The wealthiest names in the modelling world are bona fide financial powerhouses. Spanning 1970s and 1980s trailblazers, iconic 1990s supers, and 21st-century 'It' girls, they've converted catwalk fame into enormous earnings. Many have parlayed their runway success into lucrative long-term endorsement deals, thriving business empires, savvy investments, and flourishing acting or media careers. Others have benefited from high-profile marriages or inherited wealth. But all have proved they're far more than just a pretty face.
Read on to discover the world's 25 richest fashion models, based on personal wealth estimates by Celebrity Net Worth.
The industry's top earners are exclusively female. Modelling is one of the few professions where women are paid significantly more than men, with research from the 2010s suggesting that male models earn around 75% less on average. That said, they do tend to enjoy greater career longevity.
The gender pay gap is stark: David Gandy, the richest male model, is worth a relatively modest $9 million (£6.7m), with Sean O'Pry the runner-up with $8 million (£6m). These numbers don't even come close to the women's fortunes in this round-up.
As one of the defining supermodels of the 1990s, Christy Turlington cashed in big time, fronting hundreds of major fashion and beauty campaigns for brands including Chanel, Calvin Klein, and Maybelline. Her timeless allure continues to command prestige work decades on.
Over the years, a constant magazine presence, with over 500 covers and counting, alongside plum endorsement deals, have worked wonders on her net worth, which is combined with that of her husband, actor Edward Burns.
Discovered at a charity runway show in 2005 aged just 13, Karlie Kloss rose rapidly through the fashion ranks, becoming known for her signature 'panther' walk. She's gone on to feature in coveted campaigns for Calvin Klein, Dior, Nike, and L'Oréal, appear on over 40 international Vogue covers, and become a Victoria's Secret Angel.
In recent years, Kloss has expanded into media and business, hosting Project Runway and acquiring cult UK fashion title i-D magazine. Meanwhile, her marriage to billionaire investor Joshua Kushner places her firmly within one of the world's most powerful business circles.
A 1990s supermodel synonymous with power and reinvention, Linda Evangelista famously uttered, “We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day”, a remark that summed up the era's extraordinary modelling wealth.
A fashion chameleon, she's landed major campaigns and appeared on more than 700 magazine covers, while acting as a muse to Karl Lagerfeld and Steven Meisel. Botched cosmetic procedures in 2015 and 2016 forced Evangelista out of the spotlight, but she later reached a substantial legal settlement and has since made a glittering comeback.
One of several British names in this round-up, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley rose to prominence in the late 2000s after breaking out with Burberry and becoming a Victoria's Secret Angel, before going on to rank among the world's highest-paid models during the 2010s.
Taking after her Hollywood action-hero partner Jason Statham, she's tried her hand at acting too, with roles in 2011's Transformers: Dark of the Moon and 2015 hit Mad Max: Fury Road. Huntington-Whitley has also expanded into the business world with her clean beauty brand Rose Inc., which she later sold.
After signing with Storm in 2009 at age 17, Cara Delevingne ruled the 2010s, bagging campaigns for the likes of Burberry, Chanel, YSL Beauty, and TAG Heuer, walking the world's elite runways and appearing on multiple international Vogue covers.
While she continues to model selectively, the London-born star moved into acting early in her rise. She made her screen debut in Anna Karenina in 2012 and has since landed major roles in Paper Towns, Suicide Squad, Valerian, and the TV series Carnival Row, helping to diversify her income well beyond the catwalk.
Kendall Jenner grew up on camera on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, before mapping out a distinctive career path of her own.
Leveraging the exposure she gained in the 2010s into a full-scale fashion career, she's become one of the world's highest-paid models, scoring campaigns with brands including Calvin Klein, Estée Lauder, and Fendi, while appearing on countless magazine covers and strutting the biggest catwalks in the business.
Raised far from fashion's front row, Miranda Kerr's ascent began after winning Australia's Dolly Magazine model search at just 13. A steady rise led to global recognition in the mid-2000s, when she became the first Australian Victoria's Secret Angel.
