Cristiano Ronaldo has yet again left the competition behind as the five-time Ballon D'Or winner was named Instagram top earner for the third year in a row. He beat out some of the world's most famous celebrities, influencers, and athletes to earn his crown as the top paid person on Instagram in 2023.
Ronaldo, who in July was ranked as the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes for the first time since 2017 following his move to Saudi Arabia, has now topped the 2023 Instagram Rich List, a global marker of online influence.
The list, compiled by Instagram scheduling tool Hopper HQ, is based on internal and publicly available data on how much each user can charge for a post on Instagram and YouTube.
The Portugal forward brings in a massive $3.23 million per Instagram post, according to Hopper HQ, as he nears 600 million followers on the social media platform.
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To little surprise, Ronaldo's closest rival on the list is Lionel Messi, with the Argentina World Cup winner attracting almost $2.6 million for each post.
This puts the two football giants ahead of not only every other sports star but also celebrities such as singer and actress Selena Gomez, reality star and make-up mogul Kylie Jenner and actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
Only two other athletes - Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and Brazilian footballer Neymar - made it to the Top 20.
Neymar brings in almost double the amount that his Paris St Germain team mate Kylian Mbappe does per post.
"It's still shocking to me that the annual money made on the platform increases every year," Mike Bandar, co-founder of Hopper HQ, said.
"Yet, what fascinates me more is the consistent players at the top. It's apparent that the glitz and glamour of traditional celebrities still holds power over the new 'influencer' status.
"Ronaldo and Messi not only dominate the pitch, but also the digital sphere as it's clear they personify the power of personal branding and the influence it holds over us 'ordinary' people."
The highest earning influencer on Instagram, TikTok star Khaby Lame, is number 40 on the list. Ronaldo earns almost 10 times the amount Lame brings in for his Instagram posts.
Instagram Top Earners In 2023:
- Cristiano Ronaldo, @cristiano, 596M followers, $3.23M/post
- Lionel Messi, @leomessi, 479M followers, $2.60M/post
- Selena Gomez, @selenagomez, 426M followers, $2.56M/post
- Kylie Jenner, @kyliejenner, 397M followers, $2.39M/post
- Dwayne Johnson, @therock, 388M followers, $2.33M/post
- Ariana Grande, @arianagrande, 377M followers, $2.26M/post
- Kim Kardashian, @kimkardashian, 363M followers, $2.18M/post
- Beyonce Knowles, @beyonce, 315M followers, $1.89M/post
- Khloe Kardashian, @khloekardashian, 311M followers, $1.87M/post
- Justin Bieber, @justinbieber, 294M followers, $1.76M/post
- Kendall Jenner, @kendalljenner, 293M followers, $1.76M/post
- Taylor Swift, @taylorswift, 268M followers, $1.61M/post
- Jennifer Lopez, @jlo, 249M followers, $1.50M/post
- Virat Kohli, @virat.kohli, 255M followers, $1.38M/post
- Nicki Minaj, @nickiminaj, 224M followers, $1.34M/post
- Kourtney Kardashian, @kourtneykardash, 224M followers, $1.34M/post
- Miley Cyrus, @mileycyrus, 213M followers, $1.28M/post
- Katy Perry, @katyperry, 203M followers, $1.22M/post
- Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, @neymarjr, 211M followers, $1.14M/post
- Kevin Hart, @kevinhart4real, 178M followers, $1.07M/post
- Cardi B, @iamcardib, 169M followers, $1.01M/post
- Demi Lovato, @ddlovato, 157M followers, $942K/post
- Rihanna, @badgalriri, 152M followers, $914K/post
- LeBron James, @kingjames, 157M followers, $851K/post
- Billie Eilish, @billieeilish, 110M followers, $658K/post
- Lisa Manobal, @lalalalisa_m, 96.8M followers, $575K/post
- Kylian Mbappé, @k.mbappe, 106M followers, $575K/post
- Dua Lipa, @dualipa, 88.6M followers, $532K/post
- Priyanka Chopra, @priyankachopra, 88.5M followers, $532K/post
- Shakira Ripoll, @shakira, 87.9M followers, $528K/post
- David Beckham, @davidbeckham, 80.7M followers, $438K/post
