--- title: How some pets earn more than most people - The Hustle description: Brand endorsements, merch, and trusts are how the world’s richest pets got their dough. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1982780031-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-03T004439.701Z-scaled.webp --- # How some pets earn more than most people ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: January 03, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 My cat screams for food every morning at 6:30am despite knowing full well that breakfast is at 8am, and generates absolutely no income. Taylor Swift’s cat is apparently worth $97m. ![How some pets earn more than most people](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1982780031-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-03T004439.701Z-scaled.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1982780031-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-03T004439.701Z-scaled.webp) Oliva Benson, Swift’s white Scottish Fold, is the second-richest cat behind [Nala Cat](https://www.instagram.com/nala_cat/) ($100m), per *All About Cats*’ [Pet Rich List](https://allaboutcats.com/the-ultimate-pet-rich-list/). Gunther VI, a German Shepard, is the top dog at $500m… maybe. #### **How does a pet get rich?** Like any of us, through hard work — or wealthy parents: **Brand endorsements:** Olivia has [appeared](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2014/10/16/Olivia-Benson-Taylor-Swift-star-in-new-ad-for-Diet-Coke/2421413493250/) in commercials for Diet Coke, as well as Swift’s music videos*, *[*per*](https://sg.news.yahoo.com/taylor-swift-cat-worth-97-130000922.html)* Yahoo News.* **Appearances: **Humans and pets alike appear at fan conventions. This year’s CatCon featured meet-and-greets with “[Adventure Cat Leo](https://www.instagram.com/adventurecatleo/?hl=en),” among others. **Merchandise:** The late Grumpy Cat’s worth is unknown, but it’s estimated she brought in[ up to $100m](https://www.forbes.com/sites/masonsands/2019/05/17/the-good-bad-and-the-grumpy-what-grumpy-cat-has-left-behind/?sh=757e93c43814) through appearances and merch. **Sponsored social posts: **Loni Edwards, founder of The Dog Agency, [told](https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/6/18066056/dog-instagram-famous-pet-influencers) *Vox* that pets with 100k+ followers can net a few hundred bucks per post, but those with millions can score $15k per post. **Inheritance: **Gunther VI’s wealth is supposedly via a trust left to his ancestor, Gunther III. However, when Gunther VI sold a mansion, it was but a “brilliant stunt” by Italy’s Gunther Corporation, [per](https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmareynolds/2021/11/17/worlds-wealthiest-dog-is-selling-miami-estate-for-32-million/?sh=24cc37db4063) *Forbes*. In fact, the entire thing may [be a hoax](https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/millionaire-german-shepherd-gunther-madonnas-former-miami-mansion-hoax-13362457)… … but some celebs, including Oprah Winfrey and late designer Karl Lagerfeld,* have *placed[ hefty sums](https://www.floridaelderlaw.net/blog/2019/03/karl-lagerfeld-oprah-winfrey-included-pets-in-estate-plan/#:~:text=Oprah%20Winfrey%20also%20made%20sure,most%20people%20think%20it%20is.) in trusts to ensure their pets will be cared for after their deaths. **BTW:** You can read all about how pet trusts work in our previous Sunday story [here](https://thehustle.co/pet-trust-funds/). Topics: [Animals](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/animals) [Wealth](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/wealth) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Until you’re submersible-on-a-yacht rich, you may never feel rich](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1941362999-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-rich_20230815220638.webp) ### Until you’re submersible-on-a-yacht rich, you may never feel rich - ![The drama around India’s richest man](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1050891866-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-31T005739.723Z-1024x1024.webp) ### The drama around India’s richest man - ![The top posthumous earners](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/948944258-HS-News-Brief_2022-11-07T004856.973Z.webp) ### The top posthumous earners - ![How much is the royal family worth?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/765988372-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-18T225356.935Z.webp) ### How much is the royal family worth? - ![The billionaire closing in on Bezos](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1878789469-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-12T035953.729Z.webp) ### The billionaire closing in on Bezos - ![Digits: Solar sheep, a PornHub ban, and more](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/597094430-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-05T222918.392Z.webp) ### Digits: Solar sheep, a PornHub ban, and more - ![Digits: Solar sheep, a PornHub ban, and more](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/597094430-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-05T222918.392Z.webp) ### Digits: Solar sheep, a PornHub ban, and more - ![Bird food is a billion dollar industry — but is it good for birds?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/16923145-News-Brief_2022-03-08T002036.704Z.webp) ### Bird food is a billion dollar industry — but is it good for birds? Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "datePublished" : "2023-01-03T08:57:52.000Z", "headline" : "How some pets earn more than most people", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1982780031-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-03T004439.701Z-scaled.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/01032023-rich-pets", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:38:33+0000", "datePublished" : "2023-01-03T08:57:52+0000", "headline" : "How some pets earn more than most people", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1982780031-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-03T004439.701Z-scaled.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```