Selena Gomez is more than just a successful singer and actress—she’s also the founder of her own business empire.
The Only Murders in the Building star began her career at just 9 years old as a regular on Barney & Friends. At 15, she gained widespread recognition by landing the lead role of Alex Russo on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place.
Gomez soon expanded her horizons, forming the band Selena Gomez & The Scene and later transitioning to a solo singing career, while continuing to pursue acting. Her career has evolved from being a Disney star to becoming an Emmy- and Grammy-nominated artist.
In 2019, Gomez took her success to new heights by founding her makeup company, Rare Beauty. By September 2024, her net worth had reportedly reached $1.3 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s analysis of her wealth considered her stake in Rare Beauty, her interest in Wondermind, the value of her music sales and properties, and earnings from streaming, brand partnerships, concert tickets, and acting.
Gomez is among only a few musicians—Jay-Z, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Bruce Springsteen—to become billionaires, making her the youngest female artist in this group. According to Bloomberg, a significant portion of her wealth—81%—comes from Rare Beauty, with tours contributing less than 5% and album and record sales less than 2%.
In addition to her music and beauty business, Gomez is an accomplished actress, earning Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her role in Only Murders in the Building, where she also serves as an executive producer, reportedly earning at least $6 million per season.
Gomez continues to work as a producer with her upcoming project, Disney’s Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, a remake of the show that originally made her famous.
Throughout her music career, Gomez has released three solo studio albums, a compilation album, and three EPs, including 2021’s Revelación. She’s also released 36 singles, with 3.6 million albums sold as of August 2023, according to Billboard. Her most successful album, Kiss and Tell (2009), sold 932,000 copies, while her top-selling single, “Love You Like a Love Song” (2011), sold 2.8 million copies. Additionally, 39 of her songs have charted on the Billboard Hot 100, with nine reaching the top 10.
Rare Beauty, launched in 2020, quickly grew in value thanks to its popular products, particularly a blush that went viral on TikTok in 2022. According to TIME, the brand’s sales doubled from 2021 to 2022 and then tripled the next year, reaching $400 million in sales from May 2023 to 2024. As of March 2024, Business of Fashion estimated Rare Beauty’s value at around $2 billion, with its $23 Soft Pinch Liquid Blush alone earning $70 million in 2023.
Gomez is deeply committed to mental health initiatives, donating 1% of her cosmetics sales to Rare Beauty’s charity arm, the Rare Impact Fund, which supports mental health organizations. The fund aims to raise $100 million and has already raised $16 million, aiding 26 organizations across five continents.
Her dedication to this cause stems from her own mental health journey. During the first annual Rare Impact Fund Benefit in October 2023, Gomez spoke about her struggles with bipolar disorder and how her diagnosis in 2020 gave her the clarity she needed.
“I struggled with the world inside my head for a long time and I felt lost and I felt hopeless at times,” she shared. “With that knowledge, I could seek out the support I needed to be myself, to find my joy again.”
In May 2024, Gomez told TIME that she relies on her managers and lawyers to handle Rare Beauty’s finances, allowing her to focus on the impact fund and product development. “I will admit it overwhelms me sometimes,” she said. “I never wanted it to be about making a lot of money and that’s it.”
Despite her incredible success, Gomez remains focused on the future while appreciating the present. “You’re not meant to say, ‘Once I get there, I’ll have it all,'” she told E! News in 2016. “The biggest lesson I’ve needed to learn is how to be present in the moment, and to know that I’m always going to strive for something.”