Ed Sheeran’s Net Worth

Net Worth: $200 million

Date of Birth: February 17, 1991

How He Makes Money: Singing, Producing, Acting

Ed Sheeran is a popular singer-songwriter who also produces albums and acts. He has an estimated net worth of $200 million.

Many people know Ed Sheeran from his hit singles, but he’s also written songs for other musicians, like One Direction and Justin Bieber. If you’ve ever wondered, “how much money does Ed Sheeran make?” read on to learn how Ed Sheeran has made his fortune, what he spends money on, and how he got to this point.

How Ed Sheeran Makes Money – His Career

Ed Sheeran is one of the wealthiest working musicians. His career officially took off in 2011, and by 2015, Forbes listed him in the 27th spot for highest-earning celebrities.

By 2018, they moved him up to 9th place. In 2019, the Sunday Times named him the 17th richest UK musician, beating Adele by several spots.

Streams

Ed's music is typically released on streaming services to cut down manufacturing costs and deliver them to listeners quickly. The fans respond favorably, resulting in Sheeran often being one of the top artists on Spotify Wrapped lists.

Sheeran gets 75,665,830 monthly Spotify listeners based on recent Spotify data. Spotify pays artists about $0.003 per stream, which is $3 for one thousand monthly listeners. Using those numbers, you can estimate that Sheeran earns at least $226,997.49 monthly from Spotify streams alone.

In 2011, before his label affiliation, Sheeran independently released an album called “No. 5 Collaborations Project.” He didn’t promote the EP at all, and it still reached the second spot on the iTunes chart.

With this track record of performing well online, it’s no surprise that much of his current income is from Spotify plays.

Albums

Much of his money comes from his albums. After putting out five independent albums, trying to gain the interest of a record label, Sheeran released his debut LP in 2011. He has five major releases and is writing songs for his sixth album. His records are:

• +, released in 2011
• ×, released in 2014
• ÷, released in 2017
• No. 6 Collaborations Project, released in 2019
• =, released in 2021

Along with what Sheeran released independently before signing with a record label, he’s released eight other EPs. Two are live recordings from his iTunes Festival performances in London in 2011 and 2012. Others are sessions recorded for radio shows.

Singles

He’s released a total of 65 singles. Some come from the albums above and include solo work as well as collaborations with artists like:

• Beyoncé
• Bruno Mars
• Cardi B
• Chance the Rapper
• Elton John
• Justin Bieber
• Taylor Swift
• Travis Scott

Sheeran also makes money when he has a hit single with other musicians, meaning Sheeran is a “featured artist” on the track. Some of the most popular singles where he’s a featured artist include:

• “Amo Soltanto Te/This Is the Only Time” by Andrea Bocelli
• “End Game” by Taylor Swift
• “Growing Up (Sloane's Song)” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
• “Old School Love” by Lupe Fiasco
• “River” by Eminem

Performances with Elton John and the famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli help Sheeran reach a broad audience. People of all ages love this musician, buy his albums, and stream his music.

Tours

When you love an artist’s music, streaming the songs isn’t enough—you want to see them live. Ed Sheeran tours extensively, with over one thousand live shows in his past. His first major tour was in the United Kingdom and Ireland, supporting his 2011 debut album.

He opened for Snow Patrol and Taylor Swift during their North American tours before performing 18 shows on his own in the United States.

He also toured Australia and New Zealand for the first time that year. While he made less as an opening act, he played in front of new audiences and expanded his fan base, which paid off in the long run.

The x tour in 2014 and 2015 supported his second album. He performed on Saturday Night Live and played at festivals like Glastonbury, Southside, and T in the Park.

These significant events prepared him for his North American arena tour. He initially booked 15 dates but was so in demand that he added three more.

This tour was the 43rd highest-grossing tour of 2014, totaling over $33.4 million. Since the dates extended into 2015, he ranked even higher for that year. Pollstar placed his tour in seventh place, grossing over $150 million.

Sheeran embarked on a world tour in 2017 to support his ÷ album. The original tour dates sold out quickly, so he added a few in select cities. The tour continued into 2019 and became the highest-grossing tour ever, making more than $736 million.

Due to the Covid pandemic, Sheeran took a break from touring to record new music. By 2022, he was ready to go out in support of his 2021 album. The tour stretches into 2023, so it’s unclear if Sheeran will continue breaking touring records.

Tours cost a lot of money, considering the transportation for the artist, crew, and instruments, plus the labor to set up and tear down the stage.

But Sheeran still makes profits when he tours from the ticket sales and merchandise sold at shows. These shows pay off when he reaches new audiences because they buy his albums, stream his music, and buy his merch.

Merch

Fans love supporting their favorite artists by wearing t-shirts and merch. Ed Sheeran sells t-shirts at his concerts and has an online store. You can buy exclusive merch, like seasonal holiday sweaters, hoodies, t-shirts, and vinyl records.

Ed Sheeran knows his fan base and offers fun products like:

• Baseball hats
• Beanies
• Socks
• Teddy bears
• Keychains
• Tote bags
• Pendant necklaces
• Skateboards

Fans love to collect limited edition merch from their favorite artists, so Sheeran makes a lot of money off each album’s unique products.