Major contracts with Maybelline, Clinique, Swarovski, and H&M followed, alongside extensive editorial work and runway appearances. Beyond modelling, Kerr has boosted her income through entrepreneurship, founding clean skincare label KORA Organics, and cemented her financial standing through her marriage to billionaire Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel.
Discovered in a Düsseldorf nightclub at 17, Claudia Schiffer became one of the leading 1990s supermodels, skyrocketing to global renown via landmark campaigns with Guess and Chanel, where she served as a long-standing muse to fellow German Karl Lagerfeld.
Boasting an unmatched editorial presence, Vogue's “ultimate blonde Bombshell” has appeared on more than 1,000 covers through her long career, which she's broadened with film work, production credits and fashion projects.
Kate Moss blew up in the early 1990s as the face of fashion's grunge shift, her angular bone structure and often controversial waifish frame challenging the supermodel ideal. Landmark campaigns for the likes of Calvin Klein propelled her to global fame, while long-running relationships with houses such as Chanel and Saint Laurent have helped secure her iconic status.
Admired for her personal style, Moss has since launched successful fragrance lines, sell-out Topshop collections, a wellness-focused beauty brand, and an eponymous modelling agency, while continuing to secure high-profile editorial and commercial work decades into her career.
One of three Brazilians in this round-up, Alessandra Ambrosio broke out in the late 1990s with campaigns for brands including Guess and Dolce & Gabbana, alongside covers of Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar. Her profile then exploded after joining Victoria’s Secret in 2000, where a long-running Angel tenure kept her among fashion's top earners through the 2000s and 2010s.
She has since branched into swimwear and lifestyle ventures such as Gal Floripa, alongside acting roles and ongoing top-tier fashion work.
Naomi Campbell sashayed into the limelight in the late 1980s and went on to dominate the 1990s supermodel era, breaking down racial barriers and becoming one of fashion's most recognisable figures. A formidable runway presence for houses such as Versace, Azzedine Alaïa, and Chanel, the London-born supermodel also made history with landmark Vogue covers.
Despite weathering plenty of controversy, Campbell has sustained an expansive career encompassing acting, music, beauty collaborations, and philanthropy, maintaining both her influence and earning power decades later.
Emerging in the early 1990s, Tyra Banks became one of America's leading supermodels, walking for leading fashion houses, wowing as a Victoria's Secret Angel, and becoming the first Black woman to appear on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She later pivoted away from the catwalk, turning modelling fame into a far broader media career.
As the creator and host of America’s Next Top Model and a top-rated daytime talk show, Banks has pulled off one of the most successful pivots in the game.
Adriana Lima became a major force in 2000s fashion after winning Ford’s Supermodel of Brazil competition and relocating to New York. Her profile soared through a record-breaking 18-year run as a Victoria's Secret Angel, the longest in the brand's history, as well as major campaigns for Maybelline and Versace. She's also dabbled in acting.
With annual earnings of up to $15 million (£11.2m), Lima has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid models, underscoring the commercial power of her long-running career.
Elle Macpherson made a massive impact in the 1980s and 1990s, earning the nickname 'The Body' after a run of era-defining magazine covers and a record five appearances on Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. The Aussie star's crossover appeal extended to acting, with roles in films including Sirens and Batman & Robin, as well as a memorable stint on Friends.
Off-camera, Macpherson has proven equally adept in business, building a lingerie empire with Elle Macpherson Intimates and later co-founding wellness brand WelleCo.
Amanda Hearst built an enviable fashion and media career in the 2000s, modelling for IMG and appearing on covers including Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, and Harper's Bazaar. She also held an editorial role at Marie Claire.
That said, much of her personal wealth stems from her position as an heiress to the Hearst publishing empire, with family holdings forming the backbone of her estimated fortune.
Amanda Hearst's cousin, Lydia Hearst-Shaw, also owes much of her net worth to the Hearst family fortune. She too has carved out a highly successful modelling career since the 2000s, achieving even greater recognition than her relative.
The daughter of infamous kidnap victim Patty Hearst, the publishing scion has walked the world's top runways, appeared on the covers of Vogue, GQ and Harper's Bazaar, and worked for luxury houses including Chanel and Fendi. She's also branched out into acting and producing, TV hosting, and print journalism.
