A-listers' private jets ranked by most polluting — with Taylor Swift's plane the worst

Aircraft used by Oprah Winfrey, Floyd Mayweather and Kim Kardashian are also top offenders

Taylor Swift's private jet has emitted more carbon than any other celebrity's plane, according to a new report from UK-based digital marketing agency Yard.

The private jet used by Swift, which is also rented by other people, has been in the air for 22,923 minutes this year, completing 170 flights with the shortest journey a 36-minute flight from Missouri to Nashville.

Emissions clocked up on the jet represent 1,184 times more than the average person’s total annual emissions.

But the singer isn’t admitting fault.

“Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals. To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect,” a representative for the singer told Rolling Stones magazine, which contacted all the celebrities on the list.

Yard said the rankings are based on the biggest offenders according to data on the Celebrity Jets Twitter account, which tracks private aircraft owned by A-listers, but admitted it was not conclusive.

The marketing company also confirmed that data was based on the planes and their time in the air, rather than whether celebrities were passengers on each of the recorded journeys.

According to the report, jets owned by A-listers have emitted an average of 3,376.64 tonnes of CO2 emissions so far this year. That's more than 480 times above the average person’s annual emissions.

Other top offending jets include ones used by Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Travis Scott and Oprah Winfrey.

A jet owned by boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is also among the worst culprits.

The sportsman ranked second after his jet emitted more than 7,000 tonnes of CO2 this year. Mayweather's $50 million plane has flown more times than any other on the list, averaging around 25 flights per month. The retired boxer also has the shortest trip in the ranking, with a 10-minute jaunt in Las Vegas.

“It’s easy to get lost in the dazzling lives of the rich and famous, but unfortunately, they’re a massive part of the CO2 problem we have with the aviation industry,” said Chris Butterworth, digital sustainability director at Yard.

“Research shows a vast divide between the super-rich and the rest of us regarding flights, travel, and even general emissions.”

The worst private jets used by celebrities

1. Taylor Swift

2. Floyd Mayweather

3. Jay-Z

4. Alex Rodriguez

5. Blake Shelton

6. Steven Spielberg

7. Kim Kardashian

8. Mark Wahlberg

9. Oprah Winfrey

10. Travis Scott

Kylie Jenner, who sparked a social media backlash last week after posting a picture of hers and Travis Scott’s planes on Instagram, didn’t rank in the top 10.

Instead, the reality TV star was the 19th worst celebrity for CO2 offences via private jet, but her partner rounded out the top 10.

Yard compiled the rankings by scraping data from Celebrity Jets, which was cross-compared to the general population’s CO2 emissions and each celebrity's CO2. It considers the number of flights each star's jet has taken, the average length of each flight, distance travelled and the total CO2 emissions created from flying since the start of 2022.

Earlier this week, Drake was called out after the same Celebrity Jets Twitter account revealed his Boeing 767 had taken multiple short flights, including one lasting only seven minutes.

The Canadian singer attempted to defend the flights, posting on Instagram that “This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics … nobody takes that flight.”

However, critics responded that empty flights were even worse for the environment, as the pollution created was even more futile.

Because they carry so few people, private jets are five to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes per passenger, according to Transport and Environment, a clean transport campaign group in Europe.

Updated: June 23, 2023, 3:14 PM