Power of Influence: How The Most Followed Women Are Helping The World Through Philanthropy

The power of social media is growing year by year – 5.04 billion people around the world are now using social media, with 266 million new users coming online within the last year.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we set out to discover who the most popular female influencers are on major social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube – and how they are using their influence and wealth to help others. 

Most Followed Female Celebrities on Social Media

Our research found that women listed in the top 100 accounts per social network have over 10 billion followers in total. 

As of 2024, the most followed women on social media (across all major platforms) are:

Here are some interesting insights with regard to popularity and wealth:

• The Kardashian/Jenner clan holds 6 of the top 12 spots, with a combined follower count of 1.897 billion. 
• The remaining 6 spots are held by female musicians, who have a combined follower count of 2.979 billion. 

And here’s a breakdown of female influencer popularity on each social media platform:

Instagram

Instagram is a female influencer stronghold. Women hold 42 out of the top 100 Instagram accounts, with a cumulative total of 6.4 billion followers. 

Male influencers only hold 34 spots, with brands/companies holding 24 accounts.

According to our research, these are the top 10 most influential women on Instagram:

1. Selena Gomez: 429.8M followers 
2. Kylie Jenner: 400.5M followers
3. Ariana Grande: 380.3M followers
4. Kim Kardashian: 364.3M followers 
5. Beyoncé: 320.0M followers 
6. Khloé Kardashian: 310.9M followers 
7. Kendall Jenner: 294.7M followers 
8. Taylor Swift: 281.7M followers 
9. Jennifer Lopez: 253.6M followers 
10. Kourtney Kardashian: 224.4M followers 

A surprising fact – the Kardashian family has a combined total of approximately 1.194 billion Instagram followers!

TikTok

TikTok is not as popular as Instagram for female influencers, with only 1.56 billion followers across the top hundred accounts. Out of 100 top accounts, female influencers hold 32 spots. Their male counterparts hold 47 spots in total, with the remaining 21 going to brands and companies. 

According to our research, these are the top 10 most influential women on TikTok:

1. Charli D’Amelio: 152M followers 
2. Bella Poarch: 93.8M followers
3. Addison Rae: 88.6M followers
4. Kimberly Loaiza: 80.8M followers
5. Domelipa: 72.7M followers
6. Selena Gomez: 59M followers
7. Dixie D’Amelio: 56.4M followers
8. Kylie Jenner: 54.9M followers
9. Loren Gray: 53.9M followers
10. Karol G: 51.4M followers

Youtube

YouTube is mainly dominated by brands and company accounts, which hold 58 out of 100 top-followed account spots. 

Female influencers hold 15 out of the top 100 spots, with a total of 879 million followers. Their videos reached 488 billion views in total.

These are the most popular female influencers on YouTube:

1. BLACKPINK: 92.9M followers
2. Taylor Swift: 56.5M followers
3. Ariana Grande: 53.5M followers
4. Billie Eilish: 49.1M followers
5. Shakira: 45.5M followers
6. Katy Perry: 44.7M followers
7. Kimberly Loaiza: 44.3M followers
8. Ricis Official: 42.9M followers
9. Rihanna: 22.8M followers

Twitter (X)

On Twitter, female influencers have a total reach of 1.38 billion followers and hold 27 out of the top 100 positions. 

These are the most influential women on Twitter: 

1. Rihanna: 108.2M followers
2. Katy Perry: 106.8M followers
3. Taylor Swift: 95.3M followers
4. Ariana Grande: 85.3M followers
5. Lady Gaga: 83.6M followers
6. Kim Kardashian: 75.2M followers
7. Ellen DeGeneres: 74.7M followers
8. Selena Gomez: 66.5M followers
9. Britney Spears: 54.9M followers
10. Shakira: 53.7M followers

Net Worth, Charities & Impact on The World

Of course, social media following isn’t the only way to gauge the power and impact of these female influencers. Net worth and charitable work play a big role as well! 