Acting

It’s unclear how much money Ed Sheeran makes from acting. He seems to do it because he loves it. Surely, his music videos make money because they direct viewers to stream his singles, buy his albums, and see him on tour. But he also has a few interesting acting credits to his name.

Sheeran has an uncredited role in the 2021 movie Red Notice and plays a Stormtrooper in the 2019 Stars Wars release, The Rise of Skywalker. He provided a voice to a Simpsons character in 2018. Other TV shows with Ed Sheeran appearances include Modern Love, Game of Thrones, and Home and Away.

He’s played himself in several movies, like Bridget Jones’s Baby, Yesterday, and Pop Star. Plus, he appears on talk shows to promote his albums and tours. Sheeran reaches broad audiences with appearances on shows like:

• Access Hollywood
• Good Morning America
• The Kelly Clarkson Show
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
• Later… With Jools Holland

Songwriting

Sheeran makes money by collaborating with other musicians. He writes songs, adds vocals to their tracks, and produces singles. He worked with Taylor Swift in 2012, co-writing and singing “Everything Has Changed” on Swift’s hit album “Red.”

He has written songs for popular artists, which means he gets a big cut of the royalties for the song. This list includes songs you might not know Sheeran wrote, including:

• “18” for One Direction
• “Love Yourself” for Justin Bieber
• “Tattoo” for Hilary Duff
• “Make It Right” for BTS
• “Parallel Line” for Keith Urban
• “Pretty Woman” for Robbie Williams
• “The Rest of Our Life” for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
• “Underdog” for Alicia Keys

Other Ventures

Sheeran started his record label in 2015. Gingerbread Man Records is part of Warner Music Group. He’s signed artists such as Jamie Lawson, Foy Vance, and Maisie Peters.

In 2019, he opened a bar in Notting Hill. He named it Bertie Blossoms for his wife, and Sheeran partnered with his manager to open the establishment.

How Does Ed Sheeran Spend His Money?

Ed Sheeran has publicly admitted in interviews that he’s a frugal person. He’s a father of two young children, so it’s a good idea that he’s putting money away for the future. He doles out his allowance because he says he’d spend his entire fortune otherwise.

Real Estate

Sheeran did eventually spend a small fortune on real estate. He bought his first home in Suffolk, England, in 2012.

He bought the house next door later that same year, making his real estate purchases total more than £1,345,000. In 2016, he bought another nearby house and the other neighbor’s home in 2017.

People in the area started complaining that he was buying all the property, so in 2019, Sheeran bought the home of one of the vocal neighbors.

Over the years, he has spent more than £3.7 million on real estate, all in the small village area of Suffolk. The locals jokingly call his compound “Sheeranville,” but you can’t deny that real estate is a great investment.

Fun Purchases

Though Sheeran is frugal, he still treats himself. Since he started playing music so young, he likes to buy toys he missed out on as a kid. He especially loves Lego and Nerf products. He loves teddy bears, partly because his nickname is Teddy.

Sheeran bought an Aston Martin DB9 for himself and shared his wealth with his team. He bought a Range Rover for his manager and rewarded his sound producer with a Porsche.

Charitable Giving

Ed Sheeran often performs for free to raise money for charities. He’s part of the supergroup Band Aid 30, which recorded singles to raise money for specific medical causes. He also donates his clothing to local charity shops, like the St. Elizabeth Hospice, to auction the items for money.

Sheeran has played in British charity telethons like Comic Relief and Stand Up to Cancer. This background in charitable giving inspired Sheeran to form his nonprofit in 2019. The Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation gives grants to musicians younger than 17, helping them get started in the creative field.

In 2020, Sheeran donated funds to his high school to improve its technology department. The administration bought Macbooks and cameras and developed a photography darkroom in the school.

He also provided free meals to children at his bar during the pandemic when the students couldn’t get their food from school.

The same year, Sheeran donated money to a local hospital. He continued donating to medical funds throughout the pandemic, with his current giving topping £1 million.

How Ed Sheeran Got on This Path

Ed Sheeran was born in Halifax, England on February 17, 1991. When he was young, his family moved to Suffolk, England. His family is very involved in the arts, with his parents working at art galleries. His older brother is a composer, so it’s safe to say that music and art run in the family.

Sheeran’s father is Catholic, so he began his singing experience in the church choir when he was just four years old. He wrote songs when he was a child, learned guitar at 11, and began recording finished tracks when he was 13.

He independently released EPs as a teenager. By the time he released his fifth, at 20, the label Asylum Records signed him.

Sheeran already had a lot of experience with live performances since he started playing with others when he was just 15. He also collaborated with singers like Leddra Chapman and Amy Wadge.

During this time, he also auditioned for a TV musical drama, so it’s no surprise he went on to make film appearances and do voice acting.

Ed Sheeran Net Worth, Final Thoughts

You might wonder how Ed Sheeran can accumulate enough wealth to rank on the Forbes list. However, looking at Sheeran’s extensive body of work, you can see how he diversifies his music to reach many audiences.

He’s a beloved collaborator of many hot musicians, which increases his fame exponentially. Ed Sheeran’s net worth reaching $200 million is completely reasonable.