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Jeffree Star is arguably the biggest beauty influencer right now and has been on YouTube for 10 years. He has gone through many phases in his career from a makeup artist to pop star to businessperson. With many ups and downs over the past 33 years, he has become a household name in the world of makeup. Although Jeffree does have a dark past, his overcomings have led him to the success he has today and are the foundation of his eccentric personality. Some people love his honesty and others think he is too blunt, but regardless of which side you take Jeffree is one of the richest YouTubers out there. We will break down Jeffree’s social media history, sources of income, and look at how he makes all of his money in our Jeffree Star net worth breakdown.
Jeffree’s Social Media Following:
Background
Jeffree was born and raised in California and has lived there for his entire life. He currently lives in Calabasas amongst many other famous YouTubers and celebrities. Growing up Jeffree had a difficult family situation. At 6 years old, his father committed suicide and Jeffree was raised by his mother, Marra Steininger with very little to their name. Jeffree started playing with makeup in high school and often went against the “norms” of society in the way he dressed and acted. He was known for his bright pink hair, colorful makeup, and dressing in women’s clothes. After graduating high school he moved to Los Angeles where he started his music career. While gaining support and building his name in the music industry Jeffree did modeling and makeup gigs to keep him afloat.
Music Career
In 2003 when the social media platform MySpace was wildly popular, Jeffree was ranked as a top tier user. Being a misfit and misunderstood growing up Jeffree wanted to be a role model for young people. He wanted to show that it is acceptable to always be themselves no matter what society or others have to say. He used to platform to promote his music and blog about his life for his fans. In 2007 Jeffree’s music career really took off as a pop singer. He was a part of the True Colors Tour in honor of pride month and performed in 15 cities across the US and Canada. In 2009 he released his album Beauty Killer which made it to #7 on the Billboard Top Electronic Billboards chart and continued to build his brand and tour the country. In 2010 he signed to Akon’s music label Konvict Muzik but immediately after his music career came to a halt. Jeffree said that signing with Konvict Muzik was a huge mistake and this is how his music career ended. Jeffree ended up going bankrupt from his music career and was in a very dark place. He decided to take all of the money he had left and created Jeffree Star Cosmetics and build his YouTube presence.
YouTube
Jeffree posted his first YouTube video in 2009 but really only used his channel to promote his music videos. In 2014 when his music career ended and he started to pursue his cosmetics line is when his YouTube channel became the main stage. Jeffree started posting makeup tutorials to promote his cosmetics line. This is when his career as a beauty guru really took off. Always doing extravagant makeup looks Jeffree is known for thinking outside the box and taking risks with his looks. After a few years of makeup tutorials and growing in popularity Jeffree started to diversify the types of videos on his channel. @jeffreestar now is a mixture of makeup reviews, challenges, and vlogs. Jeffree started a series on his channel as a highly trusted reviewer where he tests out the newest trending makeup products and gives a brutally honest review. If he likes the product he will give his stamp of approval being “Jeffree Star Approved.” Fans fully trust Jeffree’s opinion and will go watch his videos before deciding to buy a product. Over the past five years, Jeffree’s channel has evolved alongside his career and fans can see him transform into a much happier person over the 10 years’ worth of videos. Jeffree now posts videos on his channel weekly showcasing his lavish lifestyle and makeup reviews. He has accumulated 16 million subscribers and collaborates with other top profile YouTubers like Shane Dawson, The Dolan Twins, and James Charles.
Shane Dawson x Jeffree Star Series
Jeffree collaborated with docu series YouTuber Shane Dawson in 2018 and fans got an inside look into Jeffree’s past and success in the 3 part YouTube series. Starting with a troubled early career Jeffree shares how angry he was at the world and how he did many shameful things in order to survive in LA. As a generally hated and misunderstood social media star, the series allowed Jeffree to open up about parts of his life that people had never heard about creating a safe space for honesty and empathy. The series shows a behind the scenes of Jeffree’s Calabasas mansion as well as the Jeffree Star Cosmetics facilities. Viewers got an inside look at how much work is put into the cosmetics line and how passionate Jeffree is about his business.
