Influencer Industry Value Hits $250 Billion, to Hit $500 billion by 2027

Bukola Olanrewaju October 28, 2024 BUSINESS, Brand, BRAND, Brand Leave a comment

The influencer industry is estimated to be worth $250 billion today, and Goldman Sachs predicts the number will swell to nearly $500 billion by 2027.

The 50 honorees of the 2024 Forbes Top Creator list are riding the growth of the creator ecosystem (now estimated to be nearly 50 million people strong). This year’s listers earned almost $720 million over the last 12 months—a jump of $20 million from 2023. Since last year, Forbes Top Creators have added more than 100 million followers to their collective total—now boasting more than 2.7 billion followers across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

Creators are now harnessing their social influence to evolve from entertainers to entrepreneurs. MrBeast, Khaby Lame, the D’Amelio sisters, the Paul brothers, and Emma Chamberlain run their own brands, hawking hamburgers, cooking tools, shoes, energy drinks, and coffee nationwide.

Others, including Addison Rae Easterling, Matt Rife, and Amelie Zilber, have jumped from phone screens to mainstream media. And in an industry once built on selfies, some are building streaming studios. Dhar Mann and Rhett & Link lead production companies employing over 100 folks to deliver slick, high-quality content. Tech guru Marquess Brownlee runs his YouTube channel out of a New Jersey warehouse.

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To rank the world’s Top Creators, Forbes crunched data on the estimated gross earnings, follower counts, engagement rates, and entrepreneurial activities of thousands of internet personalities with the help of the creator marketing firm Influential.

The result: The 50 social media stars using their massive reach and loyal fans to turn social media buzz into billions of dollars.”