Dr. Dre Net Worth: $758 Million Monster

As of 12/13/16, the Dr. Dre net worth total of $758 million comes from music sales, concerts, film, endorsements and investments. The biggest chunk of the Dr. Dre net worth fortune comes from Beats by Dre’s $3.2 billion dollar sale to Apple.

Dre started his career in 1984 with the World Class Wreckin’ Cru. Since then, Dre has pulled in an estimated $24 million in album sales, $2 million in singles sales and $5.2 million from YouTube ads. $46 million in endorsement deals and $6 million as a music producer add to the star’s net worth.

Dr. Dre has earned a total of $1.5 billion in his lifetime. However, a Dre sized career tax bill of $889 million and $27 million in expenses keep his wealth well shy of $1 billion.

Dr. Dre Net Worth Facts

Dr Dre net worth:
$830 million
Dr Dre net worth vs Kanye West net worth13 times bigger
Dr Dre net worth vs Jay Z net worth1.6 times bigger
Dr Dre net worth vs Drake net worth9 times bigger
Dr Dre net worth vs Rihanna net worth3 times bigger
Dr Dre net worth vs Beyonce net worth:Twice as big
Dr Dre net worth vs Taylor Swift net worth:3 times bigger
Dr Dre net worth vs Kobe Bryant net worth2.6 times bigger
Dr Dre net worth vs Barack Obama net worth:259 times bigger
Dr Dre net worth vs Bernie Sanders net worth:1,571 times bigger
Dr Dre net worth vs typical American household net worth:12,202 times bigger

The Dr. Dre net worth total of $830 million is bigger than just about everyone’s. It’s 13 times bigger than Kanye West’s net worth of $66 million and 9 times bigger than Drake’s net worth of $101 million. Jay Z’s net worth of $558 million is only 1.6 times smaller than Dr. Dre’s net worth. Dr. Dre’s net worth is twice as big as Beyonce’s $420 million dollar wealth pile and 3 times bigger than Rihanna’s net worth of $281 million. It’s 2.6 times bigger than Kobe Bryant’s net worth of $319 million. Think the President of the United States has more cash than the Dr. Dre net worth stockpile? Think again. Barack Obama’s net worth of $3.2 million puts him at 259 times less wealth than Dr. Dre. Finally, how does the typical American household stack up against the Dr. Dre net worth total? The median American family has just $68,000. That’s 12,202 times smaller than Dr. Dre’s net worth.

Dr Dre Net Worth Timeline

Dr. Dre Net Worth Timeline

Dr. Dre Net Worth Timeline
Dr Dre net worth 1992$4,427,784
Dr Dre net worth 1995$11,016,636
Dr Dre net worth 1998$18,672,839
Dr Dre net worth 2001$32,190,182
Dr Dre net worth 2004$44,033,015
Dr Dre net worth 2007$57,925,169
Dr Dre net worth 2010$172,492,147
Dr Dre net worth 2013$353,670,676
Dr Dre net worth 2016$758,399,392

Looking at the Dr. Dre net worth story as a timeline makes one fact jump out: The megastar’s net worth skyrocketed when he got into business. Certainly the rapper’s net worth in the tens of millions was not paltry when he was “only” singing. However, the Beats by Dre adventure blasted the Dr. Dre net worth ship into the stratosphere.

The story in the media is that Dr. Dre was upset that people were stealing his music in this age of casual digital piracy. However, he was even more upset that they were listening to it on cheap headphones, destroying the music’s feel. The dip in Dr. Dre’s net worth in the graph below shows Dre’s estimated investment in the company. It’s an investment that paid off, rocketing the Dr. Dre net worth juggernaut up toward the billion dollar mark in just a few short years.

Dr. Dre Net Worth Sources

Calling Dr. Dre a rapper is like calling Bill Gates a software engineer. Yes it’s how he got his start, but music sales and concert tour income combined only accounts for 7% of the total Dr. Dre net worth picture.

The table below shows how much the star earned from each source.

Dr Dre Net Worth Sources
YouTube$4,060,4230.24%
Music Production$6,000,0000.36%
Film Career$9,950,0000.59%
Music Sales$25,901,7061.54%
Endorsements (Estimated)$46,000,0002.73%
Concert Tours (Estimated)$90,655,9725.39%
Investments$145,131,7118.63%
Beats by Dre Income$400,000,00023.78%
Business Deals$954,500,00056.74%
Total Dr Dre Earnings$1,682,199,812
Taxes$857,169,985
Expenses$27,708,965
Beats by Dre Estimated Initial Investment$20,000,000
Total Dr Dre Costs$904,878,950
Total Dr Dre Net Worth$777,320,862

As the table above shows, more than half the artist’s income comes from business deals. The chart below shows the full Dr. Dre net worth breakdown graphically.

dr dre net worth breakdown

Business Deals and Dr. Dre Net Worth

Dr Dre Net Worth Beats by DreWith two platinum albums and four platinum singles, there’s no question Dr. Dre is a spectacular musician. However, he’s an even better businessman.

