You’ve probably heard the phrase “how the rich get richer.” While many celebrities obviously rake in millions for things like movie roles, album releases, and advertisements, there are actually a lot of unexpected ways they get more money or material things.
Here are 23 surprising things celebs get paid for or get for free:
1.
Per Fashionista, sometimes, a celebrity and their stylist are paid handsomely for the celeb to walk the red carpet wearing a certain designer. At the 2015 Vulture Festival’s Hollywood Power Stylist Panel, stylist Jessica Paster — who works with Emily Blunt — said that, as part of these ambassadorships, she’s been paid $30,000-50,000, whereas her client makes $100,00-250,000! She added that if the celeb decides to wear something else, neither of them get paid. She said, “If it looks awful on you, $100,000 or $250,000 is not worth it, but if it looks gorgeous and this is the dress you were going to pick anyway, why not get paid? …Let’s not forget that when [designers] make these custom dresses, they’re spending about $100,000 dollars, so someone is getting paid.”
2.
According to Vogue Business, a contract can require a celeb to wear a specific designer for multiple major events. Some labels, like Dior, offer seven figures for multi-year contracts, but the majority of them reportedly pay around $250,000 a year. However, only about 30 percent of celebs are able to get these paid contracts.
3.
These contracts aren’t limited to clothes. In 2019, stylist Elizabeth Saltzman — whose clients include Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Garner — told The Hollywood Reporter, “Whether it’s hair jewelry, foundation, lipstick, self-tanner, underwear, shoes, the jewelry, the dress — deals can come from all of it.”
4.
Celebs can also be paid for wearing jewerly. Sometimes, instead of money, the celebs will receive lavish gifts from a brand. Per Refinery 29, during a 2015 SCADstyle presentation, Vanessa Friedman said, “In 2006, for example, [Charlize Theron received] $50,000 for wearing two Chopard pieces to the BAFTAs. She got $200,000 for wearing Chopard to the Oscars.”
5.
Sometimes, instead of money, they’ll receive lavish gifts from a brand. Per Refinery 29, Vanessa Friedman continued, “[Charlize Theron] didn’t get any money for wearing Cartier to the Globes, but she did receive a $35,000 ring, a $7,500 bracelet, and $8,000 earrings. So she got $50,000 or so worth of gifts in return.”
6.
In 2009, Beyoncé told Glamour UK, “Put it this way, I’ve turned my old apartment into a closet. I probably get about 15 bags sent to me a month. Armani gave me this croc bag, which was huge — I could only imagine how much that thing cost. It would be so expensive that even I wouldn’t buy it.”
7.
In certain instances, influencers are paid to attend red carpet movie premieres. In 2023, Amanda Castrillo told The Hollywood Reporter that she’s made $3,000-10,000 per studio deal. She said, “I went from literally working part-time for like $15 an hour to actually being able to pay my bills and pay rent — it can be life-changing.” She also said that the paid partnerships often require her to post from the premieres with tagging and time requirements, and the studios have to sign off on her content before she’s allowed to post it.
8.
Celebs can also make a lot of money from club appearances. In 2016, GQ reported that, at one point, Scott Disick was earning $70,000-80,000 per appearance, and he once got $250,00 for doing a string of appearances at a UK club. For big events, like New Year’s Eve or fight nights, some celebs can earn upwards of $200,000 for an hour-long appearance.
In 2016, David Weintraub, the CEO of DWE Talent, told Cosmopolitan, “The biggest payday is in the DJ world, reality TV, and rap. You’ve got to remember, to do an appearance, it’s not that you need to be highly skilled, it’s that you need to have some type of value that is going to attract people to come. So the Instagram and YouTube world, a lot of which is semi-comedy, [aren’t as profitable]. It’s not like people are going to go to a nightclub to hear somebody do some type of shtick or do some weird Vine video. Also, women make a lot more than men — not compared to rappers or DJs, strictly in the reality world.”
He continued, “Bottom-of-the-barrel reality TV stars, they are probably getting between $5,000 to $15,000 to do an appearance. The next tier up is going to be your Love & Hip Hop, your Housewives, and they are going for probably between $15,000 and $50,000. And then you have the Kardashians, Paris Hilton, Amber Rose, Blac Chyna, Future, Drake, 2 Chainz, Snoop Dogg — they have their own tier, which is probably $50,000 to $250,000 and upward.”
