Top-Earning Real Estate Agents in the USA (2026 Ranked)

Who are the top-earning real estate agents in the US? How did they manage to become so successful in their careers? The real estate world is an incredibly competitive one, and not everyone is suited for it. Becoming the best of the best is not an easy task. Each agent has their own strategy, and there are plenty of factors that influence their success. 

This article breaks down the strategies and decisions that put these five agents at the top of the RealTrends rankings.

Measuring Success: What Makes an Agent “Top-Earning”?

For many people, when they think of success, they imagine themselves having incredible wealth. And the real estate market does follow this trend, often ranking the top-earning real estate agents in the U.S. by their total sales volume, that is, the combined value of every property they sold in a year. 

But you can make 50 million in total sales in a year, selling 50 one-million properties, or selling just one 50-million property. That’s why transaction sides, or the number of deals closed, offer more insight into the quality of the agent. 

How Much Money do Top-Earning Agents Make? 

If an agent has annual sales of one million dollars, this doesn’t mean that they go home at the end of the year with that amount. Agents are paid a percentage of the sale price, usually around 5-7%, although it depends on the commission structure, brokerage split, and operational costs. 

So, for an annual sale of one million dollars, that agent will be taking home between $50,000 and $70,000.  

5 Top-Earning Real Estate Agents in the USA

Now that we have established how to measure success in the real estate world, let’s see what it looks like in real life. Who are those agents who are doing billionaire sales? This list only includes solo agents from the most recent rankings in Real Trends, so you have a better idea of how much a single person can make.

Unlike real estate developers or investors, these are practicing agents: people who actively represent buyers, sellers, or builder clients in real estate transactions.

1- Ben Caballero — HomesUSA.com, Inc

You probably have already heard of Ben Caballero from Dallas, Texas, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com. After all, not every real estate agent manages to make annual sales of over 1 billion dollars and get multiple Guinness World Records. In 2024 alone, he made $3.92 billion in sales, with 7,722 transactions in total.  

Unlike traditional agents who earn a percentage of each sale, Caballero charges builders a flat fee per transaction, a scalable model that allows him to close thousands of deals without relying on the same commission structure as luxury agents. Using a 2.5% traditional commission estimate, his $3.92 billion in sales would equal about $98 million in gross commission before brokerage splits and operating costs, but his actual builder-focused model may produce a different number.

Notice that several of these top earners operate as managing brokers, not just agents. Becoming a broker opens the door to running your own team, office, and business. For a concrete look at what the broker path requires, see our guide on how to become a real estate broker in Texas, one of the largest markets in the country. Ben Caballero, the #1 agent in the USA, operates out of Texas for a reason.

2- Deborah Kern — Corcoran

In the ultra-luxury market of Manhattan, we will find our second most successful real estate agent. Deborah Kern represents an elite clientele and identifies more as a personal agent than a real estate agent. She’s been performing top high-value property transactions since 2006, and in 2024, her sales volume was $1.12 billion for only 122 transactions. 

Estimated gross commission: about $28 million, based on 2.5% of sales volume, before brokerage splits, taxes, marketing, staff, and other operating costs.

3- Christian Angle — Christian Angle Real Estate

In third place, we have another agent who specializes in some of the most prestigious properties in Florida. Christian Angle has a boutique firm in Palm Beach, and while he makes fewer deals each year, each one is well into the multimillion-dollar range, and his clients adore him for his reputation of discretion, exclusivity, and high-end dealmaking. In 2024, in only 35 transactions, he sold $792.35 million worth of incredible properties. 

Estimated gross commission: about $19.8 million, based on 2.5% of sales volume, before brokerage splits, taxes, marketing, staff, and other operating costs.

4- Jonathan Minerick — Homecoin

From San Diego, California, comes the fourth place in our list. Jonathan Minerick is a licensed broker in over 20 states and is also the founder of homecoin.com, a real estate platform that offers a range of services to help clients sell their homes without a traditional agent. In 2024 alone, he sold $764.81 million in 1,556 transactions. 

Estimated gross commission: about $19.1 million, based on 2.5% of sales volume, before brokerage splits, taxes, marketing, staff, and other operating costs.

5- Drew Fenton — Carolwood Estates

In fifth place, we have another incredible real estate agent who works in an elite area. Drew Fenton represents the most significant estates in Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, and Bel Air. In his long career, he has listed and sold the Playboy Mansion, Frances Brody Estate, Owlwood, Doheny Estate, and Rosewood in Bel Air, amongst other legacy properties. In 2024, with only 31 deals, he sold $750.00 million worth of incredible properties. 

Estimated gross commission: about $18.75 million, based on 2.5% of sales volume, before brokerage splits, taxes, marketing, staff, and other operating costs.

Notable Mention: Ryan Serhant — The Media-First Model

Ryan Serhant does not appear in this top-five RealTrends sales-volume list, but he belongs in the conversation because his model is different. His company describes SERHANT. as a brokerage built on content, technology, and amplification, and his public profile through shows like Owning Manhattan turned media into a real estate growth engine.

