Taylor Swift’s pet cat worth more than her boyfriend? Don’t believe everything you read online
If you’ve ever wondered how much your favorite celebrity’s pet is worth, you might be tempted to look it up on one of the many online net worth calculators. But before you do, you should know that these calculators are not very reliable and often use dubious data sources. That’s the case for Taylor Swift’s cat, Olivia Benson, who is reportedly worth more than Swift’s partner, Travis Kelce, the NFL star. According to Cats.com, Benson has a net worth of $97 million, while Kelce’s is $40 million. But how did they come up with these numbers?
Online calculators use guesswork and Instagram data
Cats.com claims to have used “data from Instagram” to estimate the net worth of celebrity pets. This means they probably looked at how many followers, likes, and comments the pets have, and then applied some formula to convert that into money. But this is far from accurate, as finance experts explain.
Travis Brown, a financial advisor, says that calculating someone’s net worth requires knowing their assets and liabilities, which are usually private information. He says that online calculators are based on guesswork and assumptions, and do not reflect the true financial situation of celebrities or their pets.
Jen Reid, another financial advisor, agrees with Brown and adds that celebrities may have different sources of income and expenses that are not visible on social media. For example, Taylor Swift may have invested her money in real estate, businesses, or other ventures that increase her net worth, or she may have spent some of it on travel, dinners, or private jets that decrease it.
Celebrity pets can earn money, but not millions
That’s not to say that celebrity pets don’t make any money at all. Some of them have their own brands, books, or endorsements that generate income. For example, Nala Cat, who has 4.5 million followers on Instagram, has a pet food brand and a book. Gunther VI, a German shepherd, has a documentary on Netflix that tells the story of how he inherited $500 million from his owner.
But these are rare cases, and most celebrity pets don’t earn that much. Jackie Hornung, the owner of Lumi, a famous dog who has been on Good Morning America and rides the subway in New York, says that Lumi makes enough money to pay for his dog food and treats.