Tones and I makes debut on AFR’s Young Rich List, worth $35 million

The Dance Monkey singer has amassed an enormous fortune, landing her a spot on the coveted Financial Review Young Rich List.

She’s broken records on the ARIA charts and even globally on Spotify, and now Mornington Peninsula-born singer Tones and I can add a new accolade to her list – landing a spot on the Australian Financial Review’s Young Rich List.

The Dance Monkey hit maker, 29, whose real name is Toni Watson, appeared on the list for the first time this year, and is worth $35 million.

According to the AFR, Tones has been reaping the rewards from the release of her hit pop songs because they are written either entirely by her or just one other person.

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Tones & I has made the Young Rich List at age 29. Picture: Supplied.

A boom in streaming service payouts to artists as well as record labels paying top dollar for musician’s the back catalogues, have put Tones in prime position to rake it in.

Her hit Dance Monkey, which smashed records with two billion streams on Spotify, is reported to have earned her $12 million.

Tones is also understood to have amassed a healthy property portfilio.

In April last year, she snapped up her third multimillion-dollar property on the Mornington Peninsula, where she grew up, dropping $7.08m on a luxurious Mount Eliza pad with a dazzling basement lounge.

It is within walking distance of another property the musician purchased in 2020 for $5.1m and a short drive from Frankston’s Lakewood Estate, where she is believed to have secured a humble $800,000 home for a friend or family member.

In August last year, she purchased another Frankston abode for $720,000, and in December, she also joined a long list of celebrities who own property in sought-after Byron Bay, after splashing $3.3m on a home on the town’s outskirts.

Tones and I onstage in London in 2020. Picture: Isabel Infantes/PA Images via Getty Images.

The singer’s remarkable success is a far cry from her humble beginnings as a musician.

Tones and I famously once lived out of her van and then in a hostel after quitting her retail job to move to Byron Bay. There, she was discovered and shot to fame in 2019 with Dance Monkey, which reached number 1 in over 30 countries.

Her debut album, Welcome to the Madhouse, was released in July last year and landed on the top of the ARIA charts.

The album’s lead single Fly Away peaked at number four in Australia, number 11 in the UK and Denmark, and number 10 in Ireland.

This year, she’s released two new singles, Eyes Don’t Lie, and most recently, Charlie, which debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on August 9.

Tones and Jimmy announced their engagement in January this year.

It’s been a big year for the musician, who announced her engagement to former bricklayer Jimmy Bedford in January.

Meanwhile, the AFR’s analysis of Australia’s 100 wealthiest people under the age of 40 (and who have not inherited their wealth) found that the nation’s richest have collectively lost $11 billion over the last year, largely from the plunging values of various tech companies.

Tones & I was named with fellow music sensation Vance Joy, who is worth $40 million at the age of 34.

Chris Hemsworth, 39, was also named for the first time, worth $162 million.