Who Made The Most From Sponsored Instagram Posts in 2019?
Instagram continues to grow its user base, and as it does, businesses are throwing more money at influencers for sponsored Instagram posts.
Brands realize that if they put the right budget behind the right names and get their products and services in front of the right horde of followers, chances are they’ll have the golden ticket.
And if a company’s target demographic is under 35, Instagram is a gold mine since 63% of users are between the ages of 18 to 34, with a near even split between males and females, said Search Engine Journal.
In the end, it’s a can be a major win-win. Both the influencers and the businesses paying for the sponsored Instagram posts can thrive.
But who’s making the most and how much do they make?
Here’s a list of the top five Instagram influencers for 2019 in eight different categories.
Celebrity
#1 Kylie Jenner: $1.2 million/post
@kyliejenner: 139.2 million followers
Kylie Jenner topped the charts again in 2019, which is also the year she was named the youngest self-made billionaire of all time by Forbes.
She has promoted brands, such as Calvin Klein the and skincare Proactive, earning her millions just from paid Instagram posts.
In addition to banking cash from other brands, Jenner is eating quite well off of Kylie Cosmetics, a company that she founded.
By many accounts, she has become one of the most influential people in the beauty industry as her namesake company reportedly racked up over $630 million in sales.
#2. Ariana Grande: $996,000 million/post
@arianagrande: 158.4 million followers
#3.Christiano Ronaldo: $975,000/post
@christiano: 172.8 million followers
#4. Kim Kardashian: 910,000/post
@kimkardashian: 142.6 million followers
#5. Selena Gomez: 886,000/post
@selenagomez: 152.7 million followers
Beauty
#1 Huda Kattan: $91,300/post
@hudabeauty: 37.8 million followers
In addition to earning the most for sponsored Instagram posts in the beauty category, again, Huda Kattan claimed her place on Forbes‘ list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women again in 2019.
She was reportedly worth $610 million in 2019, up from $550,000 million the year before, and the source of her growing wealth is cosmetics, Forbes reported.
As the saying goes, great companies are built from solving problems, and when Kattan was a makeup artist, her problem was being dissatisfied with the quality of fake lashes.
One of her sisters encouraged her to start her own product line, another sister invested in the idea, and the rest is history.
Today, Kattan is the face of Huda Beauty, a company whose products include foundations, concealers, lipsticks, eye shadows and brushes.
#2. James Charles: $37,400/post
@jamescharles: 15.5 million followers
#3. Jeffree Starr: $31,900/post
@jeffreestar: 13.2 million followers
#4. Nikkie De Jager: $29,600/post
@nikkietutorials: 12.2 million followers
#5. Zoe Sugg: $18,800/post
@zoesugg: 9.7 million followers
Fashion
#1 Bella Hadid: $86,300/post
@bellahadid: 24.9 million followers
Another anchor in her category, Bella Hadid reigns the hustle of sponsored Instagram posts for fashion again in 2019.
Hadid is one of the highest-paid fashion models in the world. In 2016, she made $11,000 an hour to walk for Australian Fashion Week, bagging almost $300,000 for that event, according to Glamour.
Impressive for a teenager.
In 2017, Hadid posed for over a dozen brands and earned $6 million. And by 2019, at age 22, she had worked on campaigns for brands, including Versace and Dior, and collected chips for sponsored Instagram posts for fashion titans, including Bvlgari and Michael Kors.
#2. Emily Ratajkowski: $80,700/post
@emrata: 23.3 million followers
#3. Chiara Ferragni: $58,300/post
@chiaraferragni: 16.8 million followers
#4. Candice Swaenpool: $46,700/post
@angelcandices: 13.5 million followers
#5. Gianluca Vacchi: $44,600/post
@gianlucavacchi: 12.8 million followers
Fitness
#1 Michelle Lewin: $33,900/post
@michelle_lewin: 13.4 million followers
Michelle Lewin has gone from being the girl next door working in a local clinic in Venezuela, to the being claiming the title Latin queen of fitness.
She immigrated to the U.S. in 2012, and has since graced the covers of magazines, including Sports & Fitness, Her Muscle & Fitness, and Iron Man.
The power of social media has allowed her to reach fans all over the world and helped to add bulk to her bag. According to her bio, whether walking the streets of Miami, Caracas, Cairo, Canberra or Moscow, she is recognized, which may explain why she embraces the name Miss Worldwide.
Lewin reportedly has a net worth of $4 million.
