Twitter can take a toll on your sanity—but for some people, it pays.
Celebrities can and do make fortunes from Twitter ads. But someone who’s skilled in social media could easily hide that they were getting paid for an endorsement, so the FTC stepped in and required that any tweets that are ads be labeled as such, with #ad.
So if you believed that Steve Harvey just wanted to let you know about a vegan and cruelty-free brand of nail polish because he loves using it while a pumpkin spice reed diffuser fills the air with fall scent, sorry to burst your bubble. On Twitter, no one is working harder than Steve Harvey, who has penned 171 ad tweets to earn about the same amount that Lady Gaga has from five: Harvey has earned about $5 million from such tweets, according to Accredited Debt Relief which put together the Twitter Rich List, a guide to which music, entertainment, sports, gaming, and influencer celebs are getting the most cash for throwing a few favorable words a brand’s way.
But comedian Kevin Hart has made almost $14 million since he started tweeting—he tops the Twitter Rich List, where lately he’s been vying to be #AlexasNewBody and baiting Usain Bolt in ads for PokerStars. He’s mistagged the Bruush toothbrush he’s promoted in several ads; but with so many paid partnerships, it’s hard to keep track.
The entire enterprising Kardashian/Jenner clan altogether has earned only $5 million more than Hart. Though Kim shed her image of of as a mere Instagram influencer long ago, tweets for Sugar Bear Hair and FitTea are not so far in her past. Her latest promoted tweet is from last year, when she was promoting the vaguely phrenological Gradient app, which guesses your ancestry from a photo. Kim has made all her Twitter money from just 22 tweets, and for that, she’s the number-three Twitter earner.
With one more tweet and earning over $3 million more, though, Demi Lovato edged Kim out to take their place at number two on the list. They have managed to make their tweets work extra hard, with self-promotion for things like their own Fabletics line and their own music.
The Twitter Rich List leaves plenty for all of us to ponder about the nature of both celebrity and social media. Or it’s just fun to scroll through.
Celebs are also broken out into the top earners in their respective categories, for more scrolling enjoyment. For gaming, the top three earners are Pokimane, Ninja, and Dr. Lupo (bet you could have guessed the category from the handles). Brazilian soccer star Kaká leads in sports, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo. As for beauty stars, Lauren Conrad stands alone at the top for the most lucrative tweets. Finally, Demi Lovato tops the music-star list, with Liam Payne and Lady Gaga following in second and third place.
