In August of 2020 just months into the pandemic Forbes Magazine published its first-ever list of highest-paid stars on TikTok, the wildly popular short-form video app.
The teens and young adults who topped the list, known broadly as social media influencers, had not only garnered tens of millions of followers, but had also cashed in on their celebrity status with annual paydays ranging from $1.2 million to $5 million.