Carol Kaye Highest-Paid Musician in the World

By Carol Kearney
Washington
Last updated on April 2, 2025

Carol Kaye led People With Money’s annual list of the “100 highest paid musicians” released on Tuesday.

Hot news

Breaking Up March 25, 2025
Carol Kaye Single Again?
Love March 29, 2025
Carol Kaye Engaged?
Rumor Central April 2025
Is Carol Kaye secretly gay and hiding in the closet?

It's been a rough year for the musician, but at least she has her millions of dollars to ease the pain. 90-year-old Carol Kaye has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid musicians for 2025 with an estimated $58 million in combined earnings.

UPDATE 02/04/2025 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Carol Kaye tops annual list of highest-paid musicians

In 2022 it looked like the musician’s spectacular career was winding down. Suddenly, she was back on top. People With Money reports on Tuesday (April 1) that Kaye is the highest-paid musician in the world, pulling in an astonishing $58 million between March 2024 and March 2025, a nearly $30 million lead over her closest competition.

People With Money’s factors

In compiling this yearly list, the magazine considers factors such as upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work.

The American musician has an estimated net worth of $185 million. She owes her fortune to smart stock investments, substantial property holdings, lucrative endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics. She also owns several restaurants (the “Fat Kaye Burger” chain) in Washington, a Football Team (the “Everett Angels”), has launched her own brand of Vodka (Pure Wonderkaye - US), and is tackling the juniors market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from Carol) and a fashion line called “Carol Kaye Seduction”.

The ranking is significant for many Carol fans, who have been waiting for her triumphant return to the glory days for what seems like a lifetime.