When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the world stood still in a way unprecedented during our time. Weddings were canceled. Businesses closed. Hours were cut. And, in Hollywood, production of virtually every movie and TV show came to a grinding halt. However, new research shows Kevin Hart raked in millions during lockdown. He wasn’t alone in pulling in the big bucks, either. Curious yet? Let’s take a look at who made the cut and, more to the point, how they did it.
According to the consulting firm Attain, many stars have managed to maintain impressive cash flow throughout the coronavirus lockdown. Kevin Hart has come out on top with a whopping $3,374,539. The list included several international sports figures (with David Beckham at No. 10), along with Blac Chyna ($2,102,208), Ellen DeGeneres ($1,177,433), Priyanka Chopra ($984,221), Shaq ($720,528) and Katy Perry ($511,304).
With sports and filming shut down, how’d they do it? Well, social media can be quite lucrative for stars — with Instagram being a “serious earner.” Per Attain, every Instagram follower is estimated to be worth $0.00387. That may not seem like a lot to you or me, but when you have millions of followers, it adds up. For example, a celebrity with one million followers could ask for nearly $4,000 from a brand for a sponsored post.
Although Portuguese professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly makes the most per post at nearly $600,000. But Hart was a prolific poster during lockdown, sharing 14 sponsored posts between March 12 and May 14 (the unofficial lockdown period). If you were wondering how Blac Chyna, a lesser-known star, snagged the No. 3 spot, that’s how — like Hart, she Instagrammed up a storm. In fact, she clocked in 48 sponsored posts.
If the metric being used to measure top earners during this timeframe is Instagram, though, you might be wondering how no one from the Kardashian-Jenner clan — not counting Rob’s ex Blac Chyna — made the list. Surprisingly, no one in the family posted any sponsored content while on lockdown.
While that makes sense when you consider they’ve been busy promoting their own brands, it means they’ve left a little money on the table. And by little, we definitely mean a lot. If Kylie Jenner had followed the same posting pattern she did last year, she would have dropped seven ads during lockdown, theoretically amassing around $2.5 million. Although, let’s be real: she’s probably faring just fine even without the lockdown payday.
Before you go, click here to find out which women made Forbes annual highest-paid list.
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