Draw up a chair; you’re going to want to be seated for this: Forbes magazine has released its first-ever ‘Top Influencers’ list who’ve made a generous fortune off social media. The 30 names on the list, across the fields of beauty and fitness, collectively command 250 million eyeballs.
Vloggers with over 7 million subscribers on YouTube can draw up to $300,000 per post for a video partnership. The most coveted names on the list bill up to $187,000 per Facebook post, and $150,000 per Instagram post. The cheaper end of the spectrum comes at around 100,000 followers, which can be equated for a $5,000 payday per Instagram post.
And that was even before we factored in the spinoff goodies that come with social media fame: book deals, apps, clothing lines and supplement brands among others. Kayla Itsines, the brain behind the ‘Sweat with Kayla’ app made $17 million dollars in 2016 alone. Meanwhile, Michelle Phan co-founded cosmetics box Ipsy, which was valued at $500 million in 2015.
Forbes’ top 5 beauty influencers
1. Zoe Sugg, 10 million followers
2. Michelle Phan, 2 million followers
3. Huda Kattan, 18 million followers
4. Nikkie de Jager, 7 million followers
5. Shannon Harris, 1 million followers
Forbes’ top 5 fitness influencers
1. Kayla Itsines, 6 million followers
2. Jennifer Selter, 11 million followers
3. Emily Skye, 2 million followers
4. Michelle Lewin, 10 million followers
5. Joe Wicks, 1 million followers
