Who is the richest model in the world? The $1.2 billion answer beats Gisele and Kendall

Who is the richest model in the world? The $1.2 billion answer beats Gisele and Kendall

The richest model in the world is Slavica Ecclestone, a Croatian former runway model with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion — three times Gisele Bündchen's $400 million. Her fortune, built from a supermodel career and one of the largest divorce settlements in history, makes her a billionaire that most fashion fans have never heard of.

Collage with Slavica Ecclestone, Gisele Bundchen and Tyra Banks
Who is the richest model in the world? The $1.2 billion answer beats Gisele and Kendall. Photo: William A Parker, Karim JAAFAR, Harmony Gerber
Source: Getty Images

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Key takeaways

  • Slavica Ecclestone tops the list at $1.2 billion — the only confirmed billionaire on this ranking by model-derived wealth.
  • Kylie Jenner is the runner-up at $700 million, powered by Kylie Cosmetics rather than runway bookings.
  • The overall range runs from $60 million to $1.2 billion.
  • Kathy Ireland is the biggest surprise in the top three: a Sports Illustrated cover girl who quietly built a $500 million licensing empire.
  • Gisele Bündchen is the richest model whose wealth came primarily from modelling contracts and endorsements, at $400 million.

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The 15 richest models in the world

Rank

Name

Net Worth

Nationality

Primary wealth source

1

Slavica Ecclestone

$1.2B

Croatian

Divorce settlement + investments

2

Kylie Jenner

$700M

American

Kylie Cosmetics + reality TV

3

Kathy Ireland

$500M

American

Kathy Ireland Worldwide (licensing)

4

Gisele Bündchen

$400M

Brazilian

Modelling contracts + endorsements

5

Cindy Crawford

Between $200M and $225M

American

Meaningful Beauty + investments

6

Heidi Klum

$160M

German-American

TV production + modelling

7

Kendall Jenner

$150M

American

Modelling + 818 Tequila

8

Christie Brinkley

$100M

American

Real estate + modelling

9

Adriana Lima

$95M

Brazilian

Victoria's Secret + endorsements

10

Elle Macpherson

$95M

Australian

Lingerie + wellness

11

Tyra Banks

$90M

American

America's Next Top Model + media

12

Naomi Campbell

$80M

British

Modelling + activism

13

Alessandra Ambrosio

$80M

Brazilian

VS + Gal Floripa

14

Kate Moss

$70M

British

Modelling + Kate Moss Agency

15

Claudia Schiffer

$70M

German

Modelling + producing

15. Claudia Schiffer ($70 million)

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  • Full name: Claudia Maria Schiffer
  • Date of birth: August 25, 1970
  • Nationality: German
  • Profession: Model, actress, producer, fashion designer
  • Net worth: $70 million
  • Instagram: @claudiaschiffer

Claudia Schiffer is a German model, actress, producer, and fashion designer with a net worth of $70 million — one of the most recognizable fashion models in history. She became Karl Lagerfeld's original muse, connecting her fortune directly to Chanel's prestige.

In addition to runway shows, she has appeared on over 1,000 magazine covers. She broke into behind-the-scenes work as an executive producer on 2024's Argylle, directed by her husband Matthew Vaughn.

14. Kate Moss ($70 million)

Kate Moss attends the Dior Homme Menswear Fall-Winter 2025/2026 show
Kate Moss attends the Dior Homme Menswear Fall-Winter 2025/2026 show as part of Paris Fashion Week at Ecole Militaire on January 24, 2025 in Paris, France. Photo: Stephane Cardinale
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Katherine Ann Moss
  • Date of birth: January 16, 1974
  • Nationality: British
  • Profession: Model, agency founder
  • Net worth: $70 million
  • Instagram: @katemossagency

Kate Moss built her fortune from scarcity. At 5′7″ — too short for traditional runway requirements — she proved that mystique outweighs measurements. Her strategy of minimal interviews and maximum intrigue created demand that availability would have diminished, generating enormous per-appearance earnings.

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She later founded the Kate Moss Agency and has remained a sought-after face for luxury brands well into her fifties.