According to our estimates, over 80% of Dr. Dre’s lifetime earnings comes from Beats by Dre.

Dr. Dre started Beats Electronics in 2008 with partner Jimmy Iovine. Since then, the company has grown to an estimated $1.4 billion a year in sales revenue. In 2010, Beats inked a deal with HTC, selling a 50% stake in the company for $309 million. $154 million of that amount went straight into the Dr. Dre net worth fortune.

In 2014, Apple paid a staggering $3.2 billion to acquire Beats. It’s estimated that $800 million of that found its way onto the Dr. Dre net worth pile.

All told, Dr. Dre has amassed an estimated $955 million from business deals. Adding in an estimated $400 million in income from the business through the years boosts Dre’s Beats earnings to nearly $1.4 billion.

Business Deals and Dr Dre Net Worth
Beats by Dre HTC Deal$309,000,000
Dr Dre %50%
Dr Dre Earnings from HTC Deal 2010$154,500,000
Beats by Dre Sale to Apple 2014$3,200,000,000
Dr Dre %25%
Dr Dre Earnings from Apple Deal$800,000,000
Total Dr Dre Net Worth from Business$954,500,000

Also see: Drake Net Worth

 Music Sales and Dr. Dre Net Worth

Dr. Dre has sold 28.5 million albums and 16 million singles. The star’s studio albums include The Chronic in 1992, 2001 in 1999 and Compton in 2015. Another album titled Detox was eventually canceled.

Album Sales and Dr. Dre Net Worth

Aside from the three albums The Chronic, 2001 and Compton, Dr. Dre has released 66 live albums and several compilation and other albums, including nine albums with the group N.W.A.  Stars earn an estimated 11.1% for each song they write and record, according to industry estimates. Based on our figures, album sales have kicked in $24 million to the Dr. Dre net worth stack.

Album Sales and Dr Dre Net Worth
Studio AlbumsYearUnit SalesRevenue at $10.99 EachDr Dre Earnings at 11.1% Each
The Chronic19927,500,00082,425,0009,149,175
200119999,300,000102,207,00011,344,977
Compton2015500,0005,495,000609,945
N.W.A Albums (Dr. Dre gets .66%)9,600,000105,504,000696,326
Other Albums (7)1,610,00017,693,9001,964,023
Totals28,510,000$313,324,900$23,764,446
Total Dr Dre Net Worth from Albums$23,764,446

Also see: Beyonce Net Worth

Singles Sales and Dr. Dre Net Worth

Dr. Dre’s hit singles include Nuthin’ But a G Thing and I Need a Doctor. Since some of Dre’s singles were recorded with other artists like Eminem and Snoop Dog, the rapper took a smaller cut of earnings. We estimate singles pumped another $2 million total into the Dr. Dre net worth tanks.

Singles and Dr Dre Net Worth
Unit Sales
Revenue at $1.99 Each
Dr Dre Earnings
Singles as Lead (18, Dr. Dre gets 11.1%)7,000,00013,930,0001,546,230
Singles as Featured (25, Dr. Dre gets 3.3%)9,000,00017,910,000591,030
Totals16,000,000$31,840,000$2,137,260

Also see: Kanye West Net Worth

Concert Tours and Dr. Dre Net Worth

Dr. Dre Net Worth factsWe weren’t able to find historical data on Dr. Dre’s concert ticket sales. Going at it from another angle, we analyzed several other stars to see how much they earned from concerts vs music sales.  Drake, Jay Z and Kanye West all earned three to five times more from concert tours than from music sales. Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus earned six to 13 times more from concerts. Using Jay Z, Drake and West as more representative of Dr. Dre’s concert earning power, we estimate Dr. Dre earned 3.5 times more money from concerts than from music sales. That gave us a figure of $91 million from concert earnings for the Dr. Dre net worth total.

Concert Tours and Dr Dre Net Worth
StarConcert Tours to Music Sales
Drake4.8
Jay Z3.2
Kanye West2.5
Rihanna9
Taylor Swift6
Miley Cyrus13
Estimated Dr Dre Ratio3.5
Dr Dre Music Sales Earnings$25,901,706
Estimated Dr Dre Concert Earnings$90,655,972

Also see: Rihanna Net Worth

Film Career and Dr. Dre Net Worth

Dr. Dre has acted in and produced several films. Since most of Dre’s ventures were relatively small dollar affairs, we focused on the hit movie Straight Outta Compton in 2015. The film raked in nearly $200 million at the worldwide box office. Estimating Dre’s cut as producer at just 5% adds a $10 million dollar slice to the Dr. Dre net worth pie.

