It has now been confirmed that writing hits for international pop stars, topping the charts with your own songs and doing it all under a brown paper bag is in fact a lucrative endeavour, at least for Australian musician Sia, who made her debut this year on the BRW Young Rich List.
With a $20 million fortune and as the only female debutante this year, Adelaide’s Sia Furler comes in at 96th position on the list which tracks the wealth of the richest Australians aged 40 and under who are self-made, i.e. did not inherit their wealth. Soz, Gina.
It’s worth pointing out a handful of interesting caveats. While Sia’s listed wealth pales in comparison to the top two — tech entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, who share a slice of $2.1 billion in earnings — she is the only musician to have cracked the top 100.
Additionally, Sia is just one of six women to be named on the list, one less than last year’s representation. For those interested, Australia’s wealthiest young woman is food entrepreneur Caroline Creswell, of Carman’s Fine Foods whose muesli you’re likely to have in your pantry. She came in at number 25 with $83 million in personal wealth.
Interestingly, last year BRW compiled a list of Australia’s 100 highest paid entertainers and Sia did not make the cut. Hugh Jackman topped that list with his earnings of $46.8m and was followed by The Wiggles who made $18.2m, nearly $2m less than Sia’s 2014 earnings.
Sia’s sharp rise in the bank department probably has something to do with her chart-topping 2014 album 1000 Forms of Fear, which has spurred the hit single, and new karaoke favourite, Chandelier.
With the infamous paper bag promo image and her penchant for making live television performances without showing her face, throughout 2014 Sia has almost paradoxically retained her “recluse” image, whilst at the same vigorously promoting the record.
Evidently, it’s paid off.