13. Alessandra Ambrosio ($80 million)

Alessandra Ambrosio attends the "Ink" Screening and opening ceremony
Alessandra Ambrosio attends the "Ink" Screening and opening ceremony during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Photo: JB Lacroix/FilmMagic
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Alessandra Corine Ambrósio
  • Date of birth: April 11, 1981
  • Nationality: Brazilian
  • Profession: Model, entrepreneur
  • Net worth: $80 million
  • Instagram: @alessandraambrosio

Alessandra Ambrosio represents the Victoria's Secret trajectory: maximising a single lucrative relationship, then pivoting to ownership. Her Gal Floripa swimwear brand converts her Brazilian beach credentials into equity she controls.

She was a Victoria's Secret Angel for over 15 years, co-founded Gal Floripa with her sister and friend, and remains one of Brazil's highest-profile fashion exports.

12. Naomi Campbell ($80 million)

Naomi Campbell arrives for the Bambi Award 2025
Naomi Campbell arrives for the Bambi Award 2025 at Bavaria Studios on November 13, 2025 in Munich, Germany. Photo: Franziska Krug
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Naomi Elaine Campbell
  • Date of birth: May 22, 1970
  • Nationality: British
  • Profession: Model, actress, activist
  • Net worth: $80 million
  • Instagram: @naomi

Naomi Campbell has a net worth of $80 million and, at 54, is still actively booking major campaigns. One of the original 1990s supermodels, she walked her first runway at 15 and graced the covers of hundreds of international magazines.

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Beyond modelling, Campbell is a prominent humanitarian and founded the Fashion for Relief charity, which has raised millions for disaster relief globally.

11. Tyra Banks ($90 million)

Tyra Banks Hosts "SMiZE & DREAM" Hot Ice Cream First Taste at Artechouse NYC
Tyra Banks Hosts "SMiZE & DREAM" Hot Ice Cream First Taste at Artechouse NYC on December 10, 2025 in New York City. Photo: Manny Carabel
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Tyra Lynell Banks
  • Date of birth: December 4, 1973
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Model, TV host, media mogul
  • Net worth: $90 million
  • Instagram: @tyrabanks

Tyra Banks was famously rejected from five different modelling agencies before being signed in the early 1990s. During her modelling days, she walked for Chanel and had a fruitful Victoria's Secret career, but creating and hosting America's Next Top Model is what cemented her household-name status and impressive net worth.

Banks made a brief return to modelling when she closed the Victoria's Secret fashion show in October 2024.

10. Elle Macpherson ($95 million)

Elle Macpherson attends ELLE Style Awards 2025
Elle Macpherson attends ELLE Style Awards 2025 at Teatro Real on June 04, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. Photo: Patricia J. Garcinuno
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Eleanor Nancy Gow
  • Date of birth: March 29, 1964
  • Nationality: Australian
  • Profession: Model, businesswoman, author
  • Net worth: $95 million
  • Instagram: @ellemacpherson

Australian model Elle Macpherson is widely known for her runway days, but she is also a seasoned businesswoman. In the 1990s, Macpherson released a lingerie line, Elle Macpherson Intimates, with Bendon Limited Apparel, which became a bestselling lingerie collection in Britain and Australia.

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Macpherson also released her memoir Elle in 2024, covering different parts of her life and experiences.

9. Adriana Lima ($95 million)

Adriana Lima attends the "Killers Of The Flower Moon" red carpet
Adriana Lima attends the "Killers Of The Flower Moon" red carpet during the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2023, in Cannes, France. Photo: Neilson Barnard
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Adriana Francesca Lima
  • Date of birth: June 12, 1981
  • Nationality: Brazilian
  • Profession: Model, TV host
  • Net worth: $95 million
  • Instagram: @adrianalima

Adriana Lima was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2000 to 2018, making her the longest-running Victoria's Secret Angel and model. In 2017, she was named "the most valuable Victoria's Secret Angel" by American analytics company D'Marie.

Lima has become one of Brazil's most famous modelling exports, juggling an illustrious Victoria's Secret career with television hosting work, and was named FIFA's Global Fan Ambassador for the 2023 Women's World Cup.

8. Christie Brinkley ($100 million)

Christie Brinkley arrive for "The Rolling Stones: In Conversation with Conan O'Brien" at Weylin in Brooklyn
US model Christie Brinkley arrive for "The Rolling Stones: In Conversation with Conan O'Brien" at Weylin in Brooklyn, New York on May 5, 2026. Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Christie Lee Brinkley
  • Date of birth: February 2, 1954
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Model, businesswoman, author
  • Net worth: $100 million
  • Instagram: @christiebrinkley

Christie Brinkley is one of the most well-known Sports Illustrated models of all time and one of the richest supermodels in the world. Christie Brinkley proves that early wealth compounds impressively. Her Hamptons real estate, purchased when the East End was merely expensive rather than astronomical, now anchors a portfolio worth multiples of her modelling earnings.

