Petfluencers: from Grumpy Cat to Doug the Pug - the richest animals on the internet

When you think about an influencer, the first thought that comes to mind certainly isn't a dog or cat. However, the world of pet influencers is a very real thing, and business is booming for these lucky pets (and their owners)! Click on to read about some of the most popular pet influencers on social media!

If we are going to talk about pet influencers, who became overnight sensations, we simply must start off with the legendary, the one, the only: GRUMPY CAT!!!

If you've never heard of Grumpy Cat, aka Tardar Sauce, you've been living under a rock! In 2012 the internet fell in love with this little fur ball when Tardar Sauce's owner's brother shared a pic of the Cat on Reddit.

Tardar Sauce's seemingly permanent grumpy face caused her to explode on the internet, and before you knew it, Grumpy Cat memes seemed to be everywhere.

Tardar Sauce's owner, Tabatha Bundesen, was quick to cash in on her Cat's popularity. The cat and her owner were featured on shows such as 'Good Morning America,' Fox's 'American Idol', and even in commercials for pet food and cereal for kids.

According to Wikipedia, "As of August 23, 2020, Grumpy Cat had 8.3 million total likes on Facebook, 2.6 million followers on Instagram, 1.5 million followers on Twitter and 283,000 subscribers on YouTube."

In addition, Tardar Sauce had her own merchandise line and several books! Grumpy Cat's owners were really clever and certainly were able to get the most out of their pet's fame.

At the time of her death on May 14, 2019, Grumpy Cat had an estimated worth of at least $1 million, according to Wikipedia.

While Grumpy Cat's fortune is impressive but it cannot compare to Olivia Benson's fortune.

Olivia Benson is Taylor Swift's pet cat, who, according to CNBC, has a net worth of an astounding $97 million!

But why is Taylor Swift's cat so rich? According to CNBC, Swift's beloved pet cat has earned her riches by starring alongside Swift in her music videos.

In addition, Olivia Benson also has her own merchandise line and appeared in commercials for Ned Sneakers and even for Diet Coke. No wonder this little furball is raking it in!

Photo: Screenshot, YouTube

Then we have Nala Cat, who is, without a doubt, the most potent "catfluencer" on social media.

With over 4 million followers on Instagram alone, Nala was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the cat with the most followers on the 'Gram.

According to CNBC, Nala Cat was just a humble shelter cat who was adopted in California by her owner Pookie in 2011.

However, when Pookie started sharing pics of her cat on Instagram, she never imagined that soon her cat would turn into a multimillion-dollar earner.

Photo: Instagram@Nala_cat

These days Nala Cat is, in fact, a brand, and she even owns her own premium cat food line. On the Nala Cat website fans can even buy Nala merchandise such as a Nala Cat sweatshirt for just $32.95!

According to Newsbreak.com, Nala Cat is paid up to $15,000 per sponsored post on Instagram, and her current net worth is estimated to be $100 million!!

Cats aren't the only ones cashing in on social media; there are plenty of dogs too! Take this adorable guy Tucker for example, who, per CNBC Tucker has a net worth of $1.5 million!

According to The Guardian, in 2021, Tucker won the Pet Influencer Award and the adorable Golden Retriever, and his son Todd have an impressive 3.3M followers on Instagram.

Photo: Instagram@tuckerbudzyn

Tucker's riches come from ads and sponsorships on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, along with a merchandise line that includes t-shirts, blankets, and even leashes.

Then we have Doug the Pug, who won over the internet in 2014 with his antics and has been cashing in on his popularity ever since. This cutie has an insane 5.9 million TikTok followers, 3.8 million Instagram followers and over 1 billion subscribers on YouTube, according to Doug the Pug's very own website.

According to CNBC, Doug has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million, a fortune amassed through sponsorships, work as the "world's first pet celebrity voice actor," advertisements, book deals, and of course Doug the Pug merchandise.

In addition, Doug's owners recently announced on Doug's Instagram account that the little cutie is even getting his own animated series!

Even more impressive is that Doug the Pug has his very own foundation called 'Paws for a Good Cause.'

According to Doug's website, "The Doug the Pug Foundation works to bring joy and needed support outside of treatment to children and their families battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses."

Finally, the last petfluencer we are featuring is the one and only Jiffpom.

This genuinely adorable Pomerainian became known worldwide in 2014 when he set two Guinness World Records. One for the fastest 10-meter run on his back legs and the other for the fastest 5-meter run on his front paws.

Jiffpom boasts an astounding 9.5 million followers on Instagram, according to CNBC and according to influencermarkethub.com, this little guy earns a cool $32,000 per Instagram advertisement.

Jiffpom has also worked with some big stars, including Kristen Hancher, Zach Clayton, Melissa Milano and Christian Collins.

Even wilder is that Jiffpom appeared in Katy Perry's video featuring Juicy J: Dark Horse. The video was so popular it had over a billion views on YouTube.

Jiffpom also published a book with some help from his human friends titled, 'I am Jiffpom.' Although official figures are hard to find, some claim that Jiffpom has an impressive net worth of $25 million!

However, there has been some mystery surrounding the little guy as there have not been any new posts on his Instagram account since February of 2022, causing some to speculate that the 12-year-old dog may have passed away.