Well, if influencers’ general existence has a tendency to make you feel poor, get ready to feel destitute. Yep, the Instagram Rich List is out to make you realize you’re not being paid enough for showing up to an actual office everyday. Just kidding. Kind of. For those of you who don’t know what the Rich List is, it’s a list of the highest-paid celebrities and influencers on Instagram gathered by analyzing and compiling internal and publicly available data. I think I speak for all of the people earning under a million dollars nothing for posting a photo on Instagram when I say, “why, though?” See this abomination for yourself below. The top 10 celebs who earn the most from Instagram are as follows:
- Kylie Jenner – 140 million followers – $1,266,000 per post
- Ariana Grande – 159 million followers – $996,000 per post
- Cristiano Ronaldo – 175 million followers – $975,000 per post
- Kim Kardashian – 144 million followers – $910,000 per post
- Selena Gomez – 153 million followers – $886,000 per post
- Dwayne Johnson – 150 million followers – $882,000 per post
- Beyoncé Knowles – 129 million followers – $785,000 per post
- Taylor Swift – 119 million followers – $748,000 per post
- Neymar da Silva Santos Junior – 122 million followers – $722,000 per post
- Justin Bieber – 115 million followers – $722,000 per post
And here are, in order, the top five influencers who get the most money from one sponsored post. Yes. One.
- Elenora Pons – 35.7 million followers – $144,000 per post
- Huda Kattan – 38.1 million followers – $91,300 per post
- Cameron Dallas – 21.2 million followers – $86,600 per post
- Sommer Ray – 21.4 million followers – $86,600 per post
- Zach King – 20.4 million followers – $82,900 per post
Is anyone really shocked that Kylie Jenner makes more money for one Instagram post than I will ever make in my entire life unless I win the lottery or settle out of court for a serious slip-and-fall? Do we really need hard data confirming that influencers make a stupid amount of money to, like, hold a bottle of laxative tea and smile? I sure as sh*t am not surprised! Since I don’t really need to confirm what I already know, I’m going to go into the most shocking celebs and influencers who ended up on HopperHQ’s Rich List and why I’m surprised by them. The list is in no particular order.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0AqbXCI4z-/
I’m sorry, what? I didn’t know that many people cared about soccer outside of the Bend It Like Beckham fanbase. (That’s the American in me talking.) Clearly, I’m wrong, because this beautiful man has 176 million followers and makes an estimated $975k per post. I repeat, what??? First of all, what is he promoting because literally 99.9% of his posts are just of him playing soccer? Every now and then he’ll post a pic of himself looking at a new pair of Nike cleats like they’re his newborn babies, but that’s kind of it. Also, not to bring this up, but I have to bring this up. Wasn’t he being charged with sexual assault until just a few days ago? How are/were so many brands happy to sponsor him without clarity on whether or not he assaulted a woman in 2009? Allegations or not, I’m still shocked that he makes this much on Instagram. Can someone please explain the rules of soccer so I can get in on this cash cow? Much appreciated.
2. Beyoncé Knowles
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwuX3GJBYyI/
Honestly, the only reason I’m putting her on this list is because I always felt like Queen B is too good for sponsored posts. Then again, with 130 million followers (CR has more than she does?! Someone explain this!) I guess it makes sense to milk your queendom and demand money for posts. She makes an estimated $785k per post, which is less than Cristiano. *lifts jaw off floor* How on God’s green earth is this possible? Especially since Bey has a full-time job as a touring artist and as a deity, she obv doesn’t need the extra cash, so I’m wondering why she bothers with the influencer thing. It seems like she’s a tiny bit above that whole world. But, now that we know Beyoncé is not immune to Photoshop, it makes sense that she’s not immune to shilling either.
3. Eleonora Pons
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx78zk6JE9F/
I am proudly one of Lele’s 35.9 million followers and am genuinely happy that she makes a chill $144k per post because she’s as hilarious as she is beautiful. I’ve been a fan of hers since her Vine days, which is saying a lot. So, I’m not surprised brands are hitting up Lele left and right for #sponcon, but I am surprised she is on this list because it seems like she really doesn’t do all that much of it. I am scrolling really far back in her feed looking for a post that would earn her this kind of cash, and I truly can’t find one. But maybe that’s why her rates are so high—supply and demand and all that? (I took Microeconomics 101 in college, thank you very much.)
4. Huda Kattan
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxcbKdUDIBY/
If you like beauty, you know Huda. She has 38.2 million followers, which is roughly 38 million more than I have, so I understand why she’s an influencer in this space. Most of her feed is her own product, which makes sense, but is also precisely the reason I am confused that she’s getting paid so much for IG posts. Again, which brands are paying her for sponsorship? Because I feel like any other brands hitting her up for a sponsored post would be her competitors. She does post on her story reviewing other products, so I guess that could explain it. Either way, get that cash, girl.
5. Cameron Dallas
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0L_Ip9nyWJ/
I honestly didn’t know who this was, and tbh I still don’t. Who is he? *Checks Google* Oh, he’s a Youtuber and Vine-r. Grool. Well, he has a casual 21.2 million followers and makes $86k per post, which I don’t understand since his feed literally looks like that of every Brooklyn hipster with the Huji app who ghosts you after four dates. He also has the kind of captions that I draft (but don’t post) when I get home from Ghost Donkey at 2am and think I’m being existential. For example, there’s a photo of him in a Balenciaga sweatshirt captioned, “Figure it out.” Am I missing something? What are we trying to figure out? Youths these days are so ~mysterious!~ Anyway, yeah. He’s a child walking around calling himself a personality and an actor and making bank for posting weird sh*t on Instagram. I don’t understand it and I won’t respond to it.
Images: camerondallas, hudabeauty, lelepons, beyonce, cristiano / Instagram