Spotted in Paris in the late 1970s, Christie Brinkley’s all-American look quickly became ubiquitous across magazines and advertising, with a three-year run on Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue covers and a 25-year association with CoverGirl anchoring her earning power.
Also known for her brief marriage to musician Billy Joel, she later scored acting roles and set up a portfolio of lifestyle brands. But the bulk of Brinkley's wealth comes courtesy of extra-shrewd property investments in the Hamptons and elsewhere.
British-born Sarah Murdoch modelled internationally in the 1990s, working with houses such as Chanel, Saint Laurent, and Ralph Lauren, and appearing on the covers of Vogue and Elle. She later became a familiar TV figure in her adopted country Australia as host of Australia’s Next Top Model.
While the proceeds of her fashion and media career are not to be sniffed at, much of Murdoch's wealth is presumably tied to her marriage to billionaire Lachlan Murdoch, heir to the Murdoch media empire.
Likewise, the lion's share of Stephanie Seymour's net worth is tied to her marriage to property tycoon and art collector Peter Brant.
However, Seymour crushed it as a supermodel in the 1990s, fronting Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues, serving as a Victoria's Secret Angel, and landing campaigns and Vogue covers that placed her among the era’s most in-demand names. She's also appeared on screen and later launched her own lingerie label, Raven & Sparrow.
Heidi Klum turned her 1990s modelling career, including years as a Victoria's Secret Angel, into a hugely profitable television empire. While fashion launched her profile, TV now dominates her income.
Thanks to her long-standing hosting and producing roles on shows like America's Got Talent, Project Runway, and Germany's Next Top Model, the star earns many millions of dollars a year, with additional revenue from fashion lines, endorsements, and licensing deals.
Somali-born Iman rewrote fashion's beauty rules in the 1970s, her statuesque frame and striking features making her a favourite of designers including Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, and Gianni Versace, as well as a regular on major magazine covers.
She later built a successful business empire with Iman Cosmetics, one of the first beauty lines created for women of colour, alongside acting and other ventures. Still, much of her net worth stems from her marriage to David Bowie, whose estate and catalogue sales have added considerably to the total.
Gisele Bündchen stands apart as the richest model based on modelling and endorsement earnings alone.
The Brazilian star has sat atop the industry from the late 1990s onwards, earning more than $500 million (£375m) from modelling and brand partnerships with names including Victoria’s Secret, Chanel, and Pantene. During her marriage to NFL icon Tom Brady, she reportedly out-earned him by a considerable margin, an impressive feat that underlines the scale of her commercial prowess.
Few models have converted visibility into long-term wealth as effectively as 1990s super Cindy Crawford, whose career has stretched far beyond the catwalk into beauty, homeware, and lifestyle empires, as well as film and TV work. Her Meaningful Beauty skincare line and furniture brands have generated vast, steady revenues long after her runway peak.
Her estimated $400 million (£300m) net worth is combined with that of her husband, Casamigos co-founder Rande Gerber, though Crawford's own earnings would no doubt still place her among the richest models in history.
Kathy Ireland was a near-constant presence in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue throughout the 1980s and 1990s, appearing for 13 consecutive years and becoming one of the publication’s most bankable names. While she also pursued acting, her modelling success ultimately proved to be the least lucrative chapter of her career.
In 1993, Ireland quietly laid the foundations for a business empire with Kathy Ireland Worldwide. Now a licensing juggernaut spanning home furnishings, fashion, lifestyle, and beyond, the pivot has made her very rich indeed.
Technically the richest model in the world, Slavica Ecclestone's immense fortune has little to do with her fashion career. The Croatian-born catwalk star shone in the 1980s working for designers including Giorgio Armani, before meeting Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
The vast majority of her wealth stems from their 2009 divorce, which saw the former model walk away with an estimated $1.2 billion (£899m) settlement, one of the largest in history. While her modelling career opened doors, it was her marriage to and subsequent split from the F1 billionaire that ultimately placed her in a financial league of her own.
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