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Jami Gertz, Sixteen Candles Actress-Turned-Billionaire, Makes Rare Public Appearance
Fortune favors the bold… and the famous, it seems.
When it comes to the billionaires club, enrollment hasn’t just been granted to obvious members like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett. In fact, unlike the tycoons, many celebrities found fame before building their business acumen.
Take, for example, actress Jami Gertz. Before the Emmy-nominated actress became the owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks with her husband Tony Ressler, she was a Hollywood “It Girl,” starring in shows like The Facts of Life and Square Pegs, as well as movies like Twister, Sixteen Candles and The Lost Boys in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
"Everyone thinks I married a rich guy," Gertz told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018 about her 1989 wedding to the financier. "But I made more money—way more money—than Tony when I met him. I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation.”
Indeed, she emphasized, “I married him because I fell in love with him."
Of course, Gertz isn’t the only star to find fortune after finding the spotlight. While musicians like Selena Gomez and Rihanna have become members of the billionaires club by building their respective beauty brands Rare Beauty and Fenty Beauty, Taylor Swift achieved her billionaire status after her record-breaking Eras Tour and becoming the sole owner of her music catalog.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images for LACMA; Maarten De Boer/Getty Images for AARP
“All of the music I’ve ever made,” the “Lavender Haze” singer wrote on her website in May 2025, “now belongs to me.”
Meanwhile, Oprah Winfrey parlayed her eponymous talk show into a reported net worth of $3.2 billion thanks to her acting credits, the Oprah Winfrey Network and her portfolio of properties around the world.
And though George Clooney is a quintessential movie star, he grew his wealth by creating his Casamigos tequila brand, which he ultimately sold for $1 billion.
“Look, I acted for a long time and, you know, I’m 56. I’m not the guy that gets the girl any more,” he told The Sunday Times in 2017. “Acting used to be how I paid the rent, but I sold a tequila company for a billion f--king dollars. I don’t need money.”
Read on to learn more about celebrities you may not have known are billionaires.
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Kim Kardashian
Yep, Kim Kardashian is keeping up all right. Thanks to her shapewear business SKIMS—valued at $5 billion in the company’s most recent funding round in 2025—the Kardashians star is worth a reported $1.9 billion and doing amazing, sweetie.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
Taylor Swift
Though Taylor Swift's "Wi$h Li$t" may just include having a couple kids with Travis Kelce and getting the whole block lookin' like him, her estimated $2 billion can certainly afford that yacht life under chopper blades.
Fans know all too well that her record-breaking Eras tour made her rich beyond her wildest dreams, but the music catalog she now officially owns adds an additional $900 million.
Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Rare Beauty
Selena Gomez
Who says Selena Gomez isn't worth it? While Forbes says her estimated net worth is close to $700 million, Bloomberg Billionaires Index and others put the price of beauty at $1.3 billion, thanks to her 51 percent stake in her Rare Beauty brand.
"I personally think it's distasteful to talk about money," she told Entertainment Tonight at the New York Film Festival in 2024, "but I really am giving all the credit to the people who buy the products." As she noted, "They're the ones that made this dream of mine come true. So I'm really really honored and just happy."
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Rihanna
No doubt Rihanna has put in the work, work, work, work, work, work. Though fans would argue that she has kinda stopped the music—her last album ANTI was released in 2016—she's fully made over her net worth. Thanks to Fenty Beauty, her cosmetics company with LVMH, she's worth a reported $1 billion.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images for LACMA
Jami Gertz
Though Jami Gertz has amassed a collection of TV and film credits including Square Pegs, Sixteen Candles, Lost Boys and Twister, it's one investment she made with businessman husband Tony Ressler that has truly proved to be a slam dunk: Buying NBA team Atlanta Hawks in 2015.
While she notes, "Everyone thinks I married a rich guy," thanks to Ressler's more than $10 billion net worth, she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, "I made more money—way more money—than Tony when I met him. I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation. I married him because I fell in love with him."
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Oprah Winfrey
What started as an eponymous talk show turned into an impossibly successful media empire for Oprah Winfrey. Pairing the profits from her beloved series' 25-year run with films like The Color Purple, Beloved and Selma, she's amassed a $3.2 billion net worth—enough for an entire portfolio of properties including 2,100 acres of land in Hawaii.