- Emma Watson, @emmawatson, 72.7M followers, $437K/post
- Ronaldinho, @ronaldinho, 73.9M followers, $401K/post
- Tom Holland, @tomholland2013, 66.7M followers, $401K/post
- Karol G, @karolg, 64.5M followers, $388K/post
- Millie Bobby Brown, @milliebobbybrown, 63.5M followers, $382K/post
- Will Smith, @willsmith, 63.3M followers, $380K/post
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic, @iamzlatanibrahimovic, 61.5M followers, $334K/post
- Mohamed Salah, @mosalah, 61.2M followers, $332K/post
- Khaby Lame, @khaby00, 79.7M followers, $325K/post
- Paul Pogba, @paulpogba, 59.5M followers, $323K/post
- Dove Cameron, @dovecameron, 48.4M followers, $291K/post
- Stephen Curry, @stephencurry30, 53.1M followers, $288K/post
- Gareth Bale, @garethbale11, 52.2M followers, $283K/post
- Gigi Hadid, @gigihadid, 78.8M followers, $273K/post
- Luis Suarez, @luissuarez9, 47.5M followers, $258K/post
- Chrissy Teigen, @chrissyteigen, 42.3M followers, $254K/post
- Conor McGregor, @thenotoriousmma, 46.5M followers, $252K/post
- Toni Kroos, @toni.kr8s, 40.8M followers, $221K/post
- Shay Mitchell, @shaymitchell, 36.6M followers, $220K/post
- Eleonora Pons, @lelepons, 53.4M followers, $218K/post
- Huda Kattan, @hudabeauty, 53.2M followers, $217K/post
- Bella Hadid, @bellahadid, 59.2M followers, $205K/post
- Cole Sprouse, @colesprouse, 33.6M followers, $202K/post
- Lee Min-ho, @actorleeminho, 33.3M followers, $200K/post
- Olivia Rodrigo, @oliviarodrigo, 32.6M followers, $196K/post
- Charli D'Amelio, @charlidamelio, 47.0M followers, $192K/post
- Sofia Vergara, @sofiavergara, 30.4M followers, $183K/post
- Sabrina Carpenter, @sabrinacarpenter, 29.8M followers, $179K/post
- Hailey Bieber, @haileybieber, 49.9M followers, $173K/post
- Johnny Depp, @johnnydepp, 28.3M followers, $171K/post
- Jason Derulo, @jasonderulo, 28.1M followers, $169K/post
- Sergio Aguero, @kunaguero, 30.7M followers, $167K/post
- Davido Adeleke, @davido, 27.5M followers, $165K/post
- Lili Reinhart, @lilireinhart, 27.2M followers, $164K/post
- Caio Castro, @caiocastro, 20.6M followers, $163K/post
- Floyd Mayweather, @floydmayweather, 29.5M followers, $160K/post
- Camila Mendes, @camimendes, 26.2M followers, $158K/post
- Addison Rae, @addisonraee, 37.7M followers, $154K/post
- Madelaine Petsch, @madelame, 25.4M followers, $153K/post
- Eden Hazard, @hazardeden_10, 27.3M followers, $148K/post
- Paris Hilton, @parishilton, 24.2M followers, $146K/post
- Raditya Dika, @raditya_dika, 21.9M followers, $132K/post
- Kevin De Bruyne, @kevindebruyne, 23.6M followers, $128K/post
- Gerard Pique, @3gerardpique, 22.8M followers, $124K/post
- AB de Villiers, @abdevilliers17, 22.3M followers, $121K/post
- Riyaz Aly, @riyaz.14, 28.0M followers, $114K/post
- Cameron Dallas, @camerondallas, 26.4M followers, $108K/post
- Zach King, @zachking, 26.3M followers, $107K/post
- Davika Hoorne, @davikah, 17.8M followers, $107K/post
- Logan Paul, @loganpaul, 26.1M followers, $107K/post
- KJ Apa, @kjapa, 17.7M followers, $106K/post
- Iggy Azalea, @thenewclassic, 17.6M followers, $106K/post
- Yemi Alade, @yemialade, 17.5M followers, $106K/post
- Emily Ratajkowski, @emrata, 30.2M followers, $105K/post
- Rafael Nadal, @rafaelnadal, 19.2M followers, $105K/post
- Sommer Ray, @sommerray, 25.6M followers, $105K/post
- Tiwa Savage, @tiwasavage, 17.2M followers, $104K/post
- Ayodeji Balogun, @wizkidayo, 17.2M followers, $104K/post
- Hannah Stocking, @hannahstocking, 25.3M followers, $104K/post
- Tammy Hembrow, @tammyhembrow, 17.0M followers, $103K/post
- Chiara Ferragni, @chiaraferragni, 29.5M followers, $102K/post
- Song Hyeko, @kyo1122, 16.7M followers, $100K/post
- Loren Gray, @loren, 24.2M followers, $99K/post
- Jake Paul, @jakepaul, 23.6M followers, $97K/post
- Noah Centineo, @ncentineo, 15.9M followers, $96K/post
- Funke Akindele Bello, @funkejenifaakindele, 15.9M followers, $96K/post
- Ronda Rousey, @rondarousey, 17.3M followers, $94K/post
- Dixie D'Amelio, @dixiedamelio, 22.6M followers, $93K/post
- Brent Rivera, @brentrivera, 22.5M followers, $92K/post
Follower counts accurate at the time of publishing, earnings data per post from Hopper HQ.