Jeffree Star Cosmetics
Jeffree’s cosmetics line officially launched in 2014 and has transformed into a multi-million dollar company. He owns his own fulfillment and shipping facilities for his cosmetics line in California and often works out of those offices when he’s not filming videos for his channel. The beauty company launched with a liquid lipstick line and has continued to build and grow over the years. Now Jeffree Star Cosmetics sells eyeshadow pallets, highlighters, lip scrubs, and even mirrors. His products always include extravagant wild colors that many other makeup brands don’t typically create and his fans love it! With his booming popularity on YouTube, his makeup line really took off and now Jeffree Star Cosmetics products are sold in Morphe stores around the world. On his website, you can buy all of the Jeffree Star Cosmetics line as well as his apparel and accessories. Alongside the makeup, Jeffree sells tracksuits with his logo all over them, slide-on sandals, parkas, and makeup bags just to name a few. If you want to dress like Jeffree but can’t afford the Gucci and Louis Vuitton, you can at least wear the same tracksuit as him! In April 2019 it was announced that someone had broken into one of the facilities and stolen $2.5 million worth of new unreleased products that were then sold online. In order to combat the people trying to exploit Jeffree, he made a video explaining the whole situation and was honest with his fans hoping they could help him find the burglars.
Although there has been recent drama with his cosmetics line and YouTuber James Charles, Jeffree seems to be in an amazing place in life currently. He has been dating his boyfriend Nathan Schwandt for four years and the relationship seems to be going very strong. The couple met on Instagram before Jeffree’s booming success with YouTube and his cosmetics line. They live together in Calabasas and Nate often makes little cameos in videos. The couple has five Pomeranian dogs together which they consider to be their children.
Jeffree Star Net Worth Breakdown
If you watch any of Jeffree’s videos you will see that he loves his designer clothes and bags, which he can afford because he is one of the highest-paid YouTubers in the world. There is a closet tour on his channel which showcases Jeffree’s never-ending designer bags and clothing collections hidden away in a pink vaulted closet that is guarded by a bodyguard 24/7. His bags, jewelry, and accessory collection are estimated to be worth over $7 million which he considers one of his big investments. The two main avenues that Jeffree makes his fortune is through YouTube Ads and his makeup line. On average, Jeffree is estimated to make around $4,000 a day purely off of YouTube Ads adding up to $1.5 million a year. Although this is a lot of money, Jeffree brings in most of his wealth through his makeup line.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Jeffree has a total net worth of $75 million with over $150 million coming from his cosmetics line before taxes. In 2018 Jeffree was ranked the fifth highest-paid YouTuber on the Forbes Highest-Paid YouTube Stars list.
Jeffree’s Top Sources of Income:
- Jeffree Star Cosmetics
- Jeffree Star Merchandise
- YouTube Ads
- Marijuana Investments
- Real Estate Investments
Jeffree also makes money through nontraditional investment practices. One being his luxury goods collection, and another being his investment in the marijuana industry. He recently invested in the marijuana industry as an active user and his investment is surely paying off as marijuana becomes legalized in more states.
Scandals
Jeffree is no stranger to getting in trouble for his actions and public commentary. He has had large internet scandals with YouTubers such as Manny Mua, Gabriel Zamora, and James Charles. In 2018, Jeffree got into a scandal regarding a brand deal that he had been offered, but he wanted to create a video exposing how much brands were willing to pay him. The brand ended up pulling out of the agreement in fear that other influencers would realize how much they were paying Jeffree and then ask for more money. Jeffree ended up exposing on Twitter that he got offered $165,000 to review their product but left the company unnamed. In the world of Influencer Marketing, the price that influencers are paid has always been kept very secret. Although the brand remained unnamed, the world was able to get an inside look at how much top YouTubers can make for one product review. Influencers have followed Jeffree’s lead and have taken over the beauty industry creating their own lines and collaborating with top brands. For any people who doubt the influence of YouTubers and their buying persuasion, just take a look at Jeffree’s bank account.
With so much influence Jeffree has done his best to be a positive role model for his followers to be honest and their true selves. He gives LGBTQ+ fans, makeup lovers, and everyone who watches his videos the motivation to be themselves. If you are looking for some inspiration or a laugh check out his channel and you can watch his journey to becoming the multi-millionaire that he is today.
