Top 15 Highest Paid and Richest DJs in The World

Do you know who the most important person at a party is? Someone who blows life into any gathering by making it loud, fun, and rhythmic. A DJ is the one who makes any gathering fun and hence has become an integral part of any party out there.

DJs aka Disk Jockeys are professional music players that can be found in any radio station, club, etc. Listening and enjoying music has become more fun due to DJs as they go to all lengths to engage and entertain the listeners as per their mood and situation. They select tracks that best fit the kind of party they are entertaining to or what the mood of the crowd generally is.

The World’s Top 15 Highest Paid and Richest DJs

Although DJs are not as recognized in the showbiz and music industry as they deserve but they have still managed to earn a good amount of money over the years. We have enlisted 15 highest-paid DJs in the world along with their current income and what kind of tracks they play. Browse through this article to find out the highest-paid DJs in the world.

1. Calvin Harris

Current salary: $50 Million

Genres: Dance-Pop, EDM, Electropop, Nu-Disco, Electro House, Eurodance

Age: 36

Nationality: Scottish

The Scottish DJ Calvin Harris is also a renowned singer, songwriter, and record producer. Renowned for producing singles like “Feels”, “This is what you came for”, “We found love”, “Feel so close”, “summer” and “One Kiss”, Calvin Harris has won various awards during his career.

Calvin Harris has been nominated for a total of 118 awards, winning 32 awards including one Grammy Award, two American Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, and two Brit Awards. Calvin Harris is also the founder of the Fly Eye Records, a record label that was launched in May 2010.

Calvin Harris’s album 18 months topped the UK Albums charts in 2012 proving to be the DJ’s major career breakthrough. 18 months was ranked 19th among US Billboard 200 ranking becoming the first-ever album to appear on the list.

Calvin Harris was also declared as the 30th wealthiest British musician by Sunday Times in 2015. Having an estimated net worth of over $240 million, Calvin Harris has topped our list of the highest-paid DJs in the world. He has been ruling the top spot since 2013.

2. The Chainsmokers

Pay: $68 Million

Genres: Pop, EDM, Electropop

Age: Alexander (34), Andrew (30)

Nationality: American

Andrew Taggart and Alexander Pall are the American duo known as The Chainsmokers in the DJ world. The Chainsmokers produce records since stepping into the music industry in 2012. The music track “#Selfie” helped Andrew and Alexander gain popularity in 2014. The song proved to be a career breakthrough for the duo as it was placed among the top 20 singles in multiple countries.

The other single tracks released by the Chainsmokers include “Don’t Let Me Down”, “Roses” and “Closer”. Andrew Taggart and Alexander Pall’s maiden album, Memories Do Not Open that was released in 2017 topped the US Billboard 200 chart. The Chainsmokers launched their second music album “Sick Boy” in 2018.

The Chainsmokers have been nominated for various music awards. They have won two American Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, and one Grammy Award.

Having an estimated income of $68 million, Chainsmokers are the 2nd highest-paid DJ duo in the world.

3. Tiesto

Pay: $33 Million

Genres: Electro House, Progressive House, Future House, Deep House, Trance, Big room House.

Age: 51

Nationality: Dutch

Tijs Michiel Verwest professionally known as Tiesto is a Dutch DJ and record producer. Fans voted Tiesto as “the Greatest DJ of all times” in a poll conducted by the Mix magazine. He was also declared as the “best DJ of the last 20 years” (from 1993 to 2013) by DJ Mag readers in 2013. Tiesto is also dubbed as the godfather of Electronic dance music (EDM) by fans and followers.

Tiesto founded his record label “the Black Hole Recordings” in 1997 where he released his Compact Disk series, “In Search of Sunrise” and Magik. Tiesto’s major career breakthrough was when he remixed Delerium’s “Silence” in 2000. The song’s remix version featuring Sarah McLachlan introduced him to mainstream audiences eventually making him famous.

In My Memory was Tiesto’s maiden solo album that he released in 2001. In My Memory proved lucky for Tiesto and ended up giving him multiple major hits that resulted in boosting his career. The Dutch song producer ruled the No. 1 spot in DJ Magazine’s annual Top 100 DJs readership poll for three consecutive years from 2002 to 2004.