#2. Jen Selter: $32,400/post
@jenselter: 12.8 million followers
#3. Ana Cheri: $31,200/post
@anacheri: 12.3 million followers
#4. Kayla Itsines: $29,300/post
@kayla_itsines: 11.6 million followers
#5. Anllela Sagra: $28,500/post
@anllela_sagra: 11.3 million followers
Food
#1 Jamie Oliver, Chef and Restaurateur: $20,200/post
@jamieoliver: 7.3 million followers
In 2019, Jamie Oliver made another appearance as the top earner for sponsored Instagram posts in the food category.
The renowned food superstar went from working as a junior chef in London to having a resume that includes TV shows, books, a self-titled magazine and an Italian restaurant chain.
According to Statista, Oliver is the second most followed food influencer on Instagram, but apparently he’s king when it comes to wringing cash out of sponsors on Instagram.
#2. Gordon Ramsey, Chef: $18,500/post
@gordongram: 6.6 million followers
#3. Rosanna Pansino, Chef: $12,000/post
@rosannapansino: 4.3 million followers
#4. Yolanda Gampp, Chef: $7,900/post
@yolanda_gampp: 2.8 million followers
#5. Joe Wicks, Chef/Personal Trainer: $7,500/post
@thebodycoach: 2.7 million followers
Lifestyle
#1 Eleonara Pons, YouTuber, Actress, Singer: $144,000/post
@lelepons: 35.3 million followers
Eleonora “Lele” Pons is the definition of an internet sensation.
She started making a name for herself on Vine, where she was reportedly the first to reach 1 billion loops.
Since then, she’s moved to YouTube and stars in the namesake docuseries The Secret Life of Lele Pons. She’s made millions from that platform, and she does it big on the gram, adding another source income.
Across her social media platforms, Pons has done sponsored posts for Google, Tinder, the Dragon City video game and Budweiser. She appeared in a Jack in the Box commercial, and even though she has major followings ranging from kids to adults, she doesn’t like being called an influencer.
# 2. Huda Kattan, Beauty/Influencer: $91,300/post
@hudabeauty: 37.8 million followers
#3. Cameron Dallas, Influencer: $86,600/post
@camerondallas: 21.2 million followers
#4. Sommer Ray, Instagram Model: $86,600/post
@sommerray: 21.2 million followers
#5. Zach King, Vine Star, YouTuber, & Film Maker: $82,900/post
@zachking: 20.3 million followers
Sport
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo, Soccer Player: $975,000/post
@cristiano: 172.8 million followers
Soccer megastar Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed athlete on social media, according to Forbes. And until Floyd Mayweather took the crown, Ronaldo was the highest-paid athlete.
Both his name and face have proven to translate into big money for brands. Within 24 hours, Juventus reportedly sold 520,000 Ronaldo jerseys, a flip valued at over $60 million.
And in 2016, he reportedly generated $36 million in value for Nike using his social media accounts to post 59 posts over 12 months.
No wonder the company gave him a lifetime contract.
Plus, he has bragging rights to so many other sponsors it’s hard to track. But some examples include Tag Heuer, Herbalife, KFC, EA Sports, and American Tourister.
#2. Neymar da Silva Santos Jr., Soccer Player: $722,000/post
@neymarjr: 121.4 million followers
#3. Lionel Messi, Soccer Player: $648,000/post
@leomessi: 123.4 million followers
#4. David Beckham, Soccer Player: $357,000/post
@davidbeckham: 56.6 million followers
#5. LeBron James, Basketball Player: $272,000/post
@kingjames: 50.1 million followers
Travel
#1 Caio Castro: $138,000/post
@caiocastro: 17.3 million followers
Caio Castro, is a 31-year-old Brazilian native who was reportedly discovered in a contest on the Caldeirão do Huck television show. Before that he worked with event production but has built a resume that includes the titles actor, presenter and businessman.
Not to mention he’s heavyweight when it comes to sponsored Instagram posts.
He’s the only top-paid Instagram influencer to make the list without primarily posting in English.
#2. Paul Nicklen: $43,600/post
@paulnicklen: 5.5 million followers
#3. Murad Osmann: $33,000/post
@muradosmann: 4.1 million followers
#4. Chris Buckard: $27,300/post
@chrisbuckard: 3.4 million followers
#5. Garret & Jessica Gee: $23,200/post
@thebucketlistfamily: 1.8 million followers
See: Who Earned The Most From Sponsored Instagram Posts In 2018
This list was composed based on data from Hopper Hq.
