The Weeknd’s Net Worth: From Single-Parent Upbringing and Early Drug Use to Becoming One of Music’s Wealthiest Stars, How Did He Do It?
Back in 2019, The Weeknd’s net worth was around $40 million. Today, the Canadian singer’s fortune is estimated to be hundreds of millions.
How much is he worth, and what did he do to grow this fortune incredibly? You’re about to discover this!
In this post, I’ll reveal the global superstar’s net worth and significant income sources. We’ll also take you on an exciting journey to explore his inspiring success story.
A Quick Summary of The Weeknd
Before diving into the details of his net worth, let’s first explore a quick summary of The Weeknd:
| Real name | Abel Makkonen Tesfaye |
| Date of birth | February 16th, 1990 |
| Birthplace | Toronto, Canada |
| Height | 5’8″ |
| Profession | Singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, actor, businessperson |
| Net worth (as of 2024) | $300 million |
How Much Is The Weeknd Worth?
As of writing these words, The Weeknd is estimated to be worth around $300 million. One of his highest-valued assets is a mansion in Los Angeles worth 70 million.
The Canadian star made most of this fortune through his successful music career. He’s currently one of the highest-paid global superstars.
Partnership deals and endorsements contribute significantly to this immense fortune as well. He also has multiple business ventures and recently invested in the world of NFTs.
A BreakDown of The Weeknd’s 8 Major Income Sources
Interested to learn more about the Canadian singer’s income sources? Here’s a breakdown of them:
1. Music Sales
It’s no surprise that music sales top The Weeknd’s income sources list. The Canadian star released many chart-topping albums throughout his career.
His impressive records achieved millions upon millions of sales all around the globe. As such, it’s estimated that The Weeknd has earned over $75 million from direct music sales throughout his career.
Some of these sales are from physical copies, while the others are digital downloads on Amazon Music, iTunes, and other platforms.
Not only did these records bring The Weeknd considerable fortune, but they also skyrocketed his popularity worldwide.
As you’ll explore in the following sections, he has monetized this popularity in many ways.
2. Live Performances
Live concerts are another primary income source for The Weeknd. The famous singer has performed in various live performances and concerts worldwide – solo and in collaborations.
One of his most famous collaborations was the one with Drake. But how lucrative are The Weeknd’s live performances?
For example, let’s take his world tour, The After Hours til Dawn, in 2023. That tour stopped by Brussels, London, Milan, Barcelona, Paris, and some cities in Latin America.
Check this out: The tour grossed over $350 million and attracted hundreds of thousands of attendees!
These revenues aren’t The Weeknd’s alone, but he received a considerable share of them.
3. Brand Endorsements
With his massive fan base all around the globe, The Weeknd made immense earnings from brand endorsements.
Some remarkable endorsements the Canadian singer has worked on include deals with Apple Music, Puma, Alexander Wang, and H&M Fashion.
These endorsements considerably boosted his net worth; it’s estimated he made multiple millions from this income source alone.
4. Song Placements
The Weeknd’s songs are featured in over 27 movies and TV shows, including Avatar.
As such, whenever one of these movies or TV shows airs on any platform, the singer receives royalties for his songs.
This makes song placements another lucrative source of income for The Weeknd. A single song placement can earn him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Besides movies and TV shows, he has song placements in some video games, such as Fortnite, which adds to his income.
5. Streaming Revenues
The Weeknd is the top of the most monthly streamed artists on Spotify, with over 117 million monthly listens as of April 2024.
This success on the streaming platform isn’t new for The Weeknd. He has been securing top positions among the most listened-to artists for years.
You can say that the Canadian singer is one of the highest revenue makers through streaming platforms.
It’s hard to determine exactly how much The Weeknd earns from streaming. However, we can confidently say that he makes millions of dollars per year from this source of income.
6. Running a Merchandise Brand
Like many celebs, merchandise is one of The Weeknd’s revenue sources. The Canadian star launched a personal brand called XO, which sells a variety of branded merchandise.
This merch includes hats, hoodies, T-shirts, jewelry, and other items. He also sells limited edition vinyl records from one time to another.
Some sources state the famous singer earned around $5 million from his merch in 2022.
Although no reliable reports confirm that claim, the global star’s immense popularity can quickly generate substantial merchandise sales.
7. Investing in NFTs
The Weeknd has an incredible business mindset. He keeps an eye on the latest technology and tries to make the most profit from it.
In 2021, he ventured into the NFT world and auctioned off an unreleased song and a visual artwork as NFTs.
Later in the same year, the Canadian singer joined the board of directors of the NFT platform Autograph.io.
8. Social Media Earnings
The Weeknd has many followers on multiple social media platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok.
That’s why it’s no surprise he generates millions of dollars annually from sponsored content and ads on these platforms.
Let’s take a look at his social media fan base:
| Platform | Follower Count (As of April 2024) |
| 74.8 million | |
| YouTube | 34.9 million |
| X (Previously Twitter) | 17.1 million |
| 17 million | |
| TikTok | 9.4 million |
The Inspiring Story of The Weeknd’s: A Zoom-In on His Early Life and Career
The Weeknd’s net worth isn’t all about the numbers; it has a remarkable story behind it.
From an addicted teenager to one of the world’s highest-paid superstars, this phrase summarizes the life story of the famous Canadian singer.
He started making music in 2010 and gained tremendous popularity, becoming the mega-star we know today!
But how?
Are you excited to explore his journey already? Let’s dive into the story of the Canadian singer:
Tough Upbringing
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, best known as The Weeknd, was born in February 1990 in Toronto to a Canadian family of Ethiopian origins.
