Payday for TikTok's Biggest Stars

They are gearing up to become the future household names of America and they are already cashing in majorly on their social media fame: TikTok’s biggest stars. No one on Forbes’ list of the seven highest-paid creators on the social network currently exceeds the age of 25, yet they already made millions in 2021.

Charli D’Amelio – arguably the most recognizable TikTok star – leads the list with earnings of $17.5 million in the past year. Apart from the usual endorsement deals she made money in 2021 by launching a Hollister clothing line as well as Hulu and Snap Original shows, all in collaboration with her sister, Dixie.

Dixie D’Amelio rode her sister’s wave of TikTok fame since her younger sibling first started out on the network in 2019 by capitalizing on the app’s penchant for dance routines. Dixie meanwhile focused on a singing career, releasing two singles in 2021, which together with her collaborations and her YouTube talkshow earned her $10 million in the past year.

Addison Rae, another dancer/singer on the platform, rounds off the top 3 of TikTok’s highest earners in 2021 at $8.5 million. Among the seven TikTok high rollers named by Forbes is only one male, Josh Richards, who posts dance routines and skits. Forbes published the list once before in 2020 and estimates that in the course of one year, the combined annual earnings of the highest-paid TikTokers tripled.