Net Worth: $200 Million
How Much Is Ed Sheeran Worth?
benhoudijk / Depositphotos.comEd Sheeran’s net worth is estimated to be $200 million. While Sheeran had been playing music for more than a decade before he was discovered, it was the March 2017 release of his mega-hit album Divide that introduced Sheeran to an international fan base. In just six short years since his debut, Sheeran has sold millions of concert tickets and can claim ownership over the third most successful world tour in music history.
Let’s dive into Ed Sheeran’s music sales, massive money-generating tours, and his work as a record producer, actor, and even as a real estate investment.
Ed Sheeran’s Net Worth Is Largely Tied To Touring
benhoudijk / Depositphotos.comMusicians earn a large portion of their money on tour and few artists have sold tickets at Ed Sheeran’s level.
In 2014, Pollstar revealed that Sheeran sold 667,066 tickets for the X Tour. It was the 43rd highest-grossing tour of the year with $33.4 million in gross revenue. The tour continued into 2015 when it sold another 1,823,410 tickets and earned an additional $117.3 million. The tour in total earned $150.7 million.
The ÷ Tour from 2017 through 2019 would prove to be the most successful in music history at the time. Sheeran’s massively successful tour grossed $776,200,000 over 255 shows. The money generated by the tour allowed Sheeran to pass U2 for the record of the highest-grossing tour.
Sheeran’s tour record was surpassed by Elton John’s Farewell Tour which ran from 2018 to 2023 and grossed $939,100,000 and in 2023 by Taylor Swift’s Era Tour which has already earned more than $1 billion on the first leg of the tour. Taylor Swift’s net worth reached over $1 billion in 2023 on the strength of her tour and album sales.
While it took 255 shows for Ed Sheeran to earn $776 million on his last tour, his +–=÷× Tour from 2022 to 2023 earned an even more impressive $417 million during just 77 shows. Because of his circular stage setup, Ed Sheeran has been able to pack more fans into each show. Following his performance at Metlife Stadium it was revealed that he broke the stadium’s attendance record with 89,106 people attending a single concert.
| Tour | Year | Total Gross Revenue | # Of Shows | Earnings Per Show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Tour | 2014-2015 | $150,700,000 | 180 | $837,222 |
| ÷ Tour | 2017–2019 | $776,200,000 | 255 | $3,043,922 |
| +–=÷× Tour | 2022–2023 | $417,661,372 | 77 | $5,424,174 |
We don’t have concert data from Ed Sheeran’s earliest tours but just the three concerts listed above generated just over $1.343 billion.
Musicians can take home upwards of 85% of concert revenue with the other 15% going to the concert promoter. Even if we conservatively estimate touring profits of 50%, Sheeran would have earned between $500 million and $600 million before management fees and taxes.
With Ed Sheeran’s net worth estimated by the BBC to be in the vicinity of $382 million, we can safely estimate that more than 50% of his fortune has come from his hugely successful tours.
Ed Sheeran’s Album Sales Are Massive
benhoudijk / Depositphotos.comEd Sheeran has earned millions of dollars from a discography that consists of seven studio albums, seventeen extended plays, and a video album. Sheeran has also released 65 singles, eight promotional singles, and a box set.
In terms of pure physical sales, Sheeran has moved more than 31.6 million albums.
The chart below includes incomplete 2023 data which we will update once final figures are made available to the public by the Recording Industry Association of America.
| Album Title | Year | Sales | Rank in Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIVIDE (2017) | 2017 | 13,787,460 | 1 |
| X (2014) | 2014 | 11,879,785 | 2 |
| + (2011) | 2011 | 7,705,000 | 3 |
| NO. 6 COLLABORATIONS PROJECT (2019) | 2019 | 2,631,838 | 13 |
| 2021 | 2021 | 1,862,489 | 16 |
| NO. 5 COLLABORATIONS PROJECT (2011) | 2011 | 1,134,617 | 47 |
| – (2023) | 2023 | 100,000 | 11 |
| LOOSE CHANGE (2011) | 2011 | 60,000 | 608 |
Fun fact about Ed Sheeran’s song success, only 24 artists have ever had songs certified as Diamond hits, meaning they have gone platinum at least 10 times. Sheeran has three songs that have reached that status. In 2019 Sheeran received diamond certification for “Shape of You,” “Thinking Out Loud,” and “Perfect.”
