In 2023, the collective net worth of the top 10 richest U.S. musicians totaled over $11 billion, with names like Compton rapper Dr. Dre, Canadian crooner Celine Dion and pop superstar Rihanna among them. Like many other figures across sports and entertainment, the world’s richest musicians are amassing mega fortunes these days, powered not just by their music, but also by their enormous platforms and an array of sponsorship deals. Many musicians wear multiple hats as owners of fashion brands, actors and producers of film and television, and a range of other endeavors in entertainment and beyond.
Along with these personal fortunes comes the chance to develop major philanthropic profiles. For example, Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation, which focuses on climate resilience and disaster relief, started all the way back in 2012 when the star was only in her mid-20s. “Obviously, she builds empires in business and music, and she wanted philanthropy to be as big and as resounding a success as all of those other things,” former Clara Lionel Foundation Executive Director Justine Lucas told me when I connected with her in 2020.
We’ve compiled lists of top athlete givers, bestselling authors and top Hollywood producers who give – figures who are making their mark on the philanthropic sphere through established foundations and using their platforms to advance causes important to them. Some of them got started early during their careers, while others only really got the ball rolling on philanthropy once they’d retired.
But what about top musicians who give? While they’re not in any particular order or ranking — it can be difficult to tell how much these stars are donating out of their own pockets — the figures on this list made it because they found financial success, have track records of philanthropic activity, and have the potential for even greater giving down the line.
Bruce Springsteen
Next month marks 49 years since the 1975 official release of “Born to Run,” “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen’s breakthrough album, which catapulted him to rock-and-roll royalty. The New Jersey native is worth some $650 million by some estimates. Back in 1987, he launched Thrill Hill Foundation, which steadily supports human services organizations like Citymeals on Wheels, as well as health, with a particular eye toward cancer (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Breast Cancer Research Foundation). A component of Springsteen’s philanthropy also involves supporting veterans. He has worked with Stand Up for Heroes and performed at their annual event.
Beyonce
Having dominated the R&B world, the former Destiny’s Child member turned unstoppable solo phenomenon has more recently taken her talents to house music, and, earlier this year, released “Cowboy Carter,” a full-fledged country record. In the giving arena, Beyonce launched BeyGOOD, which focuses on leveling the economic playing field by supporting marginalized and under-resourced communities, providing educational scholarships and internships, and supporting small businesses. In April, the public charity announced the first round of recipients of its $500,000 Cécred X BeyGood fund, which included scholarships to more than two dozen students across five cosmetology schools and 25 qualifying salon business owners demonstrating financial need.
Gloria Estefan
Cuban-born Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio Estefan move their philanthropy through the Gloria Estefan Foundation, which was founded in 1997 and promotes education, health and cultural development. The foundation is funded from the proceeds of several Estefan songs. The singer has been a strong backer of spinal cord research through the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Estefan has also given to Hispanic organizations and has strongly supported her alma mater, the University of Miami.
Nicki Minaj
Fiery rapper Nicki Minaj has made education and youth a key part of her early philanthropy. Through her Student of the Game scholarship program, she helps pay off students’ college tuition or student loans. She has also provided support for St. Jude’s Home for Girls in her native Trinidad. A few years ago, Minaj became the first female rapper to have a net worth of over $100 million. The 41-year-old seems likely to increase giving down the line.
Herb Alpert
Legendary trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert runs the Herb Alpert Foundation, which has supported some 100 organizations through the years. He has two schools of music named after him — UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts — and a high-profile arts prize that bears his name, the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts. As for what motivated his arts-focused philanthropy, in 2022, he told my colleague Mike Scutari, “We need art more than ever now. It’s one of those times when art really speaks to us, whether it’s painting, sculpting, acting or poetry. I’ve said it before, but I really believe it — creativity is as important as literacy. So we need to look to the artists. They’re the truth seekers, and we need more truth seekers in this world.”
Chance the Rapper
Conscious Chicago hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper started SocialWorks, which aims to empower youth through the arts, education and civic engagement. The nonprofit also focuses on mental health and homelessness. It runs several initiatives, including OpenMike, which partners with the Chicago Public Library to provide a space for high school students to share, express and network.
Garth Brooks
Country crooner Garth Brooks started the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation back in 1999. Teammates helps youth in the areas of health and education, and by providing inner-city services. The organization has passed the $100 million mark, distributing over $80 million in cash, in-kind gifts and scholarships, and building a $25 million endowment for the future. The foundation also creates “Child Life Zones” in hospitals so that pediatric patients and their family can engage in therapeutic play.
Jon Bon Jovi
The “Livin’ on a Prayer” superstar works in housing and poverty through his JBJ Soul Foundation, which has helped provide support for almost 1,000 units of affordable and supportive housing across 12 states for thousands of people, including youth and veterans. The foundation also runs three JBJ Soul Kitchens in Bon Jovi’s native Garden State.
