Greece’s influencer market is expected to exceed €100 million in 2026, but concerns over undeclared earnings and opaque business practices are prompting increased scrutiny.

A market generating tens of millions of euros in fees and involving hundreds of professionals is now firmly in the sights of the country’s tax authorities. With annual turnover expected to exceed €100 million, the country’s rapidly expanding influencer industry remains largely uncharted territory for regulators.

The investigation into 18 influencers suspected of promoting illegal online gambling appears to be just one aspect of a much broader industry, encompassing established businesses, multimillion-euro advertising contracts, undeclared income and practices that, in some cases, extend to extortion.

Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) has already conducted targeted checks on more than 200 social media accounts with over 100,000 followers. Investigations are also examining potential tax evasion, money laundering and breaches of consumer protection legislation.

Behind the photographs of luxury holidays, cosmetics promotions and videos attracting millions of views, an entirely new economy has emerged, complete with its own pricing structures, business models and commercial practices. It has grown faster than the mechanisms designed to regulate it, leaving a fundamental question unanswered: how much do Greek influencers really earn, where does their money come from, and how much of it is declared to the tax authorities?

There is no comprehensive official record of the sector. According to unofficial estimates from advertising industry professionals, turnover in Greece’s influencer market approached or exceeded €90 million in 2025 and is expected to surpass €100 million in 2026.

The most successful content creators have already moved beyond promoting other companies’ products. Many have established their own businesses, opened training schools, launched cosmetics and clothing ranges, or entered into commercial partnerships with major companies.

In some cases, their total earnings rival those of senior executives at large corporations. Yet the industry continues to operate with limited transparency, while investigators are also examining whether some individuals may be using their status as influencers to conceal income derived from illegal activities.

From micro-influencers to celebrity endorsements

Micro-influencers frequently work with small and medium-sized businesses. Their main commercial advantage lies not in the sheer number of followers they have, but in the close relationship they maintain with their audiences. Macro-influencers generally have a more structured professional presence, work with advertising agencies and attract larger corporate clients. At the top of the industry are mega-influencers, a category that also includes television personalities, entertainers and sports stars. Major brands primarily seek their ability to reach mass audiences.

One of the factors that prompted AADE to intensify its scrutiny was the apparent discrepancy between the lavish lifestyles displayed on social media and the income declared on tax returns.

In some cases, individuals regularly posted photographs of holidays in the Maldives, stays at luxury hotels and nights out in the United Arab Emirates, despite declaring annual incomes of less than €10,000.

According to information cited by tax advisers, AADE has a specialist team of approximately ten auditors who monitor popular social media accounts and use digital tools, including artificial intelligence applications, to identify potential discrepancies between declared earnings and the lifestyles displayed online.

AADE governor Giorgos Pitsilis had already warned in early 2025 that some professionals working in the sector did not fully understand their tax obligations.

The investigation initially focused on 20 tax identification numbers belonging to well-known influencers who were reportedly charging as much as €10,000 per post. It subsequently expanded considerably. During 2025, targeted checks on accounts with more than 100,000 followers exceeded 150, while the total has now risen above 200.

The consequences of tax violations may extend beyond financial penalties. Where the relevant legal conditions are met, cases are also referred to Greece’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority. Investigations into undeclared income can therefore develop into broader inquiries if evidence emerges suggesting that money may have originated from, or been transferred through, illegal activities.

Around 1,000 individual influencers operating commercially in Greece

One of the main difficulties in assessing the industry is the absence of an agreed definition of an influencer. There is no single, formally established criterion determining who qualifies. In practice, the term refers to individuals capable of influencing the behaviour of their followers.

Within Greece’s advertising industry, 10,000 followers is frequently used as a benchmark. Industry estimates suggest that approximately 1,500 accounts exceed that threshold. Around 500 belong to companies, leaving a core group of roughly 1,000 individuals who could operate commercially as influencers.

The sector’s growth has also created a new category of businesses acting as intermediaries between content creators and advertisers.

One example is Rênfluence, a platform with approximately 900 registered creators. Its founder, Giorgos Karavokyris, has explained that the platform draws on data from Meta to help companies assess the commercial value of individual accounts more accurately.

This is particularly important given the widespread international practice of purchasing fake followers through systems that generate large numbers of accounts in countries including Bangladesh, India and China. “We also know how much they charge. This allows us to identify the most suitable person and offer companies value for money,” Karavokyris has said.

Ioanna Touni’s business generated more than €2 million in revenue

One of the clearest examples of an influencer converting online popularity into an established business is Greece’s Ioanna Touni.

