Jay Chou Highest-Paid Singer in the World

By Carol Kearney
Taipei
Last updated on August 26, 2025

Jay Chou led People With Money’s annual list of the “100 highest paid singers” released on Monday.

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It's been a rough year for the singer, but at least he has his millions of dollars to ease the pain. 46-year-old Jay Chou has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid singers for 2025 with an estimated $58 million in combined earnings.

UPDATE 26/08/2025 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Jay Chou tops annual list of highest-paid singers

In 2023 it looked like the singer’s spectacular career was winding down. Suddenly, he was back on top. People With Money reports on Monday (August 25) that Chou is the highest-paid singer in the world, pulling in an astonishing $58 million between July 2024 and July 2025, a nearly $30 million lead over his 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 Taiwanese singer-songwriter-musician has an estimated net worth of $185 million. He owes his fortune to smart stock investments, substantial property holdings, lucrative endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics. He also owns several restaurants (the “Fat Chou Burger” chain) in Taipei, a Football Team (the “Linkou Angels”), has launched his own brand of Vodka (Pure Wonderchou - Taiwan), and is tackling the juniors market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from Jay) and a fashion line called “Jay Chou Seduction”.

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