Top 5 Richest Ballet Dancers in the World

Professional ballet dancers are trying to live from their passion for the art form, and this is so important, because what’s more wonderful than earning money from your passion.

But, this industry is searching for perfection in everything and there are so many things that will not be tolerated. With the mental and physical demands and time-intensive nature of ballet training, serious dancers must be employed on a full-time salary.

If you want to become a rich ballet dancer, you must work hard and this will be really tough someday.  But to become one of the richest ballet dancers in the world, a certain amount of hard work and fame is also needed.

Many of the wealthiest ballet dancers on our list have made their name and their wealth through branching out into producing, choreography, or even modeling and acting.

5. Nina Ananiashvili – $30,000 per performance

Nina Ananiashvili is a Georgian ballerina and the current artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She recently hung up her ballet shoes after an illustrious career as a prima ballerina earning about $30,000 per performance. She originally trained not as a dancer as an ice skater. Because she was a sickly child, her parents encouraged her to take up figure skating in order to build her strength. Nina started ballet training to complement her skating, but eventually abandoned skating altogether and began training as a ballet dancer. Her career took off after studying at the Moscow Choreographic Institute where her talent captured the attention of her instructors. From this point on her career sky-rocketed, and Nina eventually made waves in the United States becoming a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre and later the Houston Ballet.

4. Sylvie Guillem – $850,000 + per year

3. Benjamin Millepied – $900,000 net worth

Benjamin Millepied, now a fixture in Hollywood, was relatively unknown in mainstream circles until recently. Born in France, he began dancing at age 8 under his mother’s instruction. He has danced with the City Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, the School of American Ballet, and the Paris Opera. Millepied transitioned from ballet to Hollywood, choreographing and performing in the film Black Swan, where he met his now-wife Natalie Portman. They welcomed their son in 2011.

2. Rudolf Nureyev – $7.9 Million*

Rudolf Nureyev was one of the most celebrated ballet dancers and one of the most photographed men of the 20th century. He passed away in 1993 on one of his private islands, a stark contrast to his humble beginnings in Russia. Nureyev’s net worth soared to millions through his work as a dancer, choreographer, actor, and director. He became a sensation in the Soviet Union and redefined the role of the male ballet dancer

*based on the value of his estate after his death

1. Mikhail Baryshnikov – $45 Million

Mikhail Baryshnikov, born in Riga, Latvia (then Soviet Russia), is regarded as one of the best ballet dancers of the 20th century. He started as a freelance dancer in Leningrad and Canada before joining the New York City Ballet. Baryshnikov has had a tremendous impact on ballet and expanded his career into choreography and acting. He is well-known for his role as Aleksandr Petrovsky in HBO’s Sex and the City.