Net Worth: $170 Million
Lil Wayne’s net worth of $170 million is largely owed to his career as one of the best-selling rappers of all time, with over 200 million albums sold both in the form of physical and digital copies. Lil Wayne is also an actor, songwriter, composter, and entrepreneur. As one of the richest rappers of all time, Lil Wayne has also earned money from various product endorsements and other business deals.
Let’s take a close look at how this titan of rap music has skyrocketed his net worth throughout his long and respected career in the world of hip-hop.
Lil Wayne’s Earnings By Year
The earliest earnings we have for Lil Wayne on an annual basis was in 2007, when the breakout star had the first big year of his career. During that time, he earned $12 million. He would continue to earn between $12 million and $27 million per year, depending on his touring schedule and album releases.
| Year | Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 2007 | $12 million |
| 2008 | $13 million |
| 2009 | $18 million |
| 2010 | $20 million |
| 2011 | $15 million |
| 2012 | $27 million |
| 2013 | $16 million |
| 2014 | $23 million |
| 2015 | $15 million |
| 2016 | $14 million |
| 2017 | $16 million |
| 2018 | $19 million |
| 2019 | $20 million |
| 2020 | $100 million |
| 2021 | $5 million |
| Total | $333 Million |
Young Money Catalog Sale Earns Lil Wayne $100 Million
As Lil Wayne progressed throughout his career the opportunity to run his own label led to the signing of superstar artists Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Tyga. The record label was successful at developing hits but Lil Wayne’s net worth took a huge jump when he sold the labels music catalog.
In July 2020 it was revealed that the rapper sold the Young Money Masters to Universal Music in a deal worth $100 million. Revolt.tv also notes that the sale included Lil Wayne’s own masters.
Lil Wayne’s Real Estate Purchases And Sales
imagepressagency / Depositphotos.comLil Wayne has never been afraid to buy and sell large homes. His mansions haven’t always sold at his asking price, but he’s certainly owned a fair number of beautiful homes.
2011: Lil Wayne purchased $11.6 million on the water in Miami; the rapper then put millions of dollars into renovating the home. While one of the world’s richest rappers invested millions into the home, his 2015 asking price of $18 million never led to a buyer. Wayne then dropped the price to $12 million with no offers. In June 2017, the home finally sold for $10 million, leading to a loss of millions for the nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom house that features an elevator and private dock.
2018: In December of 2018, Lil Wayne dropped $16.75 million on a condominium in New Orleans. The home sits on a 23,000-square-foot plot of land and features a state-of-the-art recording studio. Much like his Miami home, the rapper didn’t stay in the home for long, selling it in 2023 for $22.6 million.
2021: In April of 2021 Lil Wayne paid $15.4 million for a home in Hidden Hills, California.
With a few ups and downs in his real estate holdings, Lil Wayne has likely broken close to even on the first two homes while still holding onto an asset worth $15.4 million.
Massive Streaming Revenue Has Increased Lil Wayne’s Net Worth
In April 2023, the team at HotNewHipHop.com pointed out that Lil Wayne had surpassed 25 billion streams on Spotify alone. Given the industry average payout of $.004 per stream, that total equates to around $100 million in earnings.
Keep in mind that number includes all of the songs Lil Wayne has appeared on as a featured artist. Lil Wayne is one of the most prolific guest artists in rap, so he would have only received a portion of the streaming revenue for non-original music.
It’s also important to note that Lil Wayne sold the rights to his songs in July 2020 so he would not be the person collecting any streaming revenues from songs he created before that time since the time of the catalog sale.
Still, given his huge popularity on Spotify and other services such as Apple Music, Tidal, and Pandora, Lil Wayne’s music has likely added significantly to his net worth.
Lil Wayne’s Endorsement Deals
imagepressagency / Depositphotos.comWhen you’re one of the biggest and richest rappers in the world, you’re going to receive offers to endorse brand-name products, and Lil Wayne is no exception.
Lil Wayne inked a multi-million dollar deal with Pepsi’s Mountain Dew, but we’re not sure how much he was eventually paid because the deal came to a close early. After being announced at SXSW in 2012, The Denver Post reported that PepsiCo ended the relationship over some vulgar lyrics Lil Wayne used in a song in 2013.
The famed rapper also worked with Samsung, appearing in a commercial that announced the arrival of the company’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones.
Here’s the Lil Wayne Samsung commercial for your enjoyment.
Lil Wayne has also appeared in commercials for Apartments.com, Ubisoft’s video game ‘Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint,” a commercial for the NFL, and more. While PepsiCo clearly abandoned their star rapper, he has had no issue finding more commercial work in the years since.
We don’t know how much Lil Wayne has made from his other commercial work but when combined, it’s likely in the millions of dollars.
Lil Wayne Is Also An Investor
Lil Wayne has made various investments, some of which have worked out well for the rapper and others that have since disappeared.
The net worth of Lil Wayne has also offered him the ability to invest some of his money in companies. One of the most notable investments comes in the form of an estimated 25% stake in French watch company Wize and Ope. The partnership, which included Lil Wayne becoming the company’s U.S. Ambassador, was announced by Billboard in 2013. The company couldn’t gain the type of traction in needed and is no longer around.
Other investments made by Lil Wayne have included:
- The Young Money Entertainment record label.
- Extravagant estates in Hidden Valley and Miami.
- SUPRA outlet.
- Accessories with the watch company Wize and Ope.
- Young Money Sports agency.
- A video game titled Sqvad Up.
- Clothing line Trukfit.
In 2021, TheThings.com reported that Trukfit had generated a whopping $788 million in sales.
What Is Lil Wayne’s Net Worth In 2023?
With one of the most successful rap careers of all time, Lil Wayne has an estimated net worth of around $170 million in 2023.
It should be noted that Lil Wayne has denied his net worth, claiming to have “nowhere near” that level of income. While the rapper may have spent lavishly over the course of his career, there’s no denying that he has certainly generated a lot of revenue. Some estimates claim the rapper has earned more than $300 million after nearly two decades in the rap game, making him one of the richest rappers of all time.
While Lil Wayne still has a long way to go before he can surpass Dr. Dre’s Net Worth or even catch up to Kanye West’s net worth (which has been in free fall), there’s no denying the indelible mark he continues to leave on hip-hop.
