Bonuses Stars Give Their Staff: From G-Dragon’s Gold Bar to Taylor Swift’s Million-Dollar Payouts

Once in a while, a story about a boss spoiling their staff pops up and makes us go, “Hello? Boss? Are you seeing this?”

Taylor Swift reportedly gave millions in bonuses to her Eras Tour staff, with fans speculating that the dancers got a whopping US$750,000 (S$968,500) each

Then there’s the King of K-pop: G-Dragon.

In a recent viral video, the 37-year-old South Korean superstar caused quite a stir at the after-party for his Übermensch tour.

He was first seen teasing two staff members who had apparently become a couple while working on the tour — before casually handing them a 24K gold bar as a gift.

His unexpected generosity sent the rest of the staff into cheers, while G-Dragon bashfully applauded the pair and offered them his blessing.

This, however, isn’t the first time the star has made headlines for being a spoil market boss.

In August, G-Dragon was spotted at a Swiss luxury watch boutique personally gifting timepieces to his bodyguards.

The watches were reportedly from American luxury brand Jacob & Co, with whom he previously collaborated on the limited-edition Astronomia G-Dragon Watch.

Before that, G-Dragon also gifted luxury jewellery to his backup dancers — pieces believed to be part of a collaboration between his own brand, PEACEMINUSONE, and Jacob & Co.

The collaborative necklace, priced at KR₩1.65 million (S$1,442), was said to be inside the gift boxes.

Reports claim that South Korean singer IU bought business class seats for over 100 crew members who worked on the US leg of her world tour. She also reportedly treated her staff to VIP passes at theme parks.

Meanwhile, Blackpink’s Lisa, the global ambassador of Louis Vuitton, was said to have given four of her make-up artists LV bags. Lisa is rumoured to be dating Tag Huer CEO, Frederic Arnault, aka one of the sons of LVMH’s head honcho, Bernard Arnault, since 2022.

Outside of Korea, Mandopop King Jay Chou reportedly let his staff choose their preferred destination for employee trips. His team has supposedly enjoyed 10-day tours to Austria and the Czech Republic so far.

Jam Hsiao, on the other hand, rewarded his employees with bonuses worth up to seven months’ salary — amounting to NT$1 million (S$47,380).