These days, Instagram is anyone’s game, with everyone from gamers to hedgehogs gaining thousands of followers with each post. But making it big on the social media platform—and others of its ilk like YouTube, Facebook and SnapChat—can be substantially more challenging.
It requires consistency, individuality and, most of all, quality of content. As such, the Australian influencers who’ve managed to crack global rich lists and the coveted 1 million mark are to be particularly celebrated.
Especially the fact that most of them are women, suggesting that perhaps the influencer industry may be the only one in which there’s no gender pay gap.
While it can be hard to ascertain the exact salaries of some of Australia’s biggest social media stars, given their pay can be sporadic and a lot of their business is self-managed, it’s clear that the top-followed figures are making serious bank.
So, who are Australia’s Insta-millionaires? Scroll down to see the top 10 most influential and, it follows, likely the highest-paid Australian social media stars (net worths are estimated only).
Lead image: @tashoakley
10. Lauren Curtis
Instagram followers: 1.4 million
This 26-year-old beauty blogger and YouTuber is the most-followed beauty influencer in Australia, eclipsing even Chloe Morello with her 3.5 million YouTube subscribers, plus her 1.4 million Instagram followers. Her net worth is estimated at around $500,000 AUD, thanks to partnerships with Colgate, Garnier and Bosot Juice.
9. Nicole Warne
Instagram followers: 1.7 million
One of the original Australian fashion bloggers thanks with her online alter ego, Gary Pepper Girl, 29-year-old Warne has become a veritable fashion force and now works with some of the world’s top luxury brands, like Chanel, Valentino, Ralph Lauren and Armani. She’s been named on Forbes’ ’30 Under 30′ list of powerful people, and gets most of her business by serving as a creative director, brand consultant and ambassador for high-end labels.
8. Lauren Bullen
Instagram followers: 2.1 million
Under the handle @gypsealust, Bullen has amassed a huge following for her travel adventures, which she embarks on alongside her partner, Jack Morris, who has a similarly large following over at @doyoutravel. According to an interview the couple gave to Cosmopolitan UK, they each earn a minimum of $3000 USD per Instagram post, but can pull in up to $7500 USD per post. Bullen also makes money from her coveted Instagram filter presets, which she sells for $77 USD a pop.
7. Gabby Epstein
Instagram followers: 2.2 million
The model and influencer, who also has her own YouToube channel, has partnerships with everything from Bondi Sands to Revolve and also founded her own lingerie line, Gabrielle Grace. Her net worth is estimated at around $400,000.
6. Pia Muehlenbeck
Instagram followers: 2 million
Muehlenbeck is a full-time social media content creator and a qualified lawyer, who also runs a blog, Finding The Finer, and an eco-friendly activewear and swimwear line called SLINKII. It is estimated that her net worth is around $500,000. On top of her income from her own brands, Muehlenbeck is a partner of labels like Tommy Hilfiger, Diamond Exchange, Mecca Maxima and Beefeater Gin.
5. Tash Oakley
Instagram followers: 2 million
Los Angeles-based Australian bikini model Oakley rose to fame with her blog, A Bikini A Day, which she co-founded with friend Devin Brugman. Since then, she’s founded lifestyle site, The Swim Report, and her own swimwear label, Monday Swimwear. Oakley has never publicly revealed what she earns from her social media career, but given she has deals with brands like Range Rover and Pantene, along with income from her own personal brands, you can bet she’s in six-figure territory. “We have been progressively making more money over the years, but essentially all the money we make goes back into the business and the things we are passionate about,” she told 60 Minutes.
4. Tammy Hembrow
Instagram followers: 9.4 million
Fitness blogger Tammy Hembrow’s clout received a massive boost when she became friends with Khloé Kardashian, and Kardashian made her one of the faces of her denim brand, Good American. Since then, Hembrow’s influence has grown and grown, leading to partnerships with multiple supplement companies, plus her own clothing brand, Saski Collection. These days, Hembrow can earn up to $85,000 a post.
3. Emily Skye
Instagram followers: 2.5 million
On her Instagram account, @emilyskyefit, this personal trainer and mother-of-one created a female fitness community to rival Kayla Itsines. In 2017, she appeared on the Australian Financial Review‘s Young Rich List, with the paper citing an estimated net worth of $32 million, thanks to her brand partnerships and revenue from her subscription-based diet and exercise plan.
2. Jane Lu
Instagram followers: 165,000
While her follower count may not be as high as others on this list, Lu, AKA @thelazyceo, is the founder of clothing company Showpo and has amassed an impressive fortune from the business. She debuted on the Young rich List in 2017, with an estimated net worth of $32 million and a goal to turn over $100 million with her business by 2020.
1. Kayla Itsines
Instagram followers: 11.3 million
Unsurprisingly, fitness coach Kayla Itsines tops the list with her estimated $486 million fortune (a joint net worth with fiance Tobi Pearce), thanks to her internationally successful Bikini Body Guide and Sweat app. In 2018, she took out the fifth spot on the AFR Young Rich List with Pearce.
