Ariana Grande is the epitome of a child star success story.
She's managed to do what many young aspiring stars only hope to achieve, building an impressive
career that only seems to be getting more financially lucrative by the minute.
Nickelodeon kickstart
When Victorious premiered on Nickelodeon in 2010, young audiences got their first glimpse
of a then-unknown Grande playing Cat Valentine.
"Cat."
"What?"
"Your doctor said you weren't supposed to talk…"
"He didn't say I couldn't sing."
A year after the series wrapped in 2013, TMZ unearthed the budding starlet's first-ever
entertainment contract and discovered that Miss Ari had been raking in serious money
since her early teens.
As the documents revealed, a 16-year-old Grande was making $9,000 per episode, and that's
just for the first season, which had 19 episodes.
That's $171,000 right there.
TMZ learned that she was also getting paid more for writing music for the series, including
$4,000 for its theme song, $3,000 for another track that appeared in multiple episodes,
and $1,500 for a 20-second piece.
What's more, while on the show, she also snagged a music contract promising her $50,000 for
her debut album with the option of recording four more after that, with increasing rates.
Smooth transition
Post-TV show, Grande focused on making a name for herself the music industry with a debut
record that was so successful it took everyone by surprise.
When a 20-year-old Grande released Yours Truly in 2013, she snagged the Number 1 spot on
the Billboard 200 chart.
Selling 138,000 copies her first week, the singer became the first female artist to snag
the Number 1 spot with a debut album since Kesha's Animal in 2010.
In the following weeks, according to Billboard, Yours Truly went on to sell nearly 600,000
copies and snagged the young diva the New Artist of the Year trophy at the 2013 AMA's.
$30K in an hour
Grande took the beauty industry by storm in 2015 with the release of Ari by Ariana Grande.
"You're that singer, what's your name?"
"Ariana.
But… you can call me Ari."
When she agreed to do a meet-and-greet with fans at Macy's Herald Square, she earned a
cool $30,000 in about an hour by selling 250 perfume sets at $119 a pop, per WWD.
And it wasn't just a one-time fluke.
When she unveiled her fourth perfume, Cloud, in 2018, it became her bestseller to date
with experts forecasting sales of $50 million within one year.
Noreen Dodge, chief marketing officer at Luxe Brands, which produces Grande's fragrances,
told the mag,
"Ariana developed an exclusive preview of the fragrance for her fans available online
with the download of her album.
[…] She uses her social influence, combining it with her music, to give her fans something
special."
But just how special?
Luxe Brands reported that by 2017, Grande was earning over $150 million in retail sales
worldwide.
To put things into perspective, Refinery29 pointed out:
"[That] beats the sales numbers of Kim Kardashian's KKW Gardenia perfume launch fifteen times
over."
Dangerous Woman payday
While 2016's Dangerous Woman album may have sold just 396,000 copies, the tour that accompanied
its release totally slayed.
"I don't know who had this idea."
"Me."
Billboard reported that Grande's Dangerous Woman Tour grossed a staggering a $71 million
payout.
Compare those numbers to 2015's Honeymoon Tour, which grossed just over $40 million,
and you get a whopping 70 percent increase in sales from one tour to the next.
Moving that merch
Grande's Dangerous Woman Tour also made serious cash on merch.
Pollstar reported Grande was selling an average of 10,600 tickets per night, which resulted
in an average gross revenue of $630,000 per show, with over $50,000 worth of merch sales
for each show.
With the two revenue streams combined, Grande pulled in a jaw dropping $4.7 million per
week.
High-profile partnerships
Grande isn't just resting on her money-making music laurels.
In 2016, she designed a collection with Lipsy, which featured classic Grande-inspired pieces
listed between $9 and $96.
Then in 2017, the pint-sized singer followed up with another lucrative fashion deal, signing
a one-year partnership with Reebok.
Grande said in a statement,
"Like Reebok, I fiercely stand for those who express themselves, celebrate their individuality
and push boundaries.
I'm an advocate for people accepting themselves for who they are."
Money in the bank
Following the release of her fourth album, Sweetener, in 2018, a 25-year-old Grande is
raking in millions with her various projects, endorsements and performances.
Even taking into consideration employee wages, promotional fees, and all the costs associated
with that diva lifestyle - you're still left with an impressive number.
As of early 2019, Grande is worth an estimated $50 million, according to Cosmo.
No wonder she seems to be living on Cloud 9!
"I can actually see my house from up here."
"Oh which one is it?"
"It's that cloud."
"You live on that cloud?"
"No it's that cloud."