JoJo Siwa, 18, is making headlines for her unprecedented Dancing With the Stars debut. This season, JoJo twirls around the ballroom each week with professional dancer Jenna Johnson, making history as the show's first ever same-sex pair.
"For the first time in Dancing with the Stars history, I am dancing with another female, and I'm really, really proud," JoJo explained, per People. "I came out [as pansexual] in early 2021 and what I love to do is make truly being who you are easier for kids."
While JoJo's first DWTS routine was pretty impressive, it's not her first entertainment rodeo. And, her net worth proves it. She got her start on Dance Moms and has skyrocketed in fame and pay checks ever since with her many books, lines of merchandise, concert tours, and more.
Here's exactly how much JoJo Siwa is worth, and how she makes all that cash:
JoJo appeared on Dance Moms when she was just 13 years old.
JoJo first popped up on television screens when she joined Abby Lee's Dance Competition as a contestant, per Women's Health. Then, she became a part of Dance Moms season five, but she only stayed with the show until season six.
Back in 2015, Abby Lee Miller revealed that the girls on Dance Moms made $2,000 per episode during season 5, according to Us Weekly. That adds up to about $64,000 for JoJo.
But the show propelled JoJo into the spotlight and more opportunities in the music biz.
Then, JoJo started building her Youtube channel.
JoJo's television debut paved the way for her eventual success on social media. “The biggest thing with Youtube is persistence,” she told Viacom back in 2018. “As long as you upload on a specific schedule and have consistency between channels that’s when it takes it to another level.”
JoJo's Youtube content includes music videos, tours of her massive home, and interactions with adoring fans and fellow celebs. Each one can rack up anywhere from 50,000 to 2 million views. She knows her videos are the key to her brand: "YouTube is what I’m invested in. Youtube is my life. I love Youtube," she told Forbes.
Flash forward to today, and JoJo's Youtube channel has over 12 million subscribers. A similar channel with 18 million subscribers earned $22 million in 2018, Forbes reported, so JoJo's channel could bring in around a whopping $15 million each year. I did the math.
When she was 13, JoJo also inked a huge deal with Nickelodeon.
At 13, JoJo successfully signed a deal with Nickelodeon, per Forbes. “Early on, Nickelodeon wanted to have a meeting, where they discussed big business, and they wanted to do it without me," she said. "My Mom and I said, ‘That’s not how it works. We’ve been in this together since day one.’"
The deal included concert performances at huge events, like the Kids Choice Awards and SlimeFest. JoJo also went on tour. In 2019, JoJo raked in $27 million on her debut tour, D.R.E.A.M. The Tour, according to Billboard. She sold over half a million tickets to 82 concerts between the end of May and the beginning of October.
JoJo has also starred in a Netflix documentary about her life, called JoJo Siwa: My World. An animated series called The JoJo and BowBow Show Show ran for two seasons on Nickelodeon's Youtube channel. She's appeared on countless shows since then, like The Masked Singer, MTV Cribs, and plenty of other Nickelodeon specials.
Soon, JoJo will already have made $125,000 for her first two weeks on Dancing With the Stars, according to Variety. And if she wins, she'll make even more. Stars can make a up to $295,000 per season (nbd), the outlet reported in 2019.
Next came JoJo’s first collection of hair bows.
JoJo built a large following pretty quickly and capitalized on it with the first round of hair bows. FYI: An oversized bow is part of JoJo's signature look (plus her platinum blonde ponytail). She and her mom realized early on that it could also be a moneymaker, per Viacom.
The first collection of bows, which JoJo and her mom merchandised to Claire's, sold out in a matter of hours. “The bows had wild success,” JoJo said. “They sold out in the first day. It was crazy how fast they went.”
The bows are now one of JoJo's biggest sources of income. "It all started with the bows. So far, we’ve sold over 80 million bows," she told Forbes. The outlet reported that the bows range in price anywhere from $5 to $16. If you do the math, JoJo has made at least $400 million from bow sales alone. Even if she's only getting a fraction of that number, that's a serious chunk of cash!
She sells plenty of other merch, too.
JoJo's partnership with Nickelodeon also includes countless lines of merchandise, like bedding, action figures, sneakers, and clothing. “I probably spend most of my time with JoJo toys," JoJo told Forbes. "They are the biggest seller, followed by: accessories, apparel and then bedding. Shoes are included in apparel and Wal Mart just placed their biggest shoe buy ever. It was for over one million pairs of JoJo shoes.”
If that sounds like a lot to take on at once, it's because it is. JoJo added that “there are 500 Nickelodeon employees, worldwide, that support the JoJo brand. I can’t be present in every business meeting because they’re probably having three JoJo meetings right now. People in Hong Kong are probably having JoJo meetings. People in Australia are probably having JoJo meetings because it’s such a huge franchise," per Forbes.
All of those products translate to a hefty income for JoJo (likely a few more millions, at least).
And, she’s a published author.
But wait, there's more: JoJo also has a whole bookshelf's worth of titles to her name. So far, she's published 17 children's books and counting. Her book sets sell for up to $55 on Amazon, so it's pretty likely that JoJo's career as an author is also helping her bring home the big bucks.
The JoJo and BowBow Series
JoJo Siwa JoJo and BowBow Take the Stage
JoJo Siwa Candy Kisses
JoJo Siwa The Posh Puppy Pageant
JoJo Siwa Queen Bs and Honeybees
JoJo Siwa The Great Beach Cake Bake
JoJo Siwa Razzle-Dazzle Babysitters
Now, JoJo is blowing up on TikTok.
"Next is TikTok," JoJo told Forbes about her future social media plans. "I love it because you can just make a dance video." She's already built a gigantic following on the app of over 36 million users. Some of her videos have been viewed almost 30 million times—like this one featuring her long-distance girlfriend, Kylie Prew:
And, JoJo has many more projects in the pipeline.
And she's not going anywhere anytime soon or letting the big checks stop streaming in. "As far as what’s next is that I’m happiest when I’m performing," JoJo told Forbes. "I have a lot of projects lined up."
No matter what she stars in next, it's clear that JoJo gets paid a hefty amount for each appearance, since she's in such high demand.
So, how much is JoJo Siwa actually worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the 18-year-old pop star and social media mogul is currently worth around $20 million. To give you some perspective, that's four times more than Olympic gymnast Simone Biles' net worth. And with her tour set to go back on the road in 2022, her bank account is only going to grow.
