We're in shock at how much Cristiano Ronaldo makes per Instagram post

Cristiano Ronaldo has yet again left the competition behind as the five-time Ballon D'Or winner was named Instagram top earner for the third year in a row. He beat out some of the world's most famous celebrities, influencers, and athletes to earn his crown as the top paid person on Instagram in 2023.

Ronaldo, who in July was ranked as the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes for the first time since 2017 following his move to Saudi Arabia, has now topped the 2023 Instagram Rich List, a global marker of online influence.

The list, compiled by Instagram scheduling tool Hopper HQ, is based on internal and publicly available data on how much each user can charge for a post on Instagram and YouTube.

The Portugal forward brings in a massive $3.23 million per Instagram post, according to Hopper HQ, as he nears 600 million followers on the social media platform.

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A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

To little surprise, Ronaldo's closest rival on the list is Lionel Messi, with the Argentina World Cup winner attracting almost $2.6 million for each post.

This puts the two football giants ahead of not only every other sports star but also celebrities such as singer and actress Selena Gomez, reality star and make-up mogul Kylie Jenner and actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

Only two other athletes - Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and Brazilian footballer Neymar - made it to the Top 20.

Neymar brings in almost double the amount that his Paris St Germain team mate Kylian Mbappe does per post.

"It's still shocking to me that the annual money made on the platform increases every year," Mike Bandar, co-founder of Hopper HQ, said.

"Yet, what fascinates me more is the consistent players at the top. It's apparent that the glitz and glamour of traditional celebrities still holds power over the new 'influencer' status.

"Ronaldo and Messi not only dominate the pitch, but also the digital sphere as it's clear they personify the power of personal branding and the influence it holds over us 'ordinary' people."

The highest earning influencer on Instagram, TikTok star Khaby Lame, is number 40 on the list. Ronaldo earns almost 10 times the amount Lame brings in for his Instagram posts.