In June 2023 Chartmasters estimated that Ed Sheeran had sold 88.6 million singles, while other sources have placed that number as high as 100 million singles sold.
While public figures are not available for Ed Sheeran’s net worth increases from his album sales, HowStuffWorks notes that artists can often earn between 10% and 20% royalties from each sale. Sheeran is a singer, songwriter, and record producer which has likely allowed him to negotiate closer to the 20% range.
If we conservatively estimate that each album sale generates $8 in profit, his albums have generated around $252 million, generating an estimated $50 million for Sheeran. If we assume $.50 per digital single, that would add around $9 million to her pay. Based on those estimates, Ed Sheeran may have earned in the vicinity of $50 million to $60 million from the sales of his albums and singles.
Ed Sheeran’s Songs Are Streamed Billions Of Times Every Year
Yakub88 / Depositphotos.comEd Sheeran’s net worth is certainly tied in part to his massive success on platforms like Spotify where he’s racked up nearly 50 billion streams as of December 29, 2023.
As you can see in the chart below, most of Sheeran’s streams have come as the lead singer or solo artist on his tracks. He has also been a featured artist on more than five billion streams.
| Total | As lead | Solo | As feature (*) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streams | 49,886,361,291 | 44,452,038,013 | 35,277,350,517 | 5,434,323,278 |
| Daily | 16,256,427 | 13,918,308 | 11,311,886 | 2,338,119 |
| Tracks | 370 | 305 | 183 | 6 |
Industry estimates suggest that Spotify pays between $3 million and $5 million per stream. Based on his lead and solo streams that likely means Sheeran’s tracks have generated around $150 million and $200 million.
If Sheeran receives 20% royalties for his work as a singer, songwriter, musician, and producer, that would be an additional $30 million to $40 million in earnings.
Yahoo Finance estimates that Ed Sheeran has earned $9.3 million per song on Spotify.
That total doesn’t include Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal, and other streaming platforms which have also likely generated millions of dollars in additional revenue.
YouTube Is Huge For Ed Sheeran
YouTube has also likely generated a significant amount of revenue for Sheeran. The singer has more than 54 million subscribers on the platform and his videos have been streamed 28.62 billion times according to Kworb. The video above for Shape Of You has 6.1 billion streams, making it the second most streamed music video on YouTube behind Luis Fonsi’s – “Despacito” which features Daddy Yankee. “Despacito” has been streamed on YouTube more than eight billion times.
If we assume a very modest $3 RPM ($3 per every 1,000 views), Sheeran’s music has likely brought in around $15 million to $20 million from YouTube streams.
With billions of song streams and an equally impressive video catalog, Ed Sheeran has likely earned somewhere in the vicinity of $50 million for his online efforts.
Ed Sheeran’s Net Worth Is Also Tied To Songwriting For Other Artists
ChinaImages / Depositphotos.comEd Sheeran is not only a hitmaker for his career, he’s also written many songs for fellow artists, and some of those songs have become huge hits.
Justin Bieber’s song “Love Yourself” was written by Sheeran for Rihanna. When she turned down the track he handed it over to his fellow hitmaker.