That is the key lesson for new agents: sales volume matters, but visibility can also become an asset. Serhant’s success shows a media-first model where personal branding, video, social media, and brokerage operations work together to create demand before a client ever asks for a listing appointment.

How to Become a Top-Earning Real Estate Agent 

Now that you know what a single person can achieve in the real estate world, let’s see how they got where they are now, what strategies they used, and what influenced their success. 

The Role of Team Structure

If there’s an important choice you need to make in your career, it’s deciding whether to work as a solo agent or lead a team. Both options can lead you to incredible success, but the path and abilities needed are not the same. 

•  Running a team: This can significantly multiply earnings by taking in more work and expanding into multiple markets simultaneously without stretching one person too thin. 

• Being a solo agent: The secret of these professionals to produce consistently high results is to focus on efficiency, a tight niche, and deep client relationships.
  

The Impact of Market and Niches

As you can imagine, where you live and practice plays a huge role in how much you can earn, and this factor is called the Geographic market. 

Location matters enormously in real estate earnings. In Florida alone, agent salaries vary dramatically by city, from high-volume markets like Miami and Palm Beach to more moderate markets inland. The top earners didn’t just pick a state; they strategically chose the most lucrative submarkets within that state.

• Areas with luxury-heavy inventory, high transaction activity, or rapid growth offer greater earning potential. Like Manhattan, Beverly Hills, or Miami, where agents can close fewer deals and still achieve massive annual sales.
  
• Specializing in high-end properties brings significant income potential due to larger commissions, and clients pay more for premium marketing, staging, and concierge-level service.

• Fast-growing metro areas with booming job markets bring consistent buyer demand and price appreciation. So properties sell for less, but there are plenty more deals each year.
  
• Beyond luxury, agents can niche down into unique segments like waterfront homes, equestrian estates, or historic properties. 

Strategies That Set Top-Earners Apart

To become a top-earning agent, you can’t rely on a single approach to grow your business; you will need to innovate constantly to stay on top of the game.

• Top-earning agents use multiple strategies, not just one, and constantly innovate.
  
• Many succeed by adopting unique business models or hyper-targeted marketing in specific neighborhoods or property types. 

As a newer real estate agent, brokerage affiliation also plays a role in success.

• Joining a well-known or luxury brokerage gives brand recognition, networks, and quality leads.
  
• Working with a boutique firm allows more personal branding and less internal competition.

Public Profile and Brand Building

If you already know some of the nation’s top agents, think for a moment. Where did you see them the very first time? There’s a chance that they appeared on television shows or were featured in a major publication. Visibility is a strong tool to build trust and attract high-value clients. Plus, a well-crafted public image can also open doors to new opportunities. 

Record-breaking achievements also significantly enhance an agent’s brand. Whether it’s holding a Guinness World Record for most homes sold in a year or setting a local sales record, these milestones create a marketing advantage that’s hard to ignore. 

Achieving all this can seem out of reach just now. But don’t worry, even the most successful agents started with only a solid education and zero experience.  

Start your career today with Lexawise

If you like reading this article, you will probably thrive as a real estate agent, and we are here to help you make your dream come true. If you start studying today, you can become a real estate agent in no time. 

Every agent on this list started the same way: by passing their state’s licensing exam. First-time pass rates range from 46% to over 75% depending on the state, which means the first hurdle on the path to top-earner status varies dramatically by geography. Ben Caballero got licensed in Texas; Drew Fenton in California. The difficulty of that first step depends entirely on where you start.

If you have flexibility on where to get licensed, some states have significantly easier exams than others, and getting licensed faster means you start earning sooner. Several of the agents on this list didn’t start in the states where they ultimately built their empires; they got licensed first and expanded from there.

The career structure also varies by state: in Tennessee, for example, all new licensees are called affiliate brokers, not agents, and they must work under a principal broker from day one. Understanding these differences matters if you’re planning which state to start in and how quickly you can build toward independence.

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Lexawise suits every learning style — whether you’re a total beginner or need a quick refresher. If you’re starting from scratch, our guide on how to become a real estate agent with no experience covers the full path from pre-licensing to your first closing. When you’re ready to study, the real estate exam prep has state-specific practice questions, simulated exams, and AI tutoring.

Final Takeaway

The path to becoming one of the top-earning real estate agents in the U.S. is as much about strategic thinking as it is about hard work. Those at the top combine market knowledge, client trust, branding, and adaptability to create a consistent stream of high-value transactions.

Success doesn’t happen overnight, but by learning from these industry leaders, any agent can start building the foundation for long-term earnings. Location matters: see where real estate agents earn the most for a breakdown by state and metro area. Several of the top earners on this list built their businesses in high-value markets like Beverly Hills and New York, where commission checks on a single transaction can exceed what agents in other markets earn in a year.