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7. Kendall Jenner ($150 million)

Kendall Jenner at the 83 Venice International Film Festival 2026
American top model and TV character Kendall Jenner at the 83 Venice International Film Festival 2026, at the Wild Horse Nine red carpet in Venice (Italy), September 3rd, 2026: Photo by Marilla Sicilia
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Kendall Nicole Jenner
  • Date of birth: November 3, 1995
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Model, entrepreneur
  • Net worth: $150 million
  • Instagram: @kendalljenner

As one of the top-earning models in 2024, Kendall has leveraged her massive social media presence — over 280 million Instagram followers — to secure major brand endorsements and collaborations across beauty and fashion.

She has many business endeavours, including mobile games, clothing lines, partnerships with oral-care and skincare brands, and her tequila line, 818. At Paris Fashion Week 2025, she walked for several high-profile designers, further cementing her global fashion stature.

6. Heidi Klum ($160 million)

Heidi Klum, model and presenter, stands at the "Calzedonia Summer Club" event
Heidi Klum, model and presenter, stands at the "Calzedonia Summer Club" event. Photo: Thomas Banneyer
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Heidi Samuel (born Heidi Klum)
  • Date of birth: June 1, 1973
  • Nationality: German-American
  • Profession: Model, TV host, producer
  • Net worth: $160 million
  • Instagram: @heidiklum

Heidi Klum recognised that television producers earned more than television hosts. Project Runway became her vehicle, with producer credits generating residual income that will continue for decades.

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Forbes once ranked her second on its list of the world's top-earning models, noting that since ending her 13-year run as a Victoria's Secret Angel, Klum has become more of a businesswoman than a model.

5. Cindy Crawford (Between $200 million and $225 million)

Cindy Crawford attends the Forbes Power Women's Summit 2026
Cindy Crawford attends the Forbes Power Women's Summit 2026 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on September 10, 2026 in New York City. Photo: Taylor Hill
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Cynthia Ann Crawford
  • Date of birth: February 20, 1966
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Model, entrepreneur, actress
  • Net worth: Between $200 million and $225million
  • Instagram: @cindycrawford

Cindy Crawford became one of the most recognisable faces of the 1990s, appearing in commercials, music videos, magazines, and TV roles before retiring from full-time modelling in 2000, going on to create beauty products, a furniture line, and other business endeavours.

Crawford shares a $400 million net worth with her husband Rande Gerber. While her modelling career made her famous, her skincare line Meaningful Beauty and other business investments built her fortune.

4. Gisele Bündchen ($400 million)

Gisele Bundchen waves leaving ABC's "The View"
Gisele Bundchen leaves ABC's "The View" on the Upper West Side on March 21, 2024 in New York City. Photo: James Devaney/GC Images
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Gisele Caroline Bündchen
  • Date of birth: July 20, 1980
  • Nationality: Brazilian
  • Profession: Model, entrepreneur, environmental activist
  • Net worth: $400 million
  • Instagram: @gisele

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Over a career spanning three decades, Gisele has earned over $500 million from modelling and endorsements alone, appeared in more than 550 advertising campaigns, graced over 2,000 magazine covers, and walked more than 800 runway shows.

Over more than a decade with major brands like H&M, Chanel, and Victoria's Secret, she earned an estimated $386 million by 2014, including lucrative contracts with Pantene, endorsements with Apple and Volkswagen, and over 1,200 magazine covers. She was the world's highest-paid model for over a decade.

3. Kathy Ireland ($500 million)

Kathy Ireland attends the 32nd annual Movieguide Awards Gala
Kathy Ireland attends the 32nd annual Movieguide Awards Gala at AVALON Hollywood on February 07, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Michael Tullberg
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Kathleen Marie Ireland
  • Date of birth: March 20, 1963
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Former model, entrepreneur, author
  • Net worth: $500 million
  • Instagram: @kathyireland

Kathy Ireland appeared on covers in the late 1970s and 1980s, earning the title Greatest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover of All Time for her 1989 cover. Her transition to businesswoman through brand marketing, fashion lines, and home furnishings has made her an inspiration to many models.

In 1993, she founded the brand licensing company Kathy Ireland Worldwide (KIWW), which made her one of the wealthiest former models in the world, earning a $420 million personal fortune by 2015. In 2021 alone, her company generated retail sales of $3.1 billion.