Tiesto has been nominated for multiple awards during his career, of which he won the Grammy Award for the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for remixing John Legend’s “All of Me” in 2015. He was also placed at no. 8 on the Billboard Dance 100 ranking of dance musicians.

Having an annual income of $33 million, Tiesto is the third highest-paid DJ on our list.

4. Steve Aoki

Pay: $28 Million

Genres: Trap, Electro House, EDM, Hip Hop

Age: 42

Nationality: American

Steve Aoki is an American professional DJ, record-producer, entertainer, and music executive. He was regarded as the highest-grossing dance and music artist by Pollstar, with most of his income coming from tours. DJ mag ranked him 11th in its list of Top 100 DJs in 2018. Having worked with great music artists like Iggy Azalea, LMFAO, Lil Jon, BTS, etc, Steve Aoki is deemed as one of the most famous DJs in the world.

Steve Aoki founded his record label, “Dim Mak Records” in 1996 housing some great artists like ShayGray, Garmiani, Kenna, Scanners, and XTRMST. Steve Aoki is also known for his humanitarian work and has founded the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund that raises money and funds for global philanthropic organizations.

In 2013, Aoki’s album “Wonderland” was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album. Earning a sum of $28 million annually, Steve Aoki is the fourth highest-paid DJ in the world.

5. Marshmello

Pay: $23 Million

Genres: Trap, Electronic, Progressive House, Future Bass, Future Bounce

Age: 27

Nationality: American

Christopher Comstock professionally known as Marshmello is an American DJ, record producer, music artist, and electronic music producer. Marshmello gained global popularity by remixing American DJ duo Jack Ü and Russian-German DJ Zedd’s songs.

“Silence”, “Happier”, “Danger”, “Friends”, “FLY”, and “Wolves” are the most famous single tracks produced by Marshmello. All these songs have been certified as multi-platinum in many countries and have also been placed among the top 30 in the Billboard Hot 100.

Marshmello collaborated with everyone’s favorite Selena Gomez for “Wolves”, which became his bestselling single. Having been nominated for 18 awards in total, Marshmello went on to win five awards; including International Dance Music Award in 2019 and MTV Europe Music Award in 2018.

With an annual income of $23 million, Marshmello is the 5th highest-paid DJ on our list.

6. Zedd

Pay: $22 Million

Genres: House, Electro House, Progressive House, Complextro, EDM

Age: 30

Nationality: Russian

Anton Zaslavski, professionally known as Zedd is a music artist, DJ, record producer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. He was born in Russia but raised in Germany. His main genre is electro house music but has been influenced by progressive house, dubstep, and classical music to further diversify his range and musical style.

Zedd launched his maiden single track “Clarity” in 2012 featuring Foxes, for which he won a Grammy award for the Best Dance Recording. The track also ranked 8th on the Billboard Hot 100. Zedd’s debut music album “Clarity” featured the hit single “Stay the Night” that earned him fame.

Zedd was ranked 7th dance musicians on Billboard Dance 100 ranking in 2018. He has been nominated for several awards of which he has won quite a few awards including one Grammy award. With an annual income of $22 million, Zedd is one of the highest-paid DJ in the world.

7. Diplo

Pay: $20 Million

Genres: Electro House, Pop, Hip Hop, Trap, Dancehall, Moombahton, EDM.

Age: 41

Nationality: American

Thomas Wesley Pentz Jr. professionally known as Diplo is an American music artist, DJ, record producer, and songwriter. Diplo is the co-creator and lead member of Major Lazer, an American electronic dancehall music project; a member of the supergroup LSD (along with Sia and Labrinth); a member of electronic duo Jack Ü (along with producer and DJ Skrillex), and a member of Silk City (along with Mark Ronson).

Diplo founded the record label Mad Decent and has worked with many renowned artists including Justin Bieber, bad Bunny, MØ, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Chris Brown, and many others. Diplo was placed at number 17 among Top 100 DJs by DJ Mag in 2018.

Having an annual income of $20 million, Diplo is the 7th highest-paid DJ in the world.

8. David Guetta

Pay: $15 Million

Genres: Electro House, progressive house, house, dance-pop, EDM.

