Seven-Figure TikTok Stars

These influencers have a bright future no matter the platform.

In late July, hours after President Trump issued his latest threat to ban TikTok in the U.S., 19-year-old Addison Rae Easterling posted a new video to the app, imagining what her life would be like in such a world: She’d be back at Louisiana State University, where a year ago she was just another anonymous freshman. Today she has 55.3 million followers and ranks No. 1 on our inaugural list of TikTok’s highest-paid stars.

Easterling (above), who became famous for her dance TikToks, earned an estimated $5 million in the past year through branded merchandise (T-shirts, hoodies, phone cases) and sponsorships with companies including Reebok. She recently inked a deal to be the global face of American Eagle; began a weekly Spotify podcast, in which she discusses her life with her cohost mom; and launched a makeup line, Item Beauty. TikTok’s fate might be uncertain, but have no doubt: These seven sevenfigure influencers have a bright future no matter the platform. Income estimates are pretax earnings from June 30, 2019, through June 30, 2020.

1. Addison Rae Easterling $5 million 2. Charli D’Amelio $4 million 3. Dixie D’Amelio $2.9 million 4. Loren Gray $2.6 million 5. Josh Richards $1.5 million 6. Michael Le $1.2 million

The 20-year-old’s dance videos—two of him grooving on an escalator in particular—have become some of TikTok’s most-shared content. Among his sponsorships is a multiyear partnership with Bang energy drinks.

6. Spencer X $1.2 million

Seeking to become music’s first big-time beatboxer, Spencer X, 28, has gone from couch-surfing in Los Angeles to recording singles in his own luxe two-story Hollywood apartment in less than a year. From Norwalk, Connecticut, sisters Charli, 16, and Dixie, 19, have turned singing-anddancing videos into deals with Hollister Clothing and Morphe cosmetics. Dixie also premiered a single, “Be Happy,” in July. Gray, an 18-year old pop singer, joined Musical.ly, an early iteration of what became TikTok, way back in 2015. She has parlayed her success on the app into eight singles and a contract with Virgin Records. Thinking beyond merchandise and deals, Richards, 18—who gained fame for dance TikToks and vlogs about his life—has cofounded a celebrity-management agency, TalentX, which represents 105 influencers. He’s also the chief strategy officer of Triller, a small American TikTok rival.