Lil Wayne Net Worth
Lil Wayne is an American rapper, producer and music executive who has a net worth of $170 million. The artist has accumulated many names over his career, including Birdman Jr., Young Tune, Dr. Carter, Weezyana, Tunechi, and countless others. No matter what you call him, one thing’s clear: the man’s been incredibly successful.
Wayne is one of the richest rappers in the world, and started achieving success in the rap game when he was only 9 years old.
He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, won numerous awards, and even surpassed Elvis Presley for having the most entries on the Billboard Top 100. His position as one of the best-selling musical artists in history gave him the experience he needed to start his own music label, Young Money Entertainment.
Lil Wayne started out as the youngest rapper ever signed to Cash Money Records. You’ve heard his hits like ‘Let It Rock’ and ‘Got Money’ in all of the hottest clubs.
However, despite his fame and fortune today, he had to go through hard times before he hit worldwide fame and international renown. Here’s how Lil Wayne became recognized as one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time.
History
Dwayne was born in New Orleans on the 27th of September 1982. His mother was 19 when she had Wayne, and his father abandoned their family when Wayne was only 2 years old.
Growing up in the low-income neighborhood of Hollygrove in New Orleans was not enough to stop Carter’s talents from being noticed early on. In Elementary school, the boy was put in the gifted program of his elementary school, and he also joined the drama club.
By age eight, Carter had written his first rap song, and a year later he drew the attention of Bryan Williams – better known simply as “Birdman.” As the owner of Cash Money Records, Williams was Lil Wayne’s first chance at making it big.
Carter left messages on Birdman’s answering machine that included his freestyles, and it convinced Williams to give the boy a shot. After appearing in a number of songs under the Cash Money Label, it was clear that music would be Lil Wayne’s future career focus.
Tragedy struck when Carter was 12. He shot himself in the chest with a 9mm pistol and was driven to the hospital for a life-threatening wound by an off-duty officer. He has since admitted this was a suicide attempt and a result of his mother’s disapproval of his rapping career.
How He Got Rich
Most of his fortune comes from his rap albums most notably Tha Carter III. Certified triple platinum by the RIAA, in 2009 Tha Carter III also won the Best Rap Album award at the Grammy Awards.
In 2005 Lil Wayne founded Young Money Entertainment which diversified his income making him not just a rapper but also a producer and entrepreneur. Through the label Lil Wayne’s net worth grew by leaps and bounds even blasting past Birdman’s net worth.
In the United States alone Lil Wayne has sold more than 38 million digital tracks and 15 million albums. His total number of record sales world may be as high as 125 million including more than 20 million albums and 70 million digital tracks.
He also became the first male artist to beat out Elvis Presley for the top spot of most songs that made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart, at 109 songs.
While Lil Wayne’s fortune comes almost exclusively from his explosive music career and record label he has also earned more money from his various other business ventures. Ventures like Bogey Cigars which Lil Wayne got involved in back in 2008 and still going strong available to purchase nationwide in the US.
Then there is Tunechi Beats By Dre, Lil Wayne teamed up with Dr Dre on in 2012 and while no longer available today were retailing for $300 a pair. In 2012 released a designer skate shoe called The Spectre by SUPRA shoe. Also in 2012 Lil Wayne launched a clothing line called TRUKFIT, or “The Reason U Kill For It”.
Career
In 1996, Carter joined the Hot Boys along with rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. He was only 15 years old, making him the youngest member of the group at the time.
3 years later, Lil Wayne went solo, and released his debut album ‘The Block is Hot’, which was a major success, reaching platinum certification. He leveraged the album’s success to release a couple of others within the following few years and put himself on the map.
Since then, Lil Wayne has become a sensation, working with many famous artists, including Drake, Nicki Minaj, DJ Khaled, Eminem, and so on. He’s also received a large number of awards for his work and collaborations with others; some of which are listed below.
As of 2022, Lil Wayne’s net worth is $150 Million.
Personal Life
Lil Wayne has four children, the first of whom was born in 1998 when Carter was 16. Although Lil Wayne married the child’s mother, Toya Johnson, they divorced in 2006.
In 2008, the rapper welcomed his first son into the world alongside the boy’s mother, a radio broadcaster. He named his son Dwayne III. In 2009, he had another child with actress Lauren London. Another son was born in 2009, this time to the singer Nivea.
How He Spends His Cashs
He paid $17 million for his home in Miami Beach
Wayne drives a black Bugatti Veyron that reaches 60mph in 2.5 seconds. His Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe cost $443,000.
Lil Wayne is a huge fan of Dr. Dre’s headphones and he has been spotted wearing a diamond pair of Beats headphones. The head-wear cost Lil Wayne around $1 million. He is also clearly a fan of diamonds and what better way to keep an eye on the time than with a $1 million diamond watch.
Awards
•BET Awards – Best Male Hip Hop Artist (2009)
•BET Hip Hop Awards – MVP of the Year (2008)
•BET Hip Hop Awards – Lyricist of the Year (2008)
•Billboard Music Awards – Top Rap Album (I Am Not A Human Being, 2011)
•Billboard Music Awards – Best Male Artist (2012)
•Billboard Music Awards – Best Rap Artist (2012)
•BMI Awards – Urban Songwriter of the Year (2009, 2010)
•Grammy Awards – Best Rap Album (The Carter III, 2009)
•Source Awards – Best New Artist (2000)
