The borders between Creators and showbiz are blurring.
In 2025, creators continue to rewrite the script for the media and entertainment industries. MrBeast’s reality game show broke viewership records on Amazon. Alex Cooper, Matt Rife, and Jake Shane packed theaters with sold-out live performances. TikTok star Addison Rae released a hit pop album. Sketch comics Adam W and Hannah Stocking each have more followers than SNL. Meanwhile, Dhar Mann, Rhett & Link, and Alan Chikin Chow now run their own production studios. Need more evidence of social media’s surge into the mainstream? This year, YouTube reported the majority of its users watch on their home TVs–in fact, each day, a billion hours of YouTube video are watched on the TV screen.
Fans and dollars are flocking by the millions. “The private funding environment for creators is as strong as I’ve ever seen,” says Eric Sheridan, Goldman Sachs’ co-head of Technology research. “You’re seeing a lot of investments directly into creator brands, into creator companies, and into the private companies that enable creators with tools to build their businesses.”
The investment is paying off. This year, our list of the 50 richest creators across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube earned an estimated $853 million, an 18% jump from 2024’s record year. And that’s not counting the millions in equity deals that creators are increasingly scoring for partnering with brands ranging from snacks, clothing, soda, and booze. “Next year, it’s expected that influencer marketing will expand to $50 billion,” says Ryan Detert, the founder and CEO of creator marketing firm Influential, who partnered with Forbes on our list. “The dollars are going into the hands of creators who are now the new media channels.”
Their fanbase continues to grow, too. In 2025, our honorees boasted a combined 3.4 billion followers. That’s up 24% from last year’s total. And this is among stiff competition. Goldman Sachs estimates that there are now 67 million creators worldwide, and they expect the number to explode to around 107 million by 2030.
As AI tools flood the market, creator content will only increase in scale–and quality–as advanced editing and targeting software allow influencers to produce videos cheaper, faster, and better. Burnout is a significant problem in the creator economy, and new software could make the daily grind more tolerable. “AI tools can tell me who my audience is, tell me how to create content faster, and lower the barrier to content creation in a way that could speed up my time to market,” says Goldman’s Sheridan. “That’s a big relief for the creator economy.”
While the surging wave of social media stars goes by many names (creators, influencers, podcasters, and vloggers), the most accurate handle for this powerful crop of new media masters is clear—entrepreneurs.
Matt Rife ranked #7.
Rife spent years grinding on the comedy circuit until he fatefully began sharing his now-famous crowd work on social media in 2021. His fan base exploded. Today, he attracts 40 million fans and makes massive money selling out more than a hundred thousand seats to live shows. He’s starred in two Netflix comedy specials, too. A slate of comedy films is coming soon.