Financial statements for her company, J. Touni Single-Member Private Company, published in Greece’s General Commercial Registry, provide a rare insight into the financial potential of a highly successful influencer.

In 2024, the company reported turnover of €2,063,213 and net profits of €1,541,461. In other words, approximately three-quarters of its revenue translated into net profit. Pre-tax profits exceeded €1.8 million, while the company’s equity stood at €2.47 million.

The growth in its assets was equally striking. Fixed assets increased from €5,847 to €242,023 within a year, while inventories rose from €2,800 to €232,680. The figures reflect a business that has moved beyond monetising its founder’s popularity and developed commercial activities involving the sale of products.

Similarly detailed financial information is not available for all prominent influencers. Some creators also choose to maintain a low profile regarding their wealth, not necessarily for tax-related reasons, but to avoid unwanted publicity or attracting the attention of criminal networks.

The ways in which influencers organise their businesses vary considerably. Some operate through their own private limited companies, others establish partnerships with colleagues or romantic partners, while many are represented by managers or advertising agencies.

Those with more established operations use formal contracts, issue invoices and provide clients with detailed information about the performance of their advertising campaigns.

Deals arranged through Instagram messages and payments via digital platforms

At the other end of the market is a less transparent world in which advertising agreements are negotiated through Instagram direct messages, commonly known as DMs, and payments are made through banking applications and services such as Revolut and PayPal.

Using these payment services is entirely legal. Problems arise when transactions are not accompanied by the required tax documentation or when the resulting income goes undeclared.

There is also a category of commercial arrangements that involve no direct financial payment. An influencer might promote a hotel in exchange for a complimentary stay, a restaurant in return for a free meal, or a cosmetics company in exchange for products.

Business owners in the tourism and hospitality industries have described cases in which requests for complimentary accommodation were accompanied by threats of damaging social media posts if the requests were refused.

One such case has already reached the Greek courts. In Chania, Crete, a foreign influencer couple was found guilty of attempting to extort the owner of a tourist accommodation business in Apokoronas. The pair had demanded €700 and were arrested by police as they collected the money in marked banknotes.

Fashion and beauty dominate advertising demand

The industry’s main commercial focus has increasingly shifted away from payment for individual posts towards developing businesses capable of generating recurring revenue.

Fashion and beauty dominate demand from advertisers, followed by accounts focusing on family life, parenting and fitness. Travel influencers often entail higher costs for advertisers, without necessarily delivering proportionately better commercial results. Technology and financial products, by contrast, represent smaller but potentially more lucrative markets.

The financial activities of influencers are not solely a concern for tax authorities. Consumer protection is also an important issue, as paid promotion of products and services is not always clearly identified as advertising. In 2024, the European Commission and national authorities from 22 EU member states published the results of a Europe-wide investigation examining posts by 576 influencers.

Of those, 358 were selected for further investigation into possible breaches of the rules. The authorities also found that 119 were promoting activities or products associated with heightened risks, including alcohol, cosmetic procedures, gambling and financial products. The investigation included 20 Greek influencers.

A new generation of influencers building global businesses

Alongside celebrities who have used their established public profiles to attract social media audiences, a new generation of content creators has built enormous followings without any previous involvement in television, cinema or professional sport.

Khaby Lame, who was born in Senegal, amassed more than 160 million followers on TikTok through short comedy videos. Emma Chamberlain began by posting spontaneous videos on YouTube as a teenager before establishing herself as an influential figure in the fashion industry.

Perhaps the most striking example of the commercial and cultural power of this new generation is MrBeast. Behind the name is Jimmy Donaldson, a creator who began uploading video game content at the age of 13. Over time, he developed a distinctive approach to content production, built around elaborate challenges, large-scale productions, substantial cash prizes and videos designed to attract vast international audiences. According to the figures cited, his main channel had surpassed 250 million subscribers, while the combined audience across his channels exceeded 300 million.

His success illustrates how dramatically the economics of public recognition have changed. Building influence no longer requires the backing of a television network, record label or major publishing organisation.

An audience can be created directly through digital platforms and subsequently transformed into an independent commercial enterprise. That is precisely what makes the influencer industry both so attractive and so difficult to regulate.

In Greece, where the sector’s combined turnover is estimated to exceed €100 million this year, the challenge is not to treat an emerging professional category as inherently suspicious. Rather, it is to distinguish legitimate, organised businesses from undeclared transactions, misleading advertising and potentially criminal practices.

As social media influence increasingly translates into substantial financial rewards, it can no longer be regarded simply as a personal activity conducted online.