Selena Gomez Hits Billionaire Status—How Did She Achieve This At Such A Young Age?

Selena Gomez has just hit a major milestone, becoming one of the youngest female self-made billionaires in the country—thanks to her wildly successful beauty brand, Rare Beauty.

Launched just five years ago, Rare Beauty has taken the beauty world by storm, capturing the hearts of influencers and teens alike, all thanks to Selena's massive clout. With a jaw-dropping 424 million Instagram followers, it’s no wonder her brand is a hit.

But it’s not just her beauty empire that’s stacking her bank account. Selena Gomez’s also been cashing in on brand deals, her mental health startup Wondermind, and her Emmy-nominated role in “Only Murders In The Building."

At just 32, Selena's net worth is a staggering $1.3 billion, with the bulk of it coming from Rare Beauty. Bloomberg is now recognizing her for the first time on its Billionaires Index.

Only a handful of women are in the self-made billionaire club, and Selena is now in elite company, joining her friend Taylor Swift.

While Taylor reached billionaire status primarily through her music and touring, Selena has amassed her fortune through a diverse range of businesses, her acting and singing, and her massive social media following.

“Selena is not just a pop star,” Stacy Jones, founder and chief executive officer of Hollywood Branded, a Los Angeles-based branding agency, said, per Bloomberg. “She’s a multifaceted businesswoman with diverse income streams contributing to her impressive net worth.”

The majority of Selena Gomez’s fortune is tied to her beauty empire, Rare Beauty Brands Inc., which she launched five years ago and has quickly become a sensation among influencers and makeup-loving teens.

She’s managed to keep Rare Beauty mostly independent, with only a few big names investing in her beauty empire, including Nikki Eslami’s New Theory Ventures and CEO Scott Friedman, who previously led Nyx Cosmetics before selling it to L’Oréal for $500 million in 2014.

Brent Saunders, CEO of Bausch + Lomb and a key investor in Selena's mental health startup, Wondermind, says the secret to Selena’s success is her authenticity. “You’ve got a real role model of how a celebrity can use their influence and expertise to both do good and create good business,” Saunders said. “Selena epitomizes that.”

In 2023, Rare Beauty raised over $7 million, reached more than 1 million people, and made waves across five continents.

“I really tried my hardest to create a product that were beyond just me putting my name on something,” Selena said in a radio interview last year. “I wanted the products to be great, and I also wanted the message to be that makeup is meant to be fun.”

The vision of Rare Beauty is "to create a safe, welcoming space in beauty—and beyond—that supports mental well-being across age, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, cultural background, physical or mental ability, and perspective."

“Being rare is about being comfortable with yourself," Selena admitted. "I've stopped trying to be perfect. I just want to be me.”

Selena Gomez recently landed her first Emmy nomination for her performance in Hulu’s "Only Murders in the Building."

“Acting has, and will always be, my heart,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s so much that I want to do and that I haven’t even scratched the surface of, and it’s exciting to me.”

The first three episodes of Season 4 of the hit show are currently available to stream on Hulu. Ahead of its premiere, Selena teased what fans could expect from her character. "I think this is our most exciting season yet," she told the outlet. "That’s what I would definitely say with confidence, because it was far too fun. How it came together was so magical. Everyone had a blast."

"And people are in for a ride, you know. Taking us to L.A. and then doing all the other stuff is exciting," the actress added. "It’s going to be, to date, probably my favorite season."

Selena recently won the Best Actress award at Cannes for "Emilia Pérez," which is her first time acting in Spanish.

"We were able to build the character, Jessi, around my ability, and I was so grateful for that," she told THR. "It allowed me to not only focus on just making sure I was speaking Spanish — I could be a little bit more free and focus on my performance."

The actress said her recent role in "Emilia Pérez" has "a special place in my heart because it was something I was afraid to do."

"It was something I wanted to challenge myself [with]. I couldn’t be more excited about this project, and I was more than shocked over the reception, because none of us had seen the film until we were at the festival," she added. "Clearly, we were in great hands with Jacques. I never doubted it. I’m blown away at the reception, and rightfully so. The women in this movie are fantastic."