The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
TECHNOLOGY
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Soc
Media Platforms
Published 2 days ago on May 14, 2021
By Omri Wallach
The Generational Power Index
HOME
Introducing our new index, which ranks U.S. generations on their economic, political, and cultural in uence.
MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE >> ENERGY
Download MINING GREEN
the Report (.pdf)POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
▼ Use This Visualization
Visualizing the World’s Top 50 Influencers
In the modern digital world, social media reach is power.
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
The people with the most followers on Twitter, for example, have a massive platform to spread
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
their messages, while those with large, engaged followings on Instagram are an advertiser’s
dream sponsor partner.
Social media can also be an equalizer of power. It’s true that many celebrities boast large
followings across platforms, but social media has also enabled previously unknown personalities
to turn YouTube or TikTok fame into veritable star power and influence.
Who has the biggest reach across the entire social media universe? Instead of looking at who has
the most followers on Instagram, Twitter, or other networks, we ranked the most-followed
personalities across all major platforms combined.
Who Has the Most Overall Followers on Social Media?
We parsed through hundreds of the most-followed accounts on multiple platforms to narrow
SUBSC
down the top influencers across social media as of April 2021.
Join the 240,000+ subscr
Sources include trackers of the most followers on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, daily email
and TikTok, verified directly on site and with social media tracker Socialblade.
Your email address
The results? A top 50 list of social media influencers consisting of athletes, musicians, politicians,
and other personalities. Sign up
Rank
Name Category Total Followers Biggest Platform
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo Sports 493M Instagram
#2
#3
Justin Bieber
HOME
Ariana Grande MARKETS TECHNOLOGY
Music
MONEY
443M
MusicHEALTHCARE
429M ENERGY MINING
Instagram
GREEN POLITICS
Instagram FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
Rank
Name Category Total Followers Biggest Platform
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
#4 Selena Gomez Music 403M Instagram
#5 Taylor Swift Music 361M Instagram
#6 Dwayne Johnson Film & TV 342M Instagram
#7 Katy Perry Music 338M Instagram
#8 Kylie Jenner Other 333M Instagram
#9 Rihanna Music 330M Twitter
#10 Kim Kardashian Other 319M Instagram
Showing 1 to 10 of 50 entries Previous Next
Unsurprisingly, celebrities reign supreme on social media. As of April 2021, soccer superstar
Cristiano Ronaldo was the most-followed person on social media with almost 500 million total
followers.
But there are other illuminating highlights, such as the global reach of music. With large and
diverse fanbases, artists account for half of the top 50 largest social media followings.
Also notable is the power of Instagram, which was the biggest platform for 67% of the top 50
social media influencers. This includes hard-to-categorize celebrities like the Kardashians and
Jenners, which turned reality TV and social media fame into business and media empires.
Download the Generational Power Report (.pdf)
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
The Most Followers on Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube
However, it’s not only celebrities that dominate social media.
Personalities that started on one social media platform and developed massive followings include
TikTok’s most-followed star Charli D’Amelio and YouTubers Whindersson Nunes Batista, Germán
Garmendia, and Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg.
Politicians were also prominent influencers. Former U.S. President Barack Obama has the most
followers on Twitter, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has more than 175 million
followers across social media.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump would have also made the list with more than 140 million
followers across social media before being banned from multiple platforms on January 8, 2021.
A Generational Look at Social Media Influence
While older generations have had to adapt to social media platforms, younger generations have
grown up alongside them. As a measure of cultural importance, this gives Gen X, Millennials, and
Gen Z a rare leg-up on older generations.
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
Millennials, in particular, hold the lion’s share of spots in this top 50 list:
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
Generation # of Influencers in Generation Top Influencer in Generation
Gen Z 4 Kylie Jenner
Millennial 33 Cristiano Ronaldo
Gen X 10 Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson
Baby Boomer 3 Ellen DeGeneres
The average age of the top 50 influencers was just over 37.
In our Generational Power Index (GPI), which measures the share of power generations hold in
various categories, digital platforms were a key area where Millennials derived their power and
influence. Overall, Baby Boomers—and to a lesser extent, Gen X—still run the show in most areas
of society today.
Social Media Influence, Going Forward
As most fans and advertisers know, not all social media accounts and followings are homogenous.
Many influencers with relatively small followings have more consistent engagement, and are
often able to demand high advertising fees as a result.