9.
When Lisa Rinna attended Coachella in 2019, some trolls mocked her, judging her for being “too old” to attend the music festival. However, on Watch What Happens Live, she revealed, “Here’s the thing — if I breathe, I get judged at this point. So, here’s the thing — I got paid to go for Amazon. I mean, I’m usually there, but I got a check, honey! I got a check. Honey, I made serious bank by going. Fuck you guys, I made serious bank! Fuck the trolls. Fuck you, trolls! …I made a fortune! I made a fucking fortune!”
10.
Actors often dye their hair or change their looks in other ways for roles, but sometimes, the studio funds a cosmetic change that’s more permanent. Per Comic Book Resource, in the Armageddon DVD commentary, director Michael Bay said, “We paid for a set of $20,000 pearly white teeth. Ben [Affleck]’s gonna hate that story.”
In 2022, Ben told Entertainment Weekly, “I was a little naive about the opinions people would form about me. Or Michael [Bay] and Jerry [Bruckheimer]’s focus on aesthetics, like, ‘You guys gotta go to the tanning bed!’ They made me fix my teeth and work out and be sexy.”
11.
Whereas an average person will likely play songs by their favorite artists at their wedding, the super rich can actually pay their favorite artists to perform at theirs! For example, in 2024, Forbes reported that Anant Ambani (who’s the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, aka the richest man in Asia) and Radhika Merchant paid Rihanna $6.3 million to play her first show in years at their pre-wedding party.
And a few months later, the BBC reported that Justin Bieber was paid a rumored $10 million at another pre-wedding event.
12.
Celebrities can also make a ton of money off their own weddings. In 2011, NPR host Guy Raz said that Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries were “thought to have made almost $18 million selling rights to photos and videos of the wedding, the after-party, even their honeymoon.” He said, “Kim Kardashian filed for divorce. She cites irreconcilable differences. But with all the endorsement deals, Kardashian still earned an estimated $10,000 an hour for her 72-day marriage.”
Guest Leslie Bruce, a senior writer for THR, added, “Well, let’s break it down. If you take from the weekly access alone, People magazine reportedly paid about $1.5 million for the photos and exclusive access to the wedding. I believe it was about an 11-page feature in People magazine. They received $100,000 for the bridal shower photos that went to OK! magazine, anywhere between $30,000 and $100,000 for the exclusive honeymoon photos that went to Us Weekly. So there alone, they’re making a pretty penny.”
13.
In 2016, NYC-based paparazzo Justin Steffman told Cosmopolitan that the “biggest reason” a celebrity would stage photos is “money.” He said, “Many setup photos include a paid product endorsement, where a photo agency works as a middleman between a celebrity and a company who has a product to sell. It could be the latest cell phone that was just released, or a food or beauty product, or something as simple as them being seen shopping at a certain retail outlet. Certain photo agencies specialize in these types of fake paparazzi photos. They usually try to make the photos look natural and candid, but in reality, the celebrity and the photographer are working together. It’s a paid photo shoot, and the celebrity gets a big check. The readers of tabloid magazines and blogs have no idea!”
He also said, “Another example is when there is high demand for a certain photo. When Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s daughter Apple was first born, they worked directly with an infamous paparazzi photographer in New York. Together, they staged the first baby photos and made them look like candid pictures, then they sold the shots to a major magazine. The pictures were rumored to sell for upward of a million dollars. The paparazzi got a cut, and they took the rest.”
14.
According to the New York Times, in 2004, The View co-host Star Jones sought corporate sponsors — including an official airline — for her wedding to Al Reynolds. She plugged the sponsors on her show. Per USA Today, they provided her with free tuxes, bridesmaid dresses, and wedding invitations. However, her sponsored wedding was controversial with viewers, and People reported that her drop in popularity led to the non-renewal of her contract on The View.
15.
On a 2024 episode of her podcast Cancelled, Tana Mongeau alleged, “I hypothetically was just offered a lot of money to endorse a political party. Like, millions.” Her co-host, Brooke Schofield, asked, “Is it the one you identify with?” Tana — who previously publicly identified as a Democrat — answered, “No.”