Age: 52

Nationality: French

Pierre David Guetta is a French music artist, DJ, record producer, music programmer, and songwriter. The veteran DJ has sold around 30 million single tracks and 9 million albums around the world.

David Guetta is a veteran DJ in the music industry who has produced many single tracks and music albums. He released his 7th album named 7 in 2018.

Fans voted Guetta as the number one DJ in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll in 2011 and 2021. His single track “When Love Takes Over” was declared as the number 1 dance-pop collaboration of all time in 2013.

Just a Little More Love (2002), Guetta Blaster (2004), Pop Life (2007) are a few of the earliest albums released by Guetta. He rose to fame with the success of his album “One Love” in 2009 which included hit singles “When Love Takes Over”, “Gettin’ Over You”, “Sexy Bitch”, and “Memories”.

He released One Love’s follow-up album “Nothing but the Beat” in 2011 continuing his journey to success. The album included some hit single tracks; “Where Them Girls At”, “Little Bad Girl”, “Without You”, “Titanium”, and “Turn Me On”. Guetta is called the “grandfather of EDM” by his fans and music pundits.

David Guetta was appointed the music ambassador for the UEFA Euro 2016 for which his song “This One’s for You” featured Zara Larsson. He performed his official song in the opening and closing ceremonies of the tournament.

Drawing a paycheck of $15 million every year, David Guetta is one of the highest-paid DJs in the world.

9. Kaskade

Pay: $13.5 Million

Genres: Electro House, Progressive House, House, Deep House.

Age: 49

Nationality: American

Ryan Gary Raddon professionally known as Kaskade is an American music artist, DJ, remixer, record producer, and a veteran in the music industry. He was named as America’s best DJ by DJ Times in 2011 and 2013. He was also named among DJ Mag’s list of top 100 DJs in 2009. He released his debut single track, “What I Say” in 2001.

Kaskade was ranked as the world’s eighth highest-paid DJ by the Forbes magazine in 2014 for earning an approximate sum of $17 million. Kaskade began his career in the music industry in 1989 and has launched numerous albums including Love mysterious (2006), Automatic (2015), and Kaskade Christmas (2017).

The veteran DJ has been nominated for several awards of which the Grammy Awards nomination of 2017 and 2019 are the most significant. With an estimated salary of over $13 million, Kaskade is one of the highest-paid DJs in the world.

10. Martin Garrix

Pay: $13 Million

Genres: Electro House, Progressive House, Dutch House, Future Bass, Big Room House

Age: 23

Nationality: Dutch

Martijn Gerard Garritsen professionally known as Martin Garrix is one of the world’s youngest, highest-paid DJ, music artist, and record producer from Amstelveen. His most famous single tracks include “Animals”, “In the Name of Love”, and “Scared to Be Lonely”. DJ Mag ranked Garrix as number one on its Top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years from 2016 to 2018.

Garrix owns his record label “Stmpd Rcrds” at the young age of 24. His record label features some renowned artists like Dillon Francis, Julian Jordan, and Syn Cole. Martin Garrix became the youngest music artist to perform at the Ultra Music Festival in 2014 at the age of 17.

Martin draws an annual sum of around $13 million that makes him one of the youngest, highest-paid DJs in the world.

11. Axwell & Ingrosso

Pay: $12 Million

Genres: Electro House, Progressive House

Age: Axwell(42), Ingrosso(36)

Nationality: Swedish

Axwell Ingrosso is a Swedish duo of DJ, music artists, record producers, and remixers. They were formerly the members of the Swedish House Mafia. Axwell and Ingrosso joined their forces in 2014 and released some famous tracks like “This Time”, “On My Way”, “I Love You” and “Sun Is Shining”.

The duo has been nominated for numerous awards and has won Grammys Awards in 2018 for the tracks “I Love You” and “More Than You Know”. The Swedish duo was placed among DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs in 2018.

For drawing a paycheck of $12 million every year, Axwell Ingrosso is placed among the highest-paid DJs in the world.

