Here's How Charli D'Amelio Became 1 Of The Highest Paid TikTokers

For most people, TikTok videos are just a fun hobby that helps pass the time. For others, like Charli D'Amelio, the social media app was the start of a lucrative career. No matter how famous she gets, fans often wonder: How does Charli D'Amelio make money? It's a fair question with a lot of different answers.

It seems like D'Amelio catapulted to fame overnight, but there was a lot of hard work that went into making her dreams a reality. In the matter of a year, the Connecticut-born teenager went from a dancing queen on TikTok to showcasing her skills on late night talk shows and beyond. Still, her ability to make money from TikTok is quite impressive.

With 80 million fans on TikTok and over 27 million followers on Instagram, it's clear D'Amelio has built a strong fanbase, landing her the No. 2 spot on Forbes highest-earning TikTok stars list in August 2020. According to Forbes, D'Amelio made $4 million last year alone.

D'Amelio first posted to TikTok in June 2019 and less than six months later, her viral dance videos landed her a gig at Madison Square Garden alongside Bebe Rehxa, who invited her to dance onstage while she opened for The Jonas Brothers. While it's unclear if she was paid for the appearance, it was a tell-tale sign that D'Amelio's brand, aka herself, had already made her a go-to for endorsements.

In the months following, D'Amelio and her sister, Dixie D'Amelio, signed a deal to be the faces of Hollister clothing company, cementing her yet another paycheck.

Charli took on a backstage role for Prada during Paris Fashion Week in February, and the same month she appeared in a commercial for Sabra Hummus which aired during the 2020 Super Bowl — all which contributed to her income. The commercial alone scored Charli an estimated $1 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

In July, Charli and Dixie launched a makeup line with Morphe called Morphe 2, which undoubtedly earned them a pretty penny.

Charli has a host of other side hustles that are bringing in some coin as well. For example, any fan knows all about Charli's merchandise line, which probably contributes a ton to her bank account. From tees to an iced coffee collection, and even special merch for her 16th birthday, Charli is collecting profit from that.

Of course, like any social media celeb, Charli also banks on sponsored posts and ad space on her YouTube page where she currently has over 6.6 million subscribers. Charli's success on the video sharing platform led her to launch a family YouTube channel, fittingly called The D'Amelio Family, in August 2020, because she knows just how much people want to keep up with the D'Amelios.

So while it may seem like Charli is living the life (we know she is!) it's no doubt she's also working very hard to bring home a paycheck.