Because of his parents’ separation, he was raised by his mother. As such, he had a superficial relationship with his father.
Tesfaye had a religiously focused upbringing and would participate in all the events in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
That said, the life of a child with separated parents has never been easy.
At the age of 11, the boy started smoking marijuana before misusing other drugs later. Some sources even claim that Tesfaye has admitted to committing some crimes to get money to fund his addiction.
As for education, Tesfaye tried to get a good formal education and enrolled in one of Toronto’s high schools. Unfortunately, he dropped out of school after just a few months.
The Surprising Origin of the Stage Name “The Weeknd”
Many wonder where the name “The Weeknd” came from. A sad story inspired this name in Tesfaye’s life.
Tesfaye explained that the stage name”The Weeknd” was inspired by his escape from the family house and high school “one weekend” and never returning.
Three years after leaving home, Tesfaye met the producer Jeremy Rose. Rose envisioned creating a world of “Dark R&B” and believed Tesfaye was the perfect leader for this movement.
This way, they started their collaboration and produced three rap tracks. 2010 Tesfaye uploaded these tracks to YouTube after an agreement with Rose.
Luckily, the tracks earned considerable viewership.
The First Viral Mixtape
After the surprising success of his first three tracks, The Weeknd produced his first-ever mixtape, House of Balloons.
Many producers, including Rose, participated in making that album.
The mixtape went viral on music blogs and social media shortly after its release, and many listeners praised its unique atmospheric production and the singer’s vocals.
Soon after, The Weeknd released two other mixtapes, Echoes of Silence and Thursday, which received much critical praise.
These three mixtapes solidified the Canadian singer’s status as an up-and-coming R&B star.
Drake’s Praise and Collaboration
It seemed like some top-notch musicians were among the Weeknd’s fan base in his early career.
In 2011, The Weeknd awoke one day to a surprising tweet from the famous rapper Drake praising his music. He invited The Weeknd to work together on a new song in the same tweet.
Shortly after, the two Canadian stars collaborated on the song “Crew Love” from the well-known album Take Care.
That collaboration introduced The Weeknd to a new and massive audience base, boosting his credibility in the music industry.
Joining the Republic Records
Following two years of impressive success, it was time for The Weeknd to join a reputable record label.
The Canadian singer signed to the well-recognized Republic Records label in 2012 and released his first album titled Trilogy.
That album is a compilation of his first three mixtapes and three bonus songs. It was another winning milestone for The Weeknd as it achieved immense commercial success and secured the fourth position on the Billboard 200.
Shortly after, The Weeknd launched his XO record label in collaboration with Republic Records.
The First Studio Album
In 2013, The Weeknd produced his first studio album, Kiss Land, which contained multiple songs in collaboration with the rapper Drake.
The album was a hit and secured the second position on the Billboard Top 200.
That success opened up a lot of collaborations for The Weeknd with superstars such as Ariana Grande and Justin Timberlake.
Producing Hit Singles
After his chart-topping studio album, The Weeknd produced many hit singles that showcased his incredible talent as an R&B and pop singer.
These songs include “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face.” Then, he produced the second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness, in 2015.
It was only one week from its release, and the album topped the Billboard 200 and sold over 412,000 copies. In a short time, it sold 1.5 million units worldwide.
As the popularity of the Canadian singer skyrocketed, he got invited to perform in high-profile events. One of these events was the Super Bowl LV Halftime show in 2021.
Earning Multiple Prestigious Awards
As you can see, The Weeknd has broken new ground in the music industry.
This is why he has received over 65 awards and has been nominated for 177 more. Let’s take a look at his most prestigious ones:
| Received Awards | Nominations |
| 4 Grammys | 1 Primetime Emmy Award |
| 17 Juno Awards | 3 Golden Globe Awards |
| 20 Billboard Music Awards | 1 Academy Award |
| 6 American Music Awards | |
| 2 MTV Video Music Awards |
Personal Life
Apart from his career, The Weeknd has an interesting personal life. Here’s a glimpse of it:
Dated High-Profile Celebs
In 2015, Tesfaye began dating the famous fashion model Bella Hadid. The following year, that relationship ended due to multiple conflicts related to their hectic schedules.
In 2017, he dated Selena Gomez, and they decided to live together for a few months before they called it quits.
Following his relationship with Selena Gomez, he returned to Bella Hadid briefly before they separated again.
Tirelessly Supports the Community
For his credit, The Weeknd uses his immense fortune to support multiple causes. He’s well-known for his philanthropic contributions and has supported the community for many years.
One of his famous charitable contributions was a $1 million donation to relief efforts for Ethiopian people following the Tigray war.
He also launched his charitable organization, XO Humanitarian Fund, in collaboration with the WFP.
One of his organization’s community-supporting projects was donating one dollar from each ticket sale for The Weeknd’s world tour in 2022.
In addition, The Weeknd founded a company called Black HXOUSE that aims to empower BIPOC entrepreneurs.
It provides them with mentorship, networking opportunities, tools, and technologies to improve their business.
The organization also has a mission to reduce the racial bias against blacks in the hiring processes at US businesses, especially in the creative industry.
Wrapping Up
You now know all about The Weeknd’s net worth.
To sum it up, The Canadian singer is worth around $300 million. He amassed this fortune from diverse sources, including music sales, live performances, song placements, and streaming revenues.
Brand endorsements, investing in NFTs, and running a merchandise brand are also considerable income sources for The Weeknd.
Looking at his life story, the renowned star’s troubled upbringing led him to depart school and his family’s house. But, within a few years, The Weeknd has become one of the most popular singers in the world and one of the most listened-to artists on Spotify.
