The Richest TikTokers in 2021

Zach King (@zachking) started creating and editing videos when he was 14. When he couldn’t find instructions for the editing software he was using, he started offering training and tips on his website and YouTube. This led to selling training seminars, which turned out to be an excellent way of paying off student loans fast. His "Jedi Kittens" videos went viral on YouTube in 2011. In 2013, he started posting on Vine and, in 2016, he joined the TikTok predecessor musical.ly. His mind-blowing illusions have become some of the most-watched videos on TikTok, with one he uploaded in 2019 – of him appearing to fly on a broomstick – still holding the record with a whopping 2.1 billion views. He has around 58.3 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $3 million.

Brent Rivera (@brentrivera) started his career as a child actor, appearing in commercials when he was 11. In 2013, when he was in high school, he joined Vine and, by the time the platform shut down, he was one of its most popular stars. He then focused on his YouTube channel and has built up his acting career with appearances in, among others, Alexander IRL, Brobot and Light as a Feather. He also appeared as himself in Brent Rivera’s Dream Vacation and Group Chat. He is a co-founder of AMP Studios, which provides services such as influencer marketing. At the moment he has around 37.3 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $4 million.

Loren Gray (@lorengray) joined the TikTok predecessor musical.ly in 2015, when she was only 13. She soon moved to Los Angeles and started growing her presence on other social media platforms. In 2018, she released her debut single, “My Story”, about someone who is suffering from toxic relationship addiction. This led to several more singles, making her one of TikTok’s top music influencers. Last year, she added her jewelry brand to her portfolio and continues to make a good income through sponsorships and merch. For a period of time, she was even the most followed TikToker. She currently has around 51.8 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $5 million.

Addison Rae (@addisonre) is currently the second most popular TikToker. She started uploading dance videos in 2019. When she hit more than a million followers in only a few months, she decided to drop out of university and join the TikTok collaborative group The Hype House. From there, she became more active on YouTube and Instagram too, and signed up with a big-name Hollywood talent agency. This brought in endorsement deals, her own cosmetics line and a starring role in the She’s All That remake currently in production. Addison has around 79.1 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $5 million.

Liza Koshy (@lizzza) started posting comedy videos on Vine in 2013 and, by 2016, she also had a significant following on YouTube, where people loved the way she could make serious issues – like the pressure to fit in – more accessible. She's since landed acting roles such as Violet in Freakish and the lead in Liza on Demand, which made its YouTube debut in 2018. The star has around 26.7 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth $6 million.

Baby Ariel (@babyariel) – real name Ariel Rebecca Martin – started her career in 2015 on TikTok’s predecessor musical.ly. That same year she launched an anti-bullying campaign to help combat online harassment. The next year she signed with a big-name Hollywood talent agency and in 2017 she launched her debut single. She’s since branched out into acting. Baby Ariel has around 35.3 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $6 million.

Charli D’Amelio (@charlidamelio) is the richest of the TikTok stars who hadn’t already made a name for themselves elsewhere before joining the platform. She made her TikTok debut in 2019 with a video in which she and a friend lip synched. As her dance videos began gaining popularity, she started a channel on YouTube as well. Within months she was appearing in commercials – sometimes alongside her elder sister Dixie, also a TikTok megastar – and campaigns. While she has more followers than any other TikToker – a whopping 111.9 million (and counting!) – she still has plenty of time to grow her fortune of an estimated $8 million.

Kimberly Loaiza (@kimberly.loaiza) has shown that influencer can be one of the highest-paying jobs for Generation Z, even if you’re not focusing on a single theme. Her content consists of a mishmash of vlogs, music videos and videos from her personal life. Within a week of starting her YouTube channel at the end of 2016, the Mexican influencer had hit 100,000 subscribers. She launched a music career in 2019 and is especially popular in Spanish-speaking countries. She has around 39.5 million followers on Tiktok and an estimated net worth of $10.75 million.

Chefs have one of those jobs that pay shockingly less than you think but if they do it right, they can also earn really big. CZNBurak (@cznburak) – real name Burak Özdemir – is one of the latter. He’s a Turkish chef who owns a chain of restaurants in his home country and in Dubai and posts YouTube videos and TikToks of him cooking larger-than-life dishes: like the time he prepared an entire ostrich. He has around 36.6 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $11 million.

