Katy Perry’s Net Worth in 2025: How Did Katy Perry Become Famous?

Katy Perry’s net worth in 2025 comes from over ten years of success in pop music—and she might actually be earning more today even though she’s not selling as many records anymore.

Perry reached her highest sales with the album Teenage Dream, which debuted at No. 1 and sold over 6 million copies worldwide. In 2011, she became only the second artist—after Michael Jackson—to have five No. 1 singles from one album, thanks to the success of Teenage Dream and its re-release, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection.

Since then, it has been hard for her to reach that same level of success. Prism sold 4 million copies and was helped by the hit song “Roar,” but it was somewhat affected by accusations of cultural appropriation and alleged racism in the music videos for “Dark Horse” and “This Is How We Do,” along with claims of antisemitic themes in the “Birthday” video.

In 2017, Perry released Witness with the lead single “Chained to the Rhythm” and said she wanted to start a new phase of “purposeful pop.” However, the album didn’t do as well as her earlier work, selling only 840,000 copies to date. (Though this number is still high, it’s much lower compared to Perry’s previous albums.)

Witness was also the first album she made without Dr. Luke as the producer, likely due to the controversy surrounding his legal battles with Kesha, who accused him of drugging and raping her. (Dr. Luke has denied these accusations.)

Perry’s most recent album, Smile, was released in August 2020 after the birth of her daughter, Daisy, with partner Orlando Bloom. It has been her least successful album in terms of sales, with about 87,000 copies sold worldwide.

That being said, Perry’s music still brings in a lot of money: She sold the rights to her music catalog for $225 million in September 2023. Since she’s not the sole songwriter for most of her songs, it’s unclear how much of that money she’ll keep, but it’s clear she has earned a significant amount from it.

How did Katy Perry become famous?

Katy Perry began her career as a teenager under the name Katy Hudson, performing contemporary Christian rock music. Her first album, Katy Hudson, came out in 2001 but only sold 200 copies before her label closed down.

At 17, she moved to Los Angeles to work with producer Glen Ballard, who had helped make Alanis Morissette a star. Around this time, Perry chose the name “Katy Perry” to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson. (Perry comes from her mom’s maiden name.)

Over the next few years, Perry was signed to and dropped by several music labels. Songs she had written for what would have been her debut album with Columbia Records, Fingerprints, were given to other artists like Kelly Clarkson (“Long Shot” and “I Do Not Hook Up”) and Selena Gomez & The Scene (“Rock God”). Despite these setbacks, Perry didn’t give up.

In 2005, her song “Simple” was featured in the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She also sang background vocals for Mick Jagger and P.O.D. and appeared in the music video for “Cupid’s Chokehold” by her then-boyfriend’s band, Gym Class Heroes, in 2006.

In 2007, Perry signed with Capitol Records, and her single “Ur So Gay” became popular (with some help from Madonna, who praised it), even though many found the song offensive. She followed up with the song “I Kissed a Girl,” which she co-wrote with Dr. Luke.

The song went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2008. Her debut album, One of the Boys, came out that June, and songs like “Hot N Cold,” “Waking Up in Vegas,” and “Thinking of You” helped her become a well-known pop star.

What is Katy Perry’s net worth in 2025?

Katy Perry’s net worth in 2025 is estimated at $400 million.

This comes mostly from her successful music sales and tours over the years, but it also includes the many branding and endorsement deals she has signed throughout her career.

She has worked with companies like Walmart, Cover Girl, Proactiv, H&M, Adidas, Claire’s, OPI, and Pepsi. She even joked at the 2013 Grammys that while she was never nominated for Best New Artist, she went on to have her own line of fake eyelashes, as well as her own fragrances and shoe line.

How much does Katy Perry make per concert?

For a typical concert, Perry likely earns at least hundreds of thousands of dollars when you count merchandise sales and ticket revenue. However, these amounts have dropped in recent years. Her Witness world tour had fewer sold-out shows than her past tours like California Dreams, Prismatic, and Hello Katy. On the other hand, her Las Vegas residency, Play, did well (more on that later).

For a private concert, she has reportedly made as much as $1.9 million.

How much does Katy Perry make a year?

Perry’s yearly salary depends on her projects and release schedule. Since joining American Idol as a judge in 2018, she has made a lot of money. In fact, Forbes estimated she made $38.5 million in 2020, a year when the world was mostly shut down. Without the global pandemic, she likely earns even more in a regular year.

How much does Katy Perry get paid for American Idol?

When Perry started on American Idol in 2018, she was paid a salary of $25 million, which was the highest of any judge in the show’s history.

When news about her salary came out, Perry confirmed the reports.

“I’m really proud that as a woman, I got paid,” she said at the time. “I got paid like, more than like any guy that’s ever been on that show. And by the way, I love men, so I’m a paid woman and I’m ready for a beautiful man.”

It’s not clear if her salary has increased since then, but even if it hasn’t, she has earned at least $175 million from American Idol over seven seasons.

How much does Katy Perry make for her Las Vegas residency?

The exact amount Perry earns for her Play Las Vegas residency isn’t publicly known, but it’s believed that other stars with residencies in Las Vegas, like Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears, can earn around $300,000 to $350,000 per night. Perry’s earnings were likely in a similar range.

Her residency began in December 2021, and by February 2022, Perry had already sold 32,000 tickets and made $7 million in gross earnings, according to Billboard. The residency was so successful that she added more dates, extending the end of the residency from March 2023 to November of that year.