Conversely, most social media platforms are reckoning with a severe glut of fake accounts or bots
that inflate follower counts, impacting everything from celebrities and politicians to personalities
and businesses.
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
Regardless, social media has become a mainstay platform (or soapbox) for today’s cultural
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
influencers. Billions of people turn to social media for news, engagement, recommendations, and
entertainment, and new platforms are always on the rise.
Get your mind blown on a daily basis:
Your email address
Sign up for free
RELATED TOPICS: # Twitter # Facebook # Social Media # Youtube # Celebrities # Instagram # Featured # Stars # Tiktok
# Musicians # Soccer # Twitch # Ronaldo # Followers # Most Followers # Influencer # Influencers # Personalities # Athletes
# Celebrity # Kardashian # Futbol # Actors # Artists
DON'T MISS
Which U.S. Generation Wields the Most
Cultural Power?
CLICK FOR COMMENTS
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
YOU MAY LIKE
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
Ranked: The Top 10 Football Clubs by Which U.S. Generation Wields the How Much Does Big Tech Make Every
Market Value Most Cultural Power? Minute?
Which Streaming Service Has the The 50 Most Visited Websites in the Mapped: Facebook’s Path to Social
Most Subscriptions? World Network Domination (2008-2020)
TECHNOLOGY
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
WhichTheU.S. Generation
World’s Top Wields
50 Influencers Across Social Mediathe Most
Platforms
Cultural Power?
Visual Capitalist’s first-ever Generational Power Index looks at which U.S. generation
holds the most cultural influence in American society.
Published 6 days ago on May 11, 2021
By Carmen Ang
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
Which U.S. Generation Wields the Most Cultural Power?
This year, our team put together Visual Capitalist’s inaugural Generational Power Index
(GPI), which looks at power dynamics across generations in America.
We considered three categories in our quest to quantify power: economics, political,
and cultural. And while it turns out Baby Boomers dominate when it comes to
economics and political factors—cultural influence is a different story.
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
Here’s a look at which U.S. generation holds the most cultural power, and how this
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
power dynamic is expected to shift in the coming years.
Generations and Power, Defined
CONTINUE READING
Before we get started, it’s important to clarify which generations we’ve included in our
TECHNOLOGY
Ranked: The Most Popular Paid
Subscription News Websites
Many consumers are reluctant to pay for their news, but those that do turn to trusted
sources. Here’s a look at the most subscribed to news websites.
Published 3 weeks ago on April 26, 2021
By Carmen Ang
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
Ranked: The Most Popular Subscription News Websites
While paywalls are becoming increasingly more popular among news websites, most
consumers still aren’t willing to pay for their online news.
In fact, a recent survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism reveals that
only 20% of Americans pay for digital news, and of those that do, the majority subscribe
to only one brand.
This begs the question—which
HOME newsMONEY
MARKETS TECHNOLOGY are audiences
outlets HEALTHCARE willing
ENERGY to payGREEN
MINING for? POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
Using data from FIPP and CeleraOne, this graphic looks at the most popular news
The World’s Top 50 Influencers Across Social Media Platforms
websites across the globe, based on their total number of paid subscriptions.
*Note: This report relies on publicly available data, and should not be considered an exhaustive list.
CONTINUE READING
The Full Breakdown
POPULAR
MONEY / 2 months ago MISC / 1 month ago MISC / 1 month ago MISC / 2 weeks ago
Visualized: The Richest Families in Visualized: Comparing the Titanic to a A Visual Guide to Human Emotion Figures of Speech
America Modern Cruise Ship Improve your Writ
HOME MARKETS TECHNOLOGY MONEY HEALTHCARE ENERGY MINING GREEN POLITICS FEATURED COMPANIES REPORTS
CHAN
ENERGY / 4 weeks ago MISC / 4 weeks ago MARKETS / 1 month ago MARKETS / 1 week ago
Visualizing theThe World’s
Power Top 50 These
Consumption Influencers Across
Powerful Maps Social
Show the Media Platforms
Mapped: The Top 10 Billionaire Cities Visualizing the Re
of Bitcoin Mining Extremes of U.S. Population Density Lumber Prices
ABOUT SUBSCRIBE VC+ MASTHEAD PRESS CENTER CAREERS
CONTACT US FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS STORE USE OUR VISUALIZATIONS LICENSING ADVERTISE
Copyright © 2021 Visual Capitalist