Rihanna
Megastar Rihanna, 36, hit the Forbes billionaire list in 2021 and boasts a current net worth of $1.4 billion, powered by the enormous success of her cosmetics line Fenty Beauty. Her Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) backs climate justice initiatives in the Caribbean and United States and helps communities bolster their climate resilience. With a sizable board that includes experts like Jessie Schutt-Aine, who heads equity, gender and cultural diversity work at the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Americas, CLF has given more than $100 million since its 2012 inception.
Elton John
Much of the great Elton John’s charitable giving supports the Elton John AIDS Foundation, launched stateside in 1992 and in the United Kingdom in 1993. It has the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Since its founding, the foundation has raised over $565 million to support HIV/AIDS programs globally. “If we can find the love as a global community to agree that every life has equal value, if we can summon the compassion to provide treatment and prevention for everyone living with HIV — and I mean everyone, no matter who they are, where they live or how rich or poor they may be — we can end AIDS forever,” Elton John wrote.
Pharrell Williams
The ageless Pharrell Williams is behind some of the biggest hip-hop tracks ever, including Snoop’s “Beautiful” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” as well as “Grindin’” by Clipse. On the philanthropic front, in 2020, the 51-year-old songwriter-singer-producer started the nonprofit Team Yellow, which aims to empower youth by revolutionizing teaching, inspiring entrepreneurship and providing healthy food. Pharrell also started the Black Ambition Prize, which aims to fund bold ideas while increasing access to capital among Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs, who are eligible to receive mentorship and win up to $1 million in funding.
Dolly Parton
Parton made waves during the pandemic for a $1 million donation to coronavirus vaccine research, and supported the development of the Moderna vaccine. The “Jolene” country legend, who opened her Dollywood theme park in the 1980s, also launched Dollywood Foundation, which initially focused on decreasing the drop-out rate in a local Tennessee county. Signature program Imagination Library, meanwhile, has distributed some 150 million books in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Parton has also engaged in disaster relief efforts.
Alicia Keys
Keys’ seminal “The Diary of Alicia Keys” raked in three Grammys back in the mid-aughts. In 2003, the same year that the album released, the songstress also cofounded Keep a Child Alive, which soon expanded its work to South Africa and then Asia, working in areas like climate, digital inclusion and sexual abuse prevention. Keys has also worked with Greater Than AIDS to launch EMPOWERED, a campaign to inform women in the U.S. about HIV and AIDS. “When I became aware that women accounted for 1 in 5 new HIV infections occurring in the U.S. each year, it shook me to the core and I realized this is an issue we all need to pay attention to,” Keys said at the time.
John Legend
The multi-time Grammy-Award-winning singer has long been an advocate for education and criminal justice reform. Greg Propper, head of social impact firm Propper Daley, has advised Legend on his philanthropy. He told me that Legend was inspired to act after reading Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow.” On the heels of this, Legend founded the Show Me Campaign, which seeks to give every child access to education, and #FREEAMERICA, a program which aims to change national conversations and policies around the criminal justice system.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is now a billionaire, according to Forbes earlier this year. Her giving is yet another reason Swifties have to cheer for their superstar. Taylor Swift started the Taylor Swift Charitable Fund as a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee after the 2010 Tennessee Floods, which caused over $2 billion in damage. Information about the fund is scant, but Swift’s recent multicity Eras Tour included donations to local food banks in cities like Atlanta, Glendale, Las Vegas and Tampa, and bonuses for her crew. She has also been a longtime supporter of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and a supporter of GLAAD.
will.i.am
Wearing another hat, the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am is also an ardent futurist, and he’s launched his own tech-based companies including i.am+. Venture capitalist Ron Conway once told me he helped introduce will.i.am to Laurene Powell Jobs, who, among her many philanthropic pursuits, is the founder of College Track. Unsurprisingly, will.i.am’s i.am/Angel Foundation is tech-focused, supporting in-class and after-school STEAM education programs for over 12,000 Southern California-area disadvantaged youth in grades K–12. The foundation backs initiatives including the i.am College Track after-school tutoring center and college scholarship aid program, and the Boyle Heights STEM Magnet High School, a public high school in East Los Angeles focusing on STEM education and work readiness.
Usher
Usher Raymond seems like he’s been singing, dancing and acting in our lives forever. The star started the youth-focused Usher’s New Look, aimed at empowering underprivileged youth through a unique leadership program that runs from the eighth grade through college — ultimately awarding them with a leadership certification backed by Emory University.
Lady Gaga
Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, Lady Gaga grew up in an Italian-American family in New York City. In 2012, Lady Gaga founded the Born This Way Foundation, with a focus on empowering youth, improving mental health and preventing bullying. She cofounded the organization with her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, who serves as president of the foundation alongside a small staff. As Executive Director Maya Enista Smith told me, “Our hope is that when the light gets shined on Lady Gaga and Born This Way Foundation, we’re able to turn it and say, ‘Look at these community organizations that exist every day, doing this important work.’”
