SWIFT’S ECONOMIC WAVE SWELLS AS TOUR FUELS SPENDING SPREE
▶ Bollywood star Ranveer Singh invests in audio wearables company boAt and singer Beyonce unveils her long-awaited haircare line, reports Felicity Glover
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift continues to make economic waves with her record-breaking Eras concert tour. In Australia, she recently wowed more than 620,000 fans across seven concerts in Melbourne and Sydney.
Known as “Swiftonomics”, it is estimated that the 34-yearold’s Eras tour added about A$300 million ($195.6 million) to the Australian economy as fans splashed out on merchandise, accommodation, flights, restaurants and other expenses, according to data from National Australia Bank, the country’s second-biggest lender by assets.
“Swiftonomics” fever was so high that one Melbourne official claimed that it would generate more than $1.2 billion in economic value for Australia’s second-biggest city alone.
Julie Rynski, a National Australia Bank executive, said the cultural and economic impact of her Australia shows will last long in the collective memory.
“Businesses across both capital cities can be very thankful for the ‘Taylor effect’, which has helped spark a late summer spending spree” she said.
The 152-date Eras concert tour across five continents has broken several records and sparked ticket frenzies. It is expected to be the highest-grossing tour of all time when it closes in December this year.
By then, the US leg of the tour could add $5.7 billion – a gross domestic product larger than 50 nations – to the country’s economy, software company Question Pro said last August.
Swift’s four shows in Tokyo from February 7 to February 10 were estimated to add about $230 million to Japan’s economy, The Japan Times reported.
In Singapore, where the singer is currently playing six soldout concerts, “Swiftonomics” is expected to generate up to S$500 million ($371.4 million), according to local media.
Swift’s personal earnings per show range between $10 million and $13 million, Forbes estimates. In October last year, Swift became a member of the exclusive $1 billion club with a net worth of $1.1 billion, boosted by her earnings from the Eras tour.
However, the 12-time Grammy winner could earn as much as $4.1 billion from the tour, according to estimates based on her share of 85 per cent, The Washington Post reported.
As one of the world’s richest self-made women, the Shake it Off singer has primarily earned her fortune from her successful music career, which she began at the age of 16 with her self-titled debut album.
Swift also invests in real estate to build her wealth. With eight homes, her property portfolio is worth about $150 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ranveer Singh
Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has invested an undisclosed amount in consumer electronics company boAt, an India-based business that makes and distributes audio wearables, according to investor database Crunchbase.
Singh is the lead investor in the funding round and has also signed on to be boAt’s brand ambassador as part of the deal.
BoAt was founded in 2014 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta. Previous investors in the company – Qualcomm Ventures, Warburg Pincus, InnoVen Capital, Navi Technologies and Fireside Ventures – contributed a combined $177 million, according to start-up news website Incubees.
Ranveer’s investment and “strategic involvement validate our mission to revolutionise the audio experience in India”, Mr Gupta said.
Last September, Singh, 38, also invested an undisclosed amount in Indian beauty startup Sugar Cosmetics.
Singh’s net worth is estimated at $30 million by wealth-tracking website Celebrity Net Worth.
The Cirkus star’s income is derived mainly from his movie career – he has appeared in more than two dozen films – and brand endorsements with the likes of adidas, Nivea, Colgate, JBL, Xiaomi and Indian clothing brand Manyavar.
The actor and his wife, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, own four properties in India, including a four-level, sea-facing Mumbai apartment, which is worth 1.2 billion Indian rupees ($14.4 million).
Beyonce
Texas Hold ‘Em singer Beyonce has launched her own haircare brand, 10 months after hinting about her plans in a post on Instagram
Called Cecred, the brand has eight products in its Foundation Collection, including shampoos, conditioners and hair repair masks that range in price from $30 to $52 and can be ordered online.
Beyonce, 42, has also linked Cecred to her BeyGOOD charity and will donate $500,000 annually to fund cosmetology school scholarships and salon business grants in five cities in the US: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New Jersey.
“Fostering talent, promoting professionalism, and supporting entrepreneurship within the hair industry is deeply important to us,” BeyGOOD said on its website.
“That’s why we’re partnering with Cecred to create the Cecred x BeyGOOD Fund, which celebrates the influence professional stylists have on hair health and the critical importance of advocating for the salon community.”
Beyonce, 42, has a net worth of $800 million, according to Forbes. She has sold more than 200 million records worldwide as a solo artist, not counting the 60 million sold as part of the music group Destiny’s Child.
The 32-time Grammy winner is also the owner and chief executive of Parkwood Entertainment, which manages her tours, including the record-breaking 2023 Renaissance World Tour that earned about $579 million.
The singer also earns an income from endorsements for brands such as Pepsi, L’Oreal, Samsung and American Express, as well as a line of fragrances that has grossed more than $500 million in revenue since 2010, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
She has also invested in startups such as Lemon Perfect beverages, French handbag brand Destree and concert merchandise app Sidestep.
Beyonce and her husband, rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z, were pop music’s first billionaire couple, with Forbes last year estimating their combined net worth at about $3 billion. The pair perform together and have joint investments.
In May last year, the couple set a new price record for real estate in California with the purchase of a $200 million oceanfront mansion in Malibu. The all-cash purchase eclipses the previous state record of $177 million.
Freddie Mercury
The London home of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has been listed for sale with international property consultancy Knight Frank for more than $38 million.
Designed in the Neo-Georgian style in 1907 by architect Ernest Marshal, Mercury bought Garden Lodge in Kensington for £500,000 ($631,392) in 1980 and lived there until his death in 1991.
Mercury left his estate, including his share of Queen royalties, the house and all its possessions to his friend, Mary Austin – who has lived in the home for the past 30 years.
“This house has been the most glorious memory box, because it has such love and warmth in every room. It has been a joy to live in and I have many wonderful memories here,” Ms Austin said.
“Now that it is empty, I’m transported back to the first time we viewed it. Ever since Freddie and I stepped through the fabled green door, it has been a place of peace, a true artist’s house, and now is the time to entrust that sense of peace to the next person.”
Ms Austin decided to sell the home and Mercury’s possessions last year.
In September, Sotheby’s auctioned more than 30,000 items that had belonged to the singer, including a piano he used to compose songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Don’t Stop Me Now and Somebody to Love, according to Bloomberg. Mercury bought the Yamaha baby grand piano in 1975 and it sold for a record £1.7 million.
The sale netted a total of £39.9 million, exceeding Sotheby’s estimate of between £7.6 million and £11.3 million, according to Bloomberg.
“The sale of Garden Lodge presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a significant property combined with a piece of cultural history, the beloved home of an icon,” Paddy Dring, global head of prime sales and joint head of Knight Frank’s Private Office, said.
At the time of his death, Mercury was estimated to have an inflation-adjusted net worth of $50 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.