The Rock ranks as Instagram’s ‘most valuable star’
Image copyright Getty Images Dwayne «The Rock» Johnson has topped Instagram’s rich list as the celebrity thought to be able to charge more than any one else for a sponsored post.
The wrestler-turned-actor could charge advertisers more than $1m (£790,000) per post last year, according to the social media marketing firm Hopper HQ.
The Fast and Furious star knocked make-up entrepreneur Kylie Jenner off the top spot.
She has 182 million Instagram followers, while he has 187 million.
UK-based company Hopper HQ, which runs social media accounts on behalf of companies and individuals, published its first Instagram rich list in 2017.
The rankings and cost per post were arrived at after speaking with so-called social media «influencers» themselves, along with brands and marketing companies, and using publicly available pricing information to estimate how much each account could charge.
However, marketers tend to be secretive about how much they pay, or the posts may be part of a wider deal – as is often the case with A-list celebrities or sports stars – so the exact amounts are not known.
Other high value personalities on its list for 2019 included footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who was worth $889,000 per post, and socialite Kim Kardashian West, who could charge $858,000.
Earlier this year, Dwayne «The Rock» Johnson was crowned by Forbes as the highest-paid actor in the world, having earned nearly $90m last year before tax.
Outside of his film work, the action star has a major commercial partnership with Under Armour, the US sports brand he signed with in 2016.
He has also been sponsored by tech giant Apple and the Norwegian bottled water brand Voss, in which he holds a stake.
However, his current list of endorsement deals on Instagram appears surprisingly short.
Scrolling through his feed, aside from selfies of the muscle-bound actor working out, most of The Rock’s recent posts promote his own Tequila brand, Teremana.
Other than that, his promotional posts are largely for new episodes of The Titans, an NBC TV series which he hosts, or films in which he stars, such as upcoming DC Comics feature Black Adam.
The 10 celebrities who can charge the most per Instagram post
1. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, 187m followers – just over $1m per post
2. Kylie Jenner, 182m – $986,000 per post
3. Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, 225m – $889,000 per post
4. Socialite Kim Kardashian, 176m – $858,000 per post
5. Pop star Ariana Grande, 191m – $853,000 per post
6. Actress and singer Selena Gomez, 180m – $848,000 per post
7. Pop star Beyoncé Knowles, 149m – $770,000 per post
8. Pop star Justin Bieber, 139m – $747,000 per post
9. Pop star Taylor Swift, 135m – $722,000 per post
10. Footballer Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, 139m – $704,000 per post
Source: Hopper HQ
«Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has had an incredible year as he continues to dominate Hollywood with blockbuster hits, including Fast & Furious and the second Jumanji film,» said Mike Bandar, co-founder of Hopper HQ.
«It was particularly interesting to see the star rise in Instagram fame this year as he moved up six places in the list and overtook reigning champion Kylie Jenner.»
In May, Forbes magazine removed reality TV star and cosmetics entrepreneur Kylie Jenner from its list of billionaires, accusing her family of inflating the value of her makeup business.
This year was the first time in four years in which a Jenner or Kardashian wasn’t top of Hopper HQ’s Instagram celebrity rich list.
Influencers must make clear an Instagram post is an advert if they were paid to publish it or received gifts in return.
However, some have been criticised for a lack of transparency.