Instagram Top Earners In 2023:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo, @cristiano, 596M followers, $3.23M/post
2. Lionel Messi, @leomessi, 479M followers, $2.60M/post
3. Selena Gomez, @selenagomez, 426M followers, $2.56M/post
4. Kylie Jenner, @kyliejenner, 397M followers, $2.39M/post
5. Dwayne Johnson, @therock, 388M followers, $2.33M/post
6. Ariana Grande, @arianagrande, 377M followers, $2.26M/post
7. Kim Kardashian, @kimkardashian, 363M followers, $2.18M/post
8. Beyonce Knowles, @beyonce, 315M followers, $1.89M/post
9. Khloe Kardashian, @khloekardashian, 311M followers, $1.87M/post
10. Justin Bieber, @justinbieber, 294M followers, $1.76M/post
11. Kendall Jenner, @kendalljenner, 293M followers, $1.76M/post
12. Taylor Swift, @taylorswift, 268M followers, $1.61M/post
13. Jennifer Lopez, @jlo, 249M followers, $1.50M/post
14. Virat Kohli, @virat.kohli, 255M followers, $1.38M/post
15. Nicki Minaj, @nickiminaj, 224M followers, $1.34M/post
16. Kourtney Kardashian, @kourtneykardash, 224M followers, $1.34M/post
17. Miley Cyrus, @mileycyrus, 213M followers, $1.28M/post
18. Katy Perry, @katyperry, 203M followers, $1.22M/post
19. Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, @neymarjr, 211M followers, $1.14M/post
20. Kevin Hart, @kevinhart4real, 178M followers, $1.07M/post
21. Cardi B, @iamcardib, 169M followers, $1.01M/post
22. Demi Lovato, @ddlovato, 157M followers, $942K/post
23. Rihanna, @badgalriri, 152M followers, $914K/post
24. LeBron James, @kingjames, 157M followers, $851K/post
25. Billie Eilish, @billieeilish, 110M followers, $658K/post
26. Lisa Manobal, @lalalalisa_m, 96.8M followers, $575K/post
27. Kylian Mbappé, @k.mbappe, 106M followers, $575K/post
28. Dua Lipa, @dualipa, 88.6M followers, $532K/post
29. Priyanka Chopra, @priyankachopra, 88.5M followers, $532K/post
30. Shakira Ripoll, @shakira, 87.9M followers, $528K/post
31. David Beckham, @davidbeckham, 80.7M followers, $438K/post
32. Emma Watson, @emmawatson, 72.7M followers, $437K/post
33. Ronaldinho, @ronaldinho, 73.9M followers, $401K/post
34. Tom Holland, @tomholland2013, 66.7M followers, $401K/post
35. Karol G, @karolg, 64.5M followers, $388K/post
36. Millie Bobby Brown, @milliebobbybrown, 63.5M followers, $382K/post
37. Will Smith, @willsmith, 63.3M followers, $380K/post
38. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, @iamzlatanibrahimovic, 61.5M followers, $334K/post
39. Mohamed Salah, @mosalah, 61.2M followers, $332K/post
40. Khaby Lame, @khaby00, 79.7M followers, $325K/post
41. Paul Pogba, @paulpogba, 59.5M followers, $323K/post
42. Dove Cameron, @dovecameron, 48.4M followers, $291K/post
43. Stephen Curry, @stephencurry30, 53.1M followers, $288K/post
44. Gareth Bale, @garethbale11, 52.2M followers, $283K/post
45. Gigi Hadid, @gigihadid, 78.8M followers, $273K/post
46. Luis Suarez, @luissuarez9, 47.5M followers, $258K/post
47. Chrissy Teigen, @chrissyteigen, 42.3M followers, $254K/post
48. Conor McGregor, @thenotoriousmma, 46.5M followers, $252K/post
49. Toni Kroos, @toni.kr8s, 40.8M followers, $221K/post
50. Shay Mitchell, @shaymitchell, 36.6M followers, $220K/post
51. Eleonora Pons, @lelepons, 53.4M followers, $218K/post
52. Huda Kattan, @hudabeauty, 53.2M followers, $217K/post
53. Bella Hadid, @bellahadid, 59.2M followers, $205K/post
54. Cole Sprouse, @colesprouse, 33.6M followers, $202K/post
55. Lee Min-ho, @actorleeminho, 33.3M followers, $200K/post
56. Olivia Rodrigo, @oliviarodrigo, 32.6M followers, $196K/post
57. Charli D'Amelio, @charlidamelio, 47.0M followers, $192K/post
58. Sofia Vergara, @sofiavergara, 30.4M followers, $183K/post
59. Sabrina Carpenter, @sabrinacarpenter, 29.8M followers, $179K/post
60. Hailey Bieber, @haileybieber, 49.9M followers, $173K/post
61. Johnny Depp, @johnnydepp, 28.3M followers, $171K/post
62. Jason Derulo, @jasonderulo, 28.1M followers, $169K/post
63. Sergio Aguero, @kunaguero, 30.7M followers, $167K/post
64. Davido Adeleke, @davido, 27.5M followers, $165K/post
65. Lili Reinhart, @lilireinhart, 27.2M followers, $164K/post
66. Caio Castro, @caiocastro, 20.6M followers, $163K/post
67. Floyd Mayweather, @floydmayweather, 29.5M followers, $160K/post
68. Camila Mendes, @camimendes, 26.2M followers, $158K/post
69. Addison Rae, @addisonraee, 37.7M followers, $154K/post
70. Madelaine Petsch, @madelame, 25.4M followers, $153K/post
71. Eden Hazard, @hazardeden_10, 27.3M followers, $148K/post
72. Paris Hilton, @parishilton, 24.2M followers, $146K/post
73. Raditya Dika, @raditya_dika, 21.9M followers, $132K/post
74. Kevin De Bruyne, @kevindebruyne, 23.6M followers, $128K/post
75. Gerard Pique, @3gerardpique, 22.8M followers, $124K/post
76. AB de Villiers, @abdevilliers17, 22.3M followers, $121K/post
77. Riyaz Aly, @riyaz.14, 28.0M followers, $114K/post
78. Cameron Dallas, @camerondallas, 26.4M followers, $108K/post
79. Zach King, @zachking, 26.3M followers, $107K/post
80. Davika Hoorne, @davikah, 17.8M followers, $107K/post
81. Logan Paul, @loganpaul, 26.1M followers, $107K/post
82. KJ Apa, @kjapa, 17.7M followers, $106K/post
83. Iggy Azalea, @thenewclassic, 17.6M followers, $106K/post
84. Yemi Alade, @yemialade, 17.5M followers, $106K/post
85. Emily Ratajkowski, @emrata, 30.2M followers, $105K/post
86. Rafael Nadal, @rafaelnadal, 19.2M followers, $105K/post
87. Sommer Ray, @sommerray, 25.6M followers, $105K/post
88. Tiwa Savage, @tiwasavage, 17.2M followers, $104K/post
89. Ayodeji Balogun, @wizkidayo, 17.2M followers, $104K/post
90. Hannah Stocking, @hannahstocking, 25.3M followers, $104K/post
91. Tammy Hembrow, @tammyhembrow, 17.0M followers, $103K/post
92. Chiara Ferragni, @chiaraferragni, 29.5M followers, $102K/post
93. Song Hyeko, @kyo1122, 16.7M followers, $100K/post
94. Loren Gray, @loren, 24.2M followers, $99K/post
95. Jake Paul, @jakepaul, 23.6M followers, $97K/post
96. Noah Centineo, @ncentineo, 15.9M followers, $96K/post
97. Funke Akindele Bello, @funkejenifaakindele, 15.9M followers, $96K/post
98. Ronda Rousey, @rondarousey, 17.3M followers, $94K/post
99. Dixie D'Amelio, @dixiedamelio, 22.6M followers, $93K/post
100. Brent Rivera, @brentrivera, 22.5M followers, $92K/post

Follower counts accurate at the time of publishing, earnings data per post from Hopper HQ.