Alex and Alan Stokes, the Stokes Twins (@stokestwins), post popular prank videos on YouTube and TikTok. They’re also part of the YouTube group Sunset Park and have appeared in series such as Brobot and Light as a Feather. However, the brothers’ pranks have landed them in hot water recently: this year they pleaded guilty to charges stemming from staging fake bank robberies for a YouTube video and were sentenced to community service and one year probation. They have around 29.9 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $13.7 million.

JoJo Siwa (@itsjojosiwa) started her career as a contestant on TV dance competitions. The 2016 release of her single “Boomerang” kicked off her singing career and she’s also ventured into acting and her own fashion accessories line. But it’s YouTube that’s been bringing in the big bucks, with her dance videos averaging as many as 400,000 views per day. Still, she chose TikTok – where she has 33.3 million followers – for her big coming out, lip-synching to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” The star has an estimated net worth of $14 million.

Originally from Slovakia, David Dobrik (@daviddobrik) grew up in the United States. He started his career on Vine, but it was YouTube and The Vlog Squad that brought him fame, money and accolades. In fact, he is now one of the richest YouTubers. Dobrik is also co-founder of the app Dispo. He has about 26 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $15 million.

Jason Derulo (@jasonderulo) started out as a songwriter, penning lyrics for the likes of Sean Kingston, Diddy, Danity Kane and Lil Wayne. He won the season finale of Showtime at the Apollo in 2006, which led to a record deal and his first hit single in 2009. Alongside his career as a singer, he’s also appeared in reality TV shows, committed some serious fashion fails and has ventured into acting, including the much-maligned Cats adaptation. In 2020, his song “Savage Love” went viral on Tiktok, where he has around 44.4 million followers. His net worth is an estimated $16 million.

Also known as the Dobre Twins (@dobretwins), Lucas and Marcus first hit it big on Vine, where they gained more than 1.8 million followers with their dance videos, which included some gravity-defying moves. Of course their agility is no surprise: their mom is former Romanian Olympic gymnast and world champion Aurelia Dobre. After Vine’s demise, the twins became popular on YouTube: including their videos featuring pranks and food challenges. On another channel, they perform with their two older brothers as the Dobre Brothers, which landed the group a record deal in 2018. Lucas and Marcus have 28.3 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $22 million.

Makeup artist James Charles (@jamescharles) started posting makeup tutorials on YouTube in 2015. A year later, one of his tweets went viral and, within a month, at 17 years old, he became the first male brand ambassador for CoverGirl. YouTube and Instagram brought him fame, big money and the chance to work with famous stars, in spite of several controversies. He now has a TikTok channel too, with around 36 million followers. His net worth is estimated at $22 million.

Named after Tejano music superstar Selena Quintanilla, Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) was destined to become famous one day. The road to fame started early on: she was 10 when she landed a role on Barney & Friends. She was soon a familiar face on Disney Channel series such as Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place, and started her own production company when she was 16. Around the same time she also signed a record deal and launched a successful music career. Despite her mental and physical health struggles over the years – including a kidney transplant – Gomez has branched out into other ventures, such as her own fashion line. She's also undergone quite the style evolution. She has about 27.4 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $75 million.

TikTok has been especially popular with K-Pop fans, so it’s no wonder that the platform has been great for BTS (@bts_official_bighit). The boy band has been around since 2013, but only really made it big internationally in 2017, with a meteoric rise of the kind last seen with The Beatles. The septet has been leading the Korean Wave, and increased the popularity of all things Korean. Together, they have around 31.1 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $100 million.

Think of celebrities who mastered the pivot and you would have to include Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (@therock). Once a professional football player – he even briefly signed with the Calgary Stampeders – he ultimately decided to follow in his Canadian-born father’s footsteps and become a professional wrestler. Known as The Rock, he quickly became one of the WWE's superstars. This landed him guest roles on TV – one of his first performances was playing his own dad, Rocky Johnson, on That ‘70s Show – and another pivot: he’s now one of the world’s highest-paid actors. He has 35.4 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $320 million.

Will Smith (@willsmith) has been entertaining us since the 80s, when he was one half of the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. He then became a sitcom star before taking his talents to the big screen with movies like Men in Black. He’s been nominated for two Oscars and five Golden Globes and has taken home four Grammys. The star has about 50.1 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $350 million.

Kylie Jenner (@kyliejenner) first made it onto our radars as a reality TV star. For a brief while, she was also touted as the youngest self-made billionaire, thanks to her cosmetics brand. The richest member of the Kardashian–Jenner clan has around 28.1 million followers on TikTok and an estimated net worth of $700 million.