Here are 28 of the top songs that Ed Sheeran has written for other solo artists and bands.
| Artist/Band | Song Title | Release Year |
|---|---|---|
| Olly Murs (featuring Jessie J) | ‘Love Shine Down’ | 2010 |
| One Direction | ‘Little Things’ | 2012 |
| Taylor Swift (featuring Ed Sheeran) | ‘Everything Has Changed’ | 2013 |
| One Direction | ’18’ | 2014 |
| Jessie Ware | ‘Say You Love Me’ | 2014 |
| Hilary Duff | ‘Tattoo’ | 2015 |
| Justin Bieber | ‘Love Yourself’ | 2015 |
| Rixton | ‘Hotel Ceiling’ | 2015 |
| Rudimental (featuring Ed Sheeran) | ‘Lay It All On Me’ | 2015 |
| The Weeknd | ‘Dark Times’ | 2015 |
| Major Lazer (featuring Justin Bieber and Mø) | ‘Cold Water’ | 2016 |
| Matt Terry | ‘When Christmas Comes Around’ | 2016 |
| Robbie Williams | ‘Pretty Woman’ | 2016 |
| Eminem | ‘River’ | 2017 |
| Zara Larsson | ‘Don’t Let Me Be Yours’ | 2017 |
| James Blunt | ‘Make Me Better’ | 2017 |
| Liam Payne (featuring Quavo) | ‘Strip That Down’ | 2017 |
| Rita Ora | ‘Your Song’ | 2017 |
| DJ Snake and Lauv | ‘A Different Way’ | 2017 |
| Anne-Marie | ‘2002’ | 2018 |
| Olly Murs (featuring Snoop Dogg) | ‘Moves’ | 2018 |
| Jess Glynne | ‘Thursday’ | 2018 |
| Little Mix (featuring Nicki Minaj) | ‘Woman Like Me’ | 2018 |
| Keith Urban | ‘Parallel Line’ | 2018 |
| Shawn Mendes | ‘Because I Had You’ | 2018 |
| Boyzone | ‘Because’ | 2018 |
| Benny Blanco, Halsey, and Khalid | ‘Eastside’ | 2018 |
| BTS | ‘Make It Right’ | 2019 |
While we don’t know how much Ed Sheeran’s net worth has increased from his songwriting career, his hit tracks for other artists have likely generated millions in additional revenue.
Depending on his arrangement with artists, Sheeran likely earns an upfront fee for his songs and then earns a royalty for each track’s sales, and a portion of streaming revenue.
Songwriting ensures Sheeran will earn additional royalties for many years ahead. Rolling Stone estimates a 9.1 cent mechanical royalty per physical or digital sale.
Ed Sheeran Earns From Product Endorsements
The Heinz Commercial shown above was featured during the 2020 Super Bowl. The “Edchup” commercial likely brought a considerable payday to Sheeran. Celebrities can easily make at least $1 million by appearing in Super Bowl ads.
In October 2023, Sheeran announced that he was working with G-Shock and Hodinkee on a custom watch. Sheeran has proven multiple times that some of his best endorsements are straight-up partnerships which likely earned the musician higher returns.
Along with G-Shock and Heinz, he has also worked with Peloton, Honest Burgers, and American Express, among others.
Our favorite ad spot featuring Sheeran is definitely for Tingly Ted’s, the hot sauce company that came about when Sheeran teamed up with Heinz to create his very own hot sauce lineup.
With his brand-safe image and international recognizability, it’s likely Sheeran has added north of $10 million from his various brand endorsements and other partnerships.
Ed Sheeran’s Real Estate Empire
Featureflash / Depositphotos.comEd Sheeran has reportedly spent more than $72 million in the UK property market. The singer’s property holdings include 22 residential properties in London and five homes in Suffolk.
Sheeran set up a company called Maverick Properties in 2015 and he has worked to acquire various types of rental properties including flats and single-family homes.
Much of Sheeran’s real estate investments have been in the London market where he can capitalize on a quickly growing regional area with high rental prices.
Ed Sheeran’s net worth of $200 million is likely to continue on its upward trajectory if he chooses to keep touring and releasing new music. Even as he’s slowed down the rate at which he performs, each individual show is earning more money and his record-setting audience sizes have led to concert earns of more than $5 million per show.
