Influencing pays as record number of young Britons earn £1m a year
The fastest route to a seven-figure salary no longer appears to involve banking, law or even founding a start-up. It may simply require good looks, warm lighting and the confidence to recommend a moisturiser to several million strangers.
The number of under-30s earning more than £1 million a year has climbed to a record high, driven in part by young influencers cashing in on a surge in social media advertising spending.
A record 1,000 taxpayers aged 30 or under earn at least £1 million a year, up 11 per cent from 900 the year before, according to HM Revenue & Customs. These top earners pocketed a total of more than £3 billion in the past tax year, the equivalent of £3 million each on average.
Dua Lipa, 30, has amassed an estimated £129 million fortune
ARTURO HOLMES/GETTY IMAGES
While many will be Premier League footballers, pop stars and A-list actors, the accountancy firm, Lubbock Fine, which obtained the figures, said the surge was also being driven by platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, where algorithms can turn a good idea, fame or even infamy into cash at speed.
These platforms have become a tempting shop window for marketing departments because of influencers’ ability to sell products without looking like they’re advertising.
Lubbock Fine said that the amount spent on influencer marketing in the UK tripled between 2019 and 2024 to £917 million. It forecasts the amount will exceed £1 billion this year, outstripping advertising spend in cinemas, radio or magazines.
So, who are the people benefiting from this splurge of cash? Unless you are on TikTok or under the age of 30, there is a good chance you will have never heard of them.
Kyle Thomas, who has 34 million followers on TikTok, at the Zootropolis 2 premiere in November
LAURA ROSE/DAVE BENETT/WIREIMAGE
Take Kyle Thomas, 21, a TikTok giant who mixes animal content, including his pet meerkat, Mylo, with comedy, dancing, food and travel videos.
Since joining the Chinese-owned social media platform in 2019, he has amassed 34 million followers and is reported to earn about £30,000 per sponsored post. His annual earnings are more than £2.5 million, according to industry estimates.
Another top-earning influencer is Abby Roberts, 24, who built her 15 million followers on TikTok from posting high-concept make-up transformations but has since moved into music. Her sponsored-posts are reported to earn £14,000 each.
On Instagram, Molly-Mae Hague, 26, is one of Britain’s top earners. The former Love Island contestant is reported to command up to £60,000 per post and has done advertising partnerships with Bentley Motors, JD Sports, Aveeno and Adidas.
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Even those without such gargantuan follower counts are able to pull in thousands of pounds through corporate tie-ups and associated business ventures. Toby Inskip, for example, who is known as “Eating With Tod” on social media, is one of Britain’s most popular food influencers, with two million followers on Instagram.
However, he doesn’t just earn online through sponsored posts. On the back of his success he has built a seven-figure business empire that includes a public relations firm, a food manufacturer, and an annual BBQ festival.
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Despite the growth of internet celebrities, Lubbock Fine said Britain’s top earning young people were still sports stars, musicians and actors. Erling Haaland, the 25-year-old Manchester City striker, is said to earn £525,000 a week — about £27.3 million a year — while his teammate, Omar Marmoush, 27, pockets £295,000 a week, or £15.3 million a year.
The Sunday Times rich list estimated that Dua Lipa, 30, is one of Britain’s youngest wealthy people, having amassed an estimated £129 million fortune. The London-born singer’s wealth has been bolstered by her recent £100 million-grossing Radical Optimism tour and lucrative partnerships with brands such as Porsche and Versace.
The actor Tom Holland, 29, is estimated to be the second wealthiest, with £35.7 million, followed by the singer Lewis Capaldi, 29, at £35 million.
The trap for all top young earners, Lubbock Fine notes, is that their wealth can often disappear as fast as it arrives.
“Footballers, boxers, and sports people generally tend to live beyond their means when they retire,” Russell Rich, the company’s head of sports and entertainment, said. “People in the arts also do not tend to be good at saving and investing the money they make.”
The cautionary roll call is long. In the past five months alone, both the former England forward John Barnes, 62, and Scotland striker James McFadden, 42, were declared bankrupt with debts in excess of £1 million. It was Barnes’s second bankruptcy.
Influencers can also find themselves in financial trouble.
Last year, The Times reported the case of Kylie Scarletta, a 22-year-old influencer, who filed for bankruptcy after accumulating huge credit card debts. Despite her online popularity, she struggled with financial management and an excessive shopping habit.
Rich advises young people in the sports and creative industries to “save early and as much as they can”, which is easier said than done when you need to impress your team-mates or followers with the latest Lamborghini.
It seems that while online algorithms may be minting Britain’s newest millionaires, they offer no protection against the oldest mistake in the book: spending it.
Molly-Mae Hague
GETTY IMAGES
Britain’s most bankable social media stars
Molly-Mae Hague, 26
Followers: Nine million on Instagram
Focus: Fashion, beauty, and lifestyle
Estimated earnings per post: Up to £60,000
Kyle Thomas, 21
Followers: 34 million on Tik Tok
Focus: Animals, food, and lifestyle
Estimated earnings per post: £30,000
Ethan Payne, 30 (Behzinga)
Subscribers: Five million on YouTube
Focus: Lifestyle, fitness, comedy, and challenge videos
Estimated earnings per video: £30,000
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Abby Roberts, 24
Followers: 15 million on TikTok
Focus: Make-up artistry, beauty tutorials and music
Estimated earnings per post: £14,000
Tommy Fury, 26
Followers: Five million followers on Instagram
Focus: Boxing, training and home life with Molly-Mae Hague
Estimated earnings per post: £10,000
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