Noam Galai/Getty Images for Netflix
Tyler Perry
Back when Tyler Perry was taking meetings about turning his play Diary of a Mad Black Woman into a film, he recounted to Variety in January 2019, "Hollywood wanted nothing to do with me." Now, though, he fields more than a few calls. And since he owns 100 percent of his content—writing, producing and generally starring in his projects—the Madea franchise creator has built a $1.4 billion empire.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
Safe to say Arnold Schwarzenegger has said "hasta la vista, baby" to his financial advisor a time or two. The former California governor has amassed a $1.2 billion net worth thanks to some $500 million in paychecks and profit-sharing deals from his successful films and a minority stake in billionaire David Booth's Dimensional Fund Advisors, which manages more than $1 trillion in assets.
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Roger Federer
Retired tennis phenom Roger Federer didn't just serve up 20 Grand Slam titles on the court. He also netted a reported $1.1 billion net worth by playing doubles with brands like Uniqlo, Rolex, Mercedes and Swiss athletic apparel company.
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Jerry Seinfeld
Creating a show about nothing netted Jerry Seinfeld a whole lot of something. He and co-creator Larry David reportedly earn 15 percent of his eponymous '90s sitcom's syndication revenue. Add in a five-year $500 million deal with Netflix and yada, yada, he's worth some $1.1 billion.
George Clooney & Rande Gerber
Four years after George Clooney teamed with entrepreneur Rande Gerber to launch Casamigos tequila in 2013, they sold the spirits brand for a goes-down-smooth $1 billion.
Photo Frederick M. Brown/ Getty Images
Magic Johnson
Since his Hall of Fame-worthy NBA career, Magic Johnson started his own investment company, Magic Johnson Enterprises, to add to his basketball fortune. The company holds ownership stakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks, Washington Commanders and several restaurant chains, like T.G.I. Friday's and Burger King, and is valued at between $1 and $1.5 billion.
Alexander Tamargo/WireImage
Michael Jordan
A fixture in basketball's GOAT argument, six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan also holds court on Forbes' 2026 list of celebrity billionaires. He's profited off his historic basketball career to be sure. But the athlete has also gotten an assist from his Air Jordan brand in partnership with Nike and his stake in the Charlotte Hornets, leading to his $4.3 billion net worth.
Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
LeBron James
Due to championship-winning stints with the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James has dunked some $500 million into his bank accounts. But it's his decision to team with the likes of PepsiCo, Nike and Beats by Dre for endorsement deals that have earned him a reported $1.4 billion.
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Ashton Kutcher
Sure, That '70s Show alum Ashton Kutcher did all alright with his acting gigs, but he truly cashed in with his company A-Grade, which invested in tech companies like Spotify, Foursquare, Uber and Airbnb.
Donato Sardella/Getty Images for InStyle
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Full House stars Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen adding to their already impressive empire with a well-respected fashion brand? You've got it dude!
Lines like The Row, Olsenboye and Elizabeth & James helped them build a $1 billion portfolio, a value that was solidified in September 2024 when they sold a minority stake in their high-end label The Row.
Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE via Getty Images
Bono
U2 frontman Bono found what he was looking for when his investment company, Elevation Partners, held a 2.3 percent stake in Facebook. While the singer reached chart-topping success with music, the bulk of his fortune has come from the reportedly $1.9 billion company.
EPA/TANNEN MAURY/LANDOV
Tiger Woods
Prize money only makes up less than 10 percent of the $1.9 billion that golfer Tiger Woods has earned over his legendary career, most of which can be attributed to endorsements, appearance fees and golf course designs.
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Beyoncé & Jay Z
As Jay Z once rapped, "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man." Indeed, worth a reported $2.8 billion, he's nearly tripled his fortune since hitting billionaire status in 2019, toasting to the success of selling half of spirits brand Ace of Spades to luxury goods giant LVMH in 2021 and a majority of his stake in cognac brand D'Usse to Bacardi two years later.
As for wife Beyoncé, she's laying her cards down, down, down, down, adding an additional $1 billion through her decades of minting irreplaceable hits.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Beats by Dre
Dr. Dre
Taking his time to perfect the Beat(s) paid off for Dr. Dre when Apple acquired the former N.W.A. member's Beats Electronics in 2014 for a whopping $3 billion. His reported net worth: A very cool $1 billion.
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