Net Worth: $150 Million
What Is Nicki Minaj’s Net Worth?
imagepressagency / Depositphotos.comNicki Minaj’s net worth has grown to an estimated $150 million. Often referred to as the queen of rap, her distinct rap flows and flamboyant personality have earned her a loyal fan base.
Born in St. James, Trinidad, the rapper, formerly known as Onika Tanya Maraj, has become one of the best-selling female artists of all time. Minaj started dropping mixtapes from 2007 through 2009 and she was soon discovered by fellow American rapper, Lil Wayne who signed her with his Young Money Entertainment record label and management firm. In 2010 she released her debut studio album, “Pink Friday.” The album was hugely successful thanks to the multiple-platinum track, “Super Bass.”
Nicki Minaj’s fortune of $150 million is even more impressive when we realize she’s the richest female rapper in the world and that fellow rapper Cardi B’s net worth of $80 million is her closest competition.
Here’s how Nicki Minaj’s net worth has grown like crazy over the past X years.
Nicki Minaj Has Sold Over 100 Million Albums And Equivalents
Jean_Nelson / Depositphotos.comWhen Nicki Minaj drops a new album her fans are quick to purchase her new offering. Minaj has sold over 100 million albums in the past 17 years, making her the best-selling female rap artist of all time. She was also the seventh best-selling female artist of the 2010s.
Among those sales are just over 8.5 million physical albums and 92.5 million RIAA equivalent sales from digital downloads. An equivalent album is equal it 1,500 streams or 10 digital downloads.
While her share of royalties has not been revealed from album sales, Nicki Minaj’s net worth has likely increased by tens of millions from her efforts.
Nicki Minaj’s Net Worth Grows With Every Tour And Paid Appearance
s_bukley / Depositphotos.comBillboard revealed in November 2023 that Nicki Minaj currently owns bragging rights for the 20th most successful rap tour in history.
Here are the numbers from her best-selling selling tour.
- Gross: $26.9 million
- Attendance: 472K
- Total Shows Reported: 42
The “Anaconda” hitmaker’s Pinkprint Tour also made the list of highest-grossing tours in 2015 when it brought in $13 million over just two months. When it comes to actual pay for each full concert, Parade reports that during the Pinkprint Tour, Minaj grossed $22 million for 55 shows, averaging $400,000 per show.
Newsweek also revealed that Minaj made $50,000 just for attending Floyd Mayweather’s daughter’s 14th birthday. She was also paid an estimated $300,000 and $500,000 for performing at a bar mitzvah.
With multiple appearances on the books and several successful tours, Nicki Minaj’s net worth has likely increased in large part because of her live performances and guest appearances.
Celebrity Talent International notes that a single performance from Nicki Minaj can cost between $1 million and $1.5 million. While she may not tour at the same pace as her fellow rappers, Minaj more than makes up for it with sky-high appearance and performance fees that improve her net worth one event at a time.
Brand Endorsements Have Been Great For Nicki Minaj’s Pocketbook
Minaj has endorsed several products during her career starting with MAC Cosmetics in November 2010. The company sold a special “Pink 4 Friday” lipstick for four consecutive Fridays to promote her album “Pink Friday.”
When Nokia was still a relevant mobile phone company, Minaj partnered with the company in April 2012 to launch the Nokia Lumia 900 in Times Square.
One month after her Nokia sponsorship she appeared in internet ads and TV commercials for Pepsi’s “LiveForNow” campaign.
In December 2014 it was revealed that Nicki Minaj was the face of the Spring/Summer 2015 campaign for Robert Cavalli.
Keeping her sponsorship focus on fashion and beauty, Minaj’s brand endorsements expanded to fast-fashion retailer H&M.
In 2012, Pepsi signed Minaj to a deal to endorse a new Pepsi-Cola called ‘Pop.’ The endorsement deals proved once again that brands love aligning the rapper’s star and according to Billboard, she earned seven figures for the deal.
Between those major deals and other offers that have come her way over the past one and a half decades, Minaj is making a killing lending her name to well-recognized brands.
A Multi-Million Dollar Sponsorship Deal From Call of Duty
ActivisionSpeaking of lucrative deals, Nicki Minaj’s new worth scored a multi-dollar win when she became the first woman operator in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II in the summer of 2023.
Cardi B turned that very role and she revealed the massive estimated payday Nicki Minaj likely received. Cardi tweeted in September 2022, “My stupid decisions from the past caused me to miss out on money now. I had a multi-million dollar Call of Duty deal on the table that I couldn’t take because of court. Guys, think twice about those quick decisions! Lesson learned.”
Nicki Minaj’s Tracks Have Streamed Billions Of Times
Jean_Nelson / Depositphotos.comNicki Minaj is a superstar on Spotify where her tracks have been streamed more than 32.5 billion times. From those streams, she was the lead artist on 11.5 billion streams and a solo artist on 6.568 billion streams.
| Total | As lead | Solo | As feature (*) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streams | 32,564,865,103 | 11,596,500,263 | 6,568,994,999 | 20,968,364,840 |
| Daily | 19,994,864 | 13,168,499 | 7,991,588 | 6,826,365 |
| Tracks | 435 | 167 | 92 | 268 |
The industry standard for Spotify payments is $3 million to $5 million for one billion streams. That means in total, the tracks featuring Nicki Minaj have brought in an estimated $97.5 million and $162.5 million.
Minaj Is Also Big On YouTube
Rap’s queen is a huge figure in the hip-hop world and that has translated to nearly 10 billion YouTube streams. Kworb as of January 1, 2024, lists Minaj’s total YouTube streams at 9.688 billion.
YouTube these days pays around $2 to $3 RPM (the payment per 1,000 streams). That could mean upwards of $15 million to $30 million.
Minaj, of course, would only receive a portion of her Spotify, YouTube, and other streaming services revenue in the form of a royalty.
With more than 26.5 million followers on YouTube, she is likely to see huge views on any future music videos and other content she releases on the channel.
Fun Fact: Minaj’s video “Anaconda” broke several YouTube records: The “Anaconda” video broke Vevo’s 24-hour streaming record with 19.6 million views in the first 24 hours. The video was released on Aug. 19, 2014, and by 2021, “Anaconda” became the first-ever solo female rap song to hit 1 billion views on the platform.
How Much Does Nicki Minaj Charge To Feature On A Track?
James Atoa/Everett Collection — Photo by everett225 / Depositphotos.comMinaj knows her worth and she told W Magazine that she charges $250,000 for a verse. One of Minaj’s collaborators, Davido, told W Magazine that she charges $500,000 for features.
It appears that Minaj charges different rate cards to different artists and that her charge to be featured on a track increases her net worth between $250,000 and $500,000.
Based on industry standards, that type of money typically earns just 16 bars on an album with more bars provided at the discretion of the guest rapper.
How Much Did Nicki Minaj Get Paid For American Idol?
Fox TVIn 2013 Nick Minaj served as a judge on American Idol for a single season and she earned $12 million, according to Billboard.
That was the same season that Mariah Carey was paid $17 million to also serve as a judge on the hit reality singing competition. Minaj and Carey butted heads throughout the seasons and neither ever returned to judge the show again.
Nicki Minaj’s net worth estimated to be around $150 million makes her one of the richest rappers in the world. With more than 100 million albums sold, billions of online music and video platform streams, and massive appearance fees and live show earnings, it looks like Minaj is poised to grow her fortune even further in the coming years.