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2. Kylie Jenner ($700 million)

Kylie Jenner attends the 2026 Met Gala
Kylie Jenner attends the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York City. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris
Source: Getty Images
  • Full name: Kylie Kristen Jenner
  • Date of birth: August 10, 1997
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Model, entrepreneur, reality TV star
  • Net worth: $700 million
  • Instagram: @kyliejenner

Kylie Jenner is an American model, reality television star, and cosmetics entrepreneur with a net worth of $700 million. In a given year, she earns around $40–$100 million from her various endeavours.

Her personal fashion brand, Khy, launched in late 2023 and reportedly achieved $1 million in sales within its first hour. She also holds multi-million-dollar endorsement deals with major brands like Adidas and Calvin Klein, and earns significant income from The Kardashians on Hulu, with the family's deal reportedly worth over $100 million.

1. Slavica Ecclestone ($1.2 billion)

Bernie Ecclestone and Slavica Ecclestone arrive at 2005 Autosport Awards
Bernie Ecclestone arrives with wife Slavica at 2005 Autosport Awards, Grosvenor House, London. Photo: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images
Source: Getty Images

Full name: Slavica Ecclestone (born Slavica Radić)

  • Date of birth: June 2, 1958
  • Nationality: Croatian
  • Profession: Former model, businesswoman
  • Net worth: $1.2 billion

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Slavica Ecclestone, the Croatian former model and ex-wife of Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone, holds an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion in 2025, making her the wealthiest former model in the world.

In November 2008, Slavica filed for divorce after 23 years of marriage. The divorce was finalised in 2009. Their split made headlines worldwide as the couple divided the Formula One fortune — Slavica walked away with a $1.2 billion settlement, one of the most expensive divorces of all time.

The Croatian former model and ex-wife of Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone built her fortune through a modelling career, offshore trust management, and one of the largest divorce settlements in British history, worth over £700 million ($881 million). For comparison, Gisele Bündchen has an estimated net worth of around $400 million and Cindy Crawford around $225 million — Slavica's wealth dwarfs almost every other woman who built a career on the runway.

FAQ

Who is the richest female model in the world?

Slavica Ecclestone is the richest female model in the world, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion in 2025 — making her the wealthiest former model globally. The Croatian-born supermodel turned her 24-year marriage to Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone into one of history's largest divorce settlements, far surpassing contemporaries like Gisele Bündchen ($400M) and Cindy Crawford ($400M).

Read also

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Who is the highest-paid model of all time?

Gisele Bündchen was the world's highest-paid model for over a decade. Over her career she appeared in more than 550 advertising campaigns and graced over 2,000 magazine covers. Forbes reported she made $47 million in 2014 alone, making her the benchmark for peak annual modelling earnings.

Who is the highest-paid male model in the world?

The highest-paid male models in history have included Sean O'Pry, David Gandy, and Tyson Beckford, though male model earnings are a fraction of their female counterparts. Sean O'Pry has been cited by Forbes as a top earner, with annual income reportedly in the $1.5 million range at his peak — illustrating the significant pay gap between the sexes in modelling.

What is Gisele Bündchen's net worth?

Gisele Bündchen is a Brazilian supermodel with a net worth of $400 million. That fortune did not result from divorce settlements or alimony — it resulted from decisions she made in her twenties, when she chose equity stakes over endorsement fees and licensing revenue over labour income.

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Is Kendall Jenner richer than Gisele Bündchen?

No. Kendall Jenner is an American reality television star and fashion model with a net worth of $150 million — roughly one-third of Gisele Bündchen's $400 million. While Kendall has been named the world's highest-paid model in recent years on an annual earnings basis, her overall accumulated wealth remains well below Gisele's decades-long fortune.

We also highlighted facts about 50 of the most attractive female models in the world who are under 25. The list features rising stars from the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, and beyond, including Kaia Gerber, Adut Akech Bior, Diana Chioma Eneje, and Imari Karanja.

Some began modelling as children, while others used fashion as a pathway into acting, music, or social media. Discover the young talents reshaping global beauty and style standards through confidence, resilience, and distinctive personal stories.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Marais avatar

Marais (Lifestyle writer) With more than 18 years writing experience in both creative and media-related platforms, Nicolette has worked in a wide range of industries. In 2023, she finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques and was awarded Manager of the Year (2023, 2024, 2025)