The most influential women in the top 100 accounts per social media network have an estimated total net worth of over $13.6 billion. This list has some overlap with our list of most-followed influencers, though there are some newcomers, including Oprah, Ellen Degeneres, and Lady Gaga. 

Let’s take a look at the good these celebrities are doing with all that reach and money. Here are some takeaways with regard to their charitable giving: 

• Of the top 12 most popular female mega-stars, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry support the most charities. 
• Top influencers who have supported women-focused charities include Beyoncé (Women’s Fund for Scotland), Taylor Swift (DonateMyDress, Hero in Heels), Katy Perry (Alliance for Women in Media Foundation, Keep-a-Breast, ), Jennifer Lopez (Every Mother Counts, Janie’s Fund, Lopez Family Foundation), Kim Kardashian (Breast Cancer Research Association, I Heart My Girlfriends, We Advance, WomenHeart), and Selena Gomez (10×10, Malala Fund). 

On average, the top female influencers and celebrities are supporting around 19 charities and humanitarian causes, according to data from looktothestars.org. 

The most popular causes that top female influencers support include AIDS/HIV (19 influencers), Health (18 influencers), Children (18 influencers), Human Rights (17 influencers), and Education (17 influencers). 

Some of the most supported charities include Stand Up To Cancer, Red Cross, and UNICEF, with almost 50% of top female influencers supporting these organizations.

In terms of causes and charities supported, Lady Gaga is the most charitable female influencer, with over 76 charities and 37 humanitarian causes supported over the years. She is closely followed by Ellen DeGeneres (54 charities and 31 causes supported) and Miley Cyrus (44 charities and 31 causes).

When looking at monetary support, Oprah leads the way – her charitable foundation alone has donated over $400 million in grants for various humanitarian causes.

Beyoncé and Rihanna have also made a substantial impact. Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD Foundation has donated over $100 million to various causes over the year, and Rihanna has donated $15 million through her Clara Lionel Foundation to support climate justice initiatives in the Caribbean. 

More recently, Taylor Swift contributed $1 million to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee – located in the county she grew up in – after tornadoes left hundreds of buildings damaged. 

Taylor has also made many generous donations to food banks along her Eras tour route. No specific sum of money that Taylor donated was reported. However, a food bank in Tampa said the star donated enough cash to “place over 125,000 meals on tables.” Another food bank in Arizona was able to purchase 40,000 pounds of fresh produce thanks to her donation. 

If you’re interested in furthering the cause of female empowerment, here’s a full list of the women-focused charities that celebrities mentioned in this article have supported:

• 10×10 (Selena Gomez)
• Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (Katy Perry)
• Breast Cancer Research Association (Kim Kardashian)
• Cool Girls (Oprah, Lady Gaga)
• DonateMyDress (Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus)
• Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (Lady Gaga)
• Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver (Lady Gaga)
• Every Mother Counts (Jennifer Lopez)
• GEANCO (Oprah)
• Girls Rock Camp Alliance (Lady Gaga)
• Global Campaign for Education (Shakira)
• Hero In Heels (Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus)
• I Heart My Girlfriends (Kim Kardashian)
• Janie’s Fund (Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus)
• Keep-a-Breast (Katy Perry)
• Libby Ross Foundation (Miley Cyrus)
• Lopez Family Foundation (Jennifer Lopez)
• Lower East Side Girls Club (Oprah)
• Malala Fund (Selena Gomez)
• Oprah’s Angel Network (Oprah)
• Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa (Oprah)
• Peace Over Violence (Oprah)
• (RED) (Lady Gaga)
• Somaly Mam Foundation (Oprah, Lady Gaga)
• V-Day (Oprah)
• We Advance (Kim Kardashian)
• WomenHeart (Kim Kardashian)
• Women’s Fund for Scotland (Beyoncé)
• Women for Women International (Oprah)
• Women in the World Foundation (Oprah)
• YWCA (Miley Cyrus)