12. Kygo

Pay: $11.5 Million

Genres: Deep House, Downtempo, Tropical House, Progressive House

Age: 28

Nationality: Norwegian

Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll professionally known by his stage name Kygo is a Norwegian music artist, DJ, record producer, and songwriter. In 2018, DJ Mag ranked him 32nd in its Top 100 DJs list while Billboard placed Kygo at 3rd position on the Billboard Dance 100.

Kygo has released some renowned single tracks such as “Stay”, “It Ain’t Me”, and “Here for You”. Kygo’s remix of Ed Sheeran’s “I see Fire” gained him international recognition. His remix was a hit on social media having over 76 million views on Youtube and more than 54 million plays on SoundCloud. The Norwegian musician also holds the world record of reaching the fastest 1 billion streams on Spotify.

Having an estimated annual income of $11 million, Kygo is one of the highest-paid DJs in the world.

13. DJ Snake

Pay: $11 Million

Genres: Trap, Hip Hop, French House, EDM

Age: 33

Nationality: French

William Sami Étienne Grigahcine professionally known by his stage name DJ snake is a French music artist, DJ, and record producer. DJ Snake has been affiliated with well-known record labels like Mad Decent, Interscope, Columbia, Spinnin’, and Premiere Classe.

DJ Snake gained international recognition in 2013 with the release of his single tracks “Bird Machine” and “Turn Down for What”. He collaborated with Diplo in 2015 and released the single track “Lean On”. Snake launched the track “Taki Taki Rumba” featuring some famous names like Cardi B, Selena Gomez, and Ozuna in September 2018 that was a massive hit worldwide.

He is currently a member of the Pardon My French squad, comprising of four French DJs including Tchami, Malaa, and Mercer. Billboard placed DJ Snake at No. 9 in its Dance 100 ranking for dance musicians.

Having an estimated annual income of $11 million, DJ Snake is one of the highest-paid DJs in the world.

14. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike

Pay: $10.5 Million

Genres: Trap, Electro House, Dutch House, Big Room House, Future Bass, Future House.

Age: 38(Dimitri), 34(Mike)

Nationality: Belgian

Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike is a duo of music artists, DJs, and record producers comprising of two brothers Dimitri Thivaios and Michael Thivaios hailing from Belgium. Vegas and Mike also own a record label titled “Smash the House” that was founded in 2010 and features some famous artists like Ummet Ozcan, Bassjackers, and twoloud.

The Belgian duo has been nominated for several awards of which they have won six International Dance Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, and one NRJ Music Award. DJ Mag ranked Mike and Vegas 2nd in its Top 100 DJs list in 2018. They have remixed tracks by famous artists like Lady Gaga and The Chainsmokers.

Having an annual income of over $10 million, the duo is placed among the highest-paid DJs in the world.

15. Afrojack

Pay: $10 Million

Genres: Dutch House, Trap, Electro House, Progressive House, Big Room House, Dance-Pop

Age: 32

Nationality: Dutch

Nick van de Wall, also known as Afrojack is a Dutch music artist, DJ, record producer, songwriter, and music programmer. Afrojack started his DJ career at the young age of 14 and has been affiliated with the industry since 2003. Having been nominated for numerous awards, Afrojack has won Grammy Award for the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category in 2011.

DJ Mag placed Afrojack among its top 100 DJs. He is the Chief Executive Officer of LDH Europe. He has also produced his record label, titled “Wall Recordings”.

Afrojack has released many single tracks. “Bed of Roses” released in 2018 featuring Stanaj and “Another Life” released in 2017 featuring David Guetta are among his best tracks. Afrojack has also been featured in David Guetta’s single “Hey Mama” in 2015. He co-produced the track with Guetta.

With an estimated annual income of $10 million, Afrojack is one of the highest-paid DJs in the world.

Here’s a quick recap of the 15 highest-paid DJs in The World:

1. Calvin Harris
2. The Chainsmokers
3. Tiesto
4. Steve Aoki
5. Marshmello
6. Zedd
7. Diplo
8. David Guetta
9. Kaskade
10. Martin Garrix
11. Axwell& Ingrosso 
12. Kygo
13. DJ Snake
14. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
15. Afrojack

That’s it, that is our list of the top 15 highest-paid DJs in the world. How many of them did you anticipate to be earning such a huge amount of money? Did your favorite DJ make it to our list of top 15? Let us know in the comments below.