Since March, Taylor Swift has taken the world by storm with the Eras Tour – at each concert, she performs 44 songs from all 10 of her albums. Each performance features a massive stage, dazzling lights, and all sorts of other equipment to ensure everything runs smoothly. While Swift is the mastermind behind much of what fans see on stage, she couldn’t put on these record-breaking shows without help.
From dancers and sound technicians to caterers and riggers, there are countless folks who work hard to make sure that fans have the most unforgettable experiences. Swift recognizes this and chose to show her appreciation for those who support her as they reach the end of the U.S. leg of her tour. But how does someone thank so many people for this much hard work? For Swift, it includes giving out bonuses totaling more than $55 million.
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That large sum of money includes several $100,000 bonuses given to truck drivers that haul her equipment from city to city. Mike Scherkenbach, the CEO of the trucking company Shomotion, was blown away by Swift’s generosity.
“There are a lot of very wealthy people who choose not to share a dime of it,” Mike said. “We work with all kinds of wealthy people, but this is not the norm.”
Mike and the other drivers found out about these bonuses in a meeting that was unexpectedly led by Swift’s own dad, Scott Swift. After a short speech where he expressed their appreciation for their hard work over the last 24 weeks, he passed out letters with their bonuses.
Each letter included a handwritten note from Ms. Swift herself, and each envelope featured a wax seal with her monogram. At first, many of the drivers didn’t realize just how much they were getting.
“The funny part is, they just glanced at the letter quickly and didn’t look at the amount, so one driver read it as $1,000, another driver read it as $10,000,” he recalled. “And then another driver said, ‘Oh, this has to be a joke. $100,000?’ which then made the other ones reopen their letters.”
It’s not easy for these drivers to be away from their families for this long –24 weeks so far – so getting an unheard-of amount of money for all the hard work they’ve done is very much appreciated.
“It’s a life-changing sum of money for somebody to be able to become a homeowner and for drivers that have children are starting at the age that they’re going off to college,” Mike said. “It’s a game changer.”
We absolutely love to see massive stars like Swift give back to those who help make her success possible!