Tana continued, “Then I was being allegedly told an alleged list of other influencers that have already hypothetically accepted money to do those hypothetical things that were hypothetically offered to me to hypothetically do. It’s not one or two. It’s hundreds. It’s allegedly, like, both political parties, that’s the thing.” Senior adviser and spokesperson for the Harris campaign told Deadline, “We do not pay. We have never paid any artist and performer…There are laws that have to be followed that we have followed religiously on this campaign.”
16.
When non-famous people appear on reality shows, then generally receive a per diem or a very low salary. However, celebrities who go on reality TV tend to be paid pretty well. For example, according to Variety, celebrity contestants on Dancing with the Stars are paid $125,000 for the rehearsals and the first two weeks of the competition. They’re paid more each additional week they make it, with a reported maximum of $295,000 as of 2019.
In 2023, Season 29 winner Kaitlyn Bristowe told the Trading Secrets podcast, “You get a bonus every week that you make it. The final four are in the final episode; they all get paid the same. … But your signing bonus, I think you can negotiate a bit, like, to sign to say you’re going on the show.”
17.
In 2024, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Season 2 winner Brendan “Fev” Fevola told his Fifi, Fev & Nick co-hosts, “In 2015, I got paid AU$250,000 upfront, and then AU$5,000 every show after the [first] two weeks. So you’d lay there on a Sunday, and you’d think, ‘There’s another seven days, there’s AU$35,000, boom. Hopefully, they don’t have an eviction during the week.'”
18.
According to New York Magazine, some car manufacturers, such as Audi or General Motors, reportedly give celebrities free long-term leases on cars.
19.
According to the Atlantic, a small number of colleges and universities pay famous commencement speakers up to $500,000. In 2015, the Texas Tribune reported that the University of Houston paid Matthew McConaughey $135,000 to speak at spring graduation. However, he donated all of the money to the jk living Foundation, an organization he founded that, according to its website, “implements after-school fitness programs in 45 inner city high schools/sites.”
20.
Celebs reportedly get paid $5,000 for hosting Saturday Night Live. In 2009, Justin Timberlake told Entertainment Tonight, “There’s no show on television…like SNL. It’s a great opportunity for an entertainer like myself. It’s the best five grand you can make on television. It’s awesome.”
The salary hasn’t changed over the years. In 2024, Shane Gillis told The Joe Rogan Experience that he was paid $5,000 to host the show.
21.
Every time the Academy Awards roll around, Distinctive Assets, an LA-based marketing company, gives every acting and directing nominee an “Everyone Wins Nominee Gift Bag.” In 2025, the gift bags were worth about $217,000 each. They contained more than 60 items and experiences, ranging from wellness products to luxury vacations.
22.
In a since-deleted tweet from 2020, Mindy Kaling said, “I have a boring but important question. I need a new whole collection of pots and pans (like everything; a wok, griddle etc). Is there a brand that sells them all in a pack or box? I want this to be super easy! Thank you!” Within ten minutes, the brand Le Creuset replied, “Hi Mindy! We would love to send you a full set of our colorful, versatile, long-lasting cookware. We’ve got you covered with the wok, griddle, etc. as well. Now the real question is: Which color(s) would you like?”
In response to criticism, Mindy tweeted, “So in honor of @lecreuset’s generosity to me, I just donated £1000 to Harmony House…we all win.”
23.
And finally, in a 2025 Snapchat post, Too Hot to Handle star Francesca Farago alleged that she was offered money to participate in a TikTok trend making fun of Hailey Bieber. Francesca said, “Everyone’s calling themselves Hailey Bieber, because they stalk their man and that’s how they got them. It’s funny but it’s also mean. Sometimes me and Jesse [Sullivan, her fiancé] get paid to do a trend on TikTok. The person who started the trend, or the person who owns the song that’s on the trend, will pay creators to do that trend and to use that song. She alleged that, though she wasn’t sure who, someone “is paying creators to do that trend making fun of Hailey, and I think that is so mean.”
She continued, “They offered me a decent amount of money to do it. And I was like, no. Even if it’s like, still funny, light-hearted, whatever, it’s low-key not. Maybe I’m just being dramatic, but she’s a new mom; it’s so mean to have this much hate on her.”
