wear Daily of the company’s branding.

“The more we got into it, her vulnerability was the thing that kept coming up,” Mehdi continued. “She’s been so open and honest about who she is and some of the struggles that she goes through and the challenges, and there was a sense of just everyone could see themselves in her.”

Bloomberg estimates that in addition to Rare Beauty, about seven percent of Gomez’s net worth comes from endorsements, about five percent is from touring, and just under three percent is from Wondermind. The remainder of her net worth is connected to album sales, streaming, acting, and real estate holdings.

Continue reading to learn which celebrities have found the most success in business in 2023, according to a recent study from the packaging company Arka.