• Taylor Swift performs on stage at Lumen Field on July 22 in Seattle, Washington. Getty Images
    Taylor Swift performs on stage at Lumen Field on July 22 in Seattle, Washington. Getty Images
  • Swift performs at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on July 28. Getty Images
    Swift performs at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on July 28. Getty Images
  • Swift makes a heart gesture with her hands during night one of her six-night residency at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Getty Images
    Swift makes a heart gesture with her hands during night one of her six-night residency at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Getty Images
  • Swift performs with the band HAIM in Los Angeles. Getty Images
    Swift performs with the band HAIM in Los Angeles. Getty Images
  • Swift performs on stage for the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 17 in Glendale, Arizona. AFP
    Swift performs on stage for the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 17 in Glendale, Arizona. AFP
  • The city of Glendale was ceremonially renamed Swift City for March 17-18 in honour of The Eras Tour. AFP
    The city of Glendale was ceremonially renamed Swift City for March 17-18 in honour of The Eras Tour. AFP
  • Swift takes the stage at SoFi Stadium on August 3. Getty Images
    Swift takes the stage at SoFi Stadium on August 3. Getty Images
  • Swift has put together sprawling set lists of more than 40 songs during her Eras Tour. AFP
    Swift has put together sprawling set lists of more than 40 songs during her Eras Tour. AFP
  • Swift performs at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on March 31. AFP
    Swift performs at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on March 31. AFP
  • Swift's tour is scheduled to run until November 2024. AFP
    Swift's tour is scheduled to run until November 2024. AFP

Taylor Swift is now a billionaire with a net worth of $1.1bn


Deepthi Nair
  • English
  • Arabic

US singer and songwriter Taylor Swift has a current net worth of $1.1 billion after the success of her Eras world tour and its accompanying film, according to Bloomberg.

The success of the Eras tour – a Super Bowl-sized event spanning numerous cities that shattered records and sparked ticket frenzies – has propelled the 33-year-old pop star’s net worth past $1 billion, according to a Bloomberg News analysis on Friday.

Swift is one of the few entertainers to reach that status based on just her music and performance, Bloomberg said.

She now joins performers including Rihanna, Jay-Z and Beyonce in the coveted billionaires club.

Watch: Taylor Swift fans break out in song on delayed flight

The calculation took into account the estimated value of her music catalogue and five homes, and earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets and merchandise.

This includes an estimated $400 million from her music released since 2019, $370 million from ticket sales and merchandise, $110 million from her five personal properties, $120 million earned from Spotify and YouTube, and $80 million from music sales royalties, according to the report.

The Shake It Off singer’s 53 US concerts this year added $4.3 billion to the country’s gross domestic product, according to estimates from Bloomberg Economics.

The 146-date Eras Tour, which is expected to be the highest-grossing tour of all time when it closes next year, is projected to have a $5 billion economic impact on the US, according to software company QuestionPro. That would produce a gross domestic product larger than 50 countries.

Swift could earn as much as $4.1 billion from the tour, calculated on the standard artist’s share of 85 per cent, according to The Washington Post.

The 12-time Grammy winner makes between $10 million and $13 million per show, according to Forbes.

The Eras tour is Swift’s first since 2018 after she cancelled her planned Lover Fest tour in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since then, Swift has released four new albums and re-recorded three others as “(Taylor's Version)”.

Eras racked up more than $700 million in ticket sales for shows performed to date, according to Bloomberg estimates.

Swift is also dominating movie theatres. In its opening weekend, the pop singer’s concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, grossed an estimated $126 million to $130 million in global ticket sales, according to cinema chain AMC.

It is the highest-grossing concert film in US history.

Swift took the unusual step of making a direct deal with AMC, the world’s biggest theatre operator, instead of teaming up with a Hollywood studio to distribute her concert film, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Swift is now one of the world’s richest self-made women. The pop star officially has more No 1 albums than any woman in history. Previously, Barbra Streisand held the record, with 11 No 1 albums.

In 2019, Swift announced that she was planning to re-record her first six studio albums after her former label sold her master recordings. She has since released Taylor’s Version albums for Red, Speak Now and Fearless.

She pulled all her music from online music streaming service Spotify in 2014 in protest against what she called “unfair compensation” from the streamer. She then renegotiated her rates to rejoin Spotify after three years.

In 2018, she left her long-time record label Big Machine to go independent and negotiated a new contract with Universal Music Group that allows her to take a larger share of the royalties, according to Bloomberg.

Watch: Taylor Swift pulls music from Spotify

Swift also owns two Dassault private jets, Forbes said.

Her real estate portfolio includes four properties in New York City, a beach house in Rhode Island, properties in Nashville, Tennessee, a seven-bedroom home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and an estate in Beverly Hills.

Swift has also endorsed companies such as Coca-Cola, CoverGirl, Target, AT&T and Sony Electronics.

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket

Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books 

The%20trailblazers
%3Cp%3ESixteen%20boys%20and%2015%20girls%20have%20gone%20on%20from%20Go-Pro%20Academy%20in%20Dubai%20to%20either%20professional%20contracts%20abroad%20or%20scholarships%20in%20the%20United%20States.%20Here%20are%20two%20of%20the%20most%20prominent.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeorgia%20Gibson%20(Newcastle%20United)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20reason%20the%20academy%20in%20Dubai%20first%20set%20up%20a%20girls%E2%80%99%20programme%20was%20to%20help%20Gibson%20reach%20her%20potential.%20Now%20she%20plays%20professionally%20for%20Newcastle%20United%20in%20the%20UK.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMackenzie%20Hunt%20(Everton)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAttended%20DESS%20in%20Dubai%2C%20before%20heading%20to%20the%20UK%20to%20join%20Everton%20full%20time%20as%20a%20teenager.%20He%20was%20on%20the%20bench%20for%20the%20first%20team%20as%20recently%20as%20their%20fixture%20against%20Brighton%20on%20February%2024.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

 

Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
'Moonshot'

Director: Chris Winterbauer

Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse 

Rating: 3/5

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

The specs

Engine: 5.2-litre V10

Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm

Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm

Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: From Dh1 million

On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022 

Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus

Updated: October 27, 2023, 11:57 AM