Related: Jay Z Net Worth

Music Production and Dr. Dre Net Worth

In the years between 2001 and 2007, Dre turned from rapping to producing music by other stars. Dre produced albums by Eminem, Gwen Stephani, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Jay Z. Music industry experts place producer income at 4% of total record sales. Knowing that gives a rough estimate of $6 million in the Dr. Dre net worth stockpile from production income.

YouTube and Dr. Dre Net Worth

As of 12/13/16, Dr. Dre’s Vevo channel has 961 million views. Marketing experts place YouTube earnings at about $7.60 for 1,00o views. Estimating Dr. Dre kept 85% of that adds another $6,218,756 into the Dr. Dre net worth story.

YouTube and Dr Dre Net Worth
Views
Revenue at $7.60 Per 1,000 Views
Dr Dre Earnings at 85%
Dr Dre Vevo Channel961,750,979$7,309,307$6,212,911
Dr Dre Channel904,722$6,876$5,845
Total Dr Dre Net Worth from YouTube$6,218,756

Also see: Taylor Swift Net Worth

Investments and Dr. Dre Net Worth

Apart from Dr. Dre’s billion dollars in business deals with HTC and Apple, he also likely has other investments. Average stock and bond investments over the years tack about 6% onto an investor’s wealth. Assuming Dre invested his earnings after taxes and expenses, we estimate the star amassed about $146 million in investment income. We subtracted $20 million from the Dr. Dre net worth total in 2008 to account for Dre’s initial investment in Beats Electronics.

Taxes and Expenses and Dr. Dre Net Worth

taxes expenses dr dre net worthA mammoth sized wealth pile leads to a mammoth sized tax bill. Dre is in a 39.6% federal tax bracket. Since he lives in L.A., his state tax bracket is another 13.3%. That gives Dre a sky-high 52.9% tax rate. Applying that rate to Dre’s earnings over the years means taxes of $813 million suck half the wind out of the Dr. Dre net worth balloon. Since Dre’s investments would be taxed if he cashed them in, taxes on investments account for another $77 million.

Expenses of $27 million cut another slice from the Dr. Dre net worth pie. We figured Dre spends 15% of regular income on things like cost of living, agents, staff and operating costs. We didn’t apply that percentage to the star’s business deals, since those deals probably detoured straight into Dre’s net worth without high-percentage expenses.

Dr Dre Net Worth Calculations
YearDr. Dre EarningsTaxesExpensesInvestment IncomeDr Dre Net Worth
1992$13,793,720$7,296,878$2,069,058$0$4,427,784
1993$5,895,398$3,118,666$884,310$125,129$6,445,336
1994$5,895,398$3,118,666$884,310$182,145$8,519,904
1995$5,895,398$3,118,666$884,310$240,772$10,653,100
1996$5,895,398$3,118,666$884,310$301,057$12,846,579
1997$5,895,398$3,118,666$884,310$363,044$15,102,046
1998$5,895,398$3,118,666$884,310$426,784$17,421,253
1999$18,402,430$9,734,885$2,760,364$492,325$23,820,758
2000$5,895,398$3,118,666$884,310$673,175$26,386,355
2001$6,562,065$3,471,332$984,310$745,678$29,238,456
2002$6,562,065$3,471,332$984,310$826,279$32,171,158
2003$6,562,065$3,471,332$984,310$909,157$35,186,738
2004$6,562,065$3,471,332$984,310$994,377$38,287,538
2005$6,562,065$3,471,332$984,310$1,082,006$41,475,966
2006$6,562,065$3,471,332$984,310$1,172,111$44,754,500
2007$6,562,065$3,471,332$984,310$1,264,762$48,125,685
2008$6,562,065$3,471,332$984,310$1,360,032$31,592,140
2009$7,450,459$3,941,293$1,117,569$892,794$34,876,531
2010$261,283,792$138,219,126$1,017,569$985,611$157,909,239
2011$106,783,792$56,488,626$1,017,569$4,462,515$211,649,351
2012$106,783,792$56,488,626$1,017,569$5,981,211$266,908,159
2013$106,783,792$56,488,626$1,017,569$7,542,825$323,728,581
2014$806,783,792$426,788,626$1,017,569$9,148,570$711,854,748
2015$17,396,558$9,202,779$2,609,484$20,117,015$737,556,058
2016$20,843,334$758,399,392
Dr. Dre Net Worth Totals$1,539,226,434$814,250,783$27,708,965$81,132,707

Also see: Miley Cyrus Net Worth

Dr. Dre Net Worth in the News

Dr Dre Net Worth ComparisonsAs of 3/23/16, the collaboration between Dr. Dre and LL Cool J is reportedly going strong. LL Cool J had announced his retirement from the music industry on Twitter. Apparently the one thing that could call him back from rocking chair land was Dr. Dre.

Another Dr. Dre collaboration just hit the twittersphere on 4/25/17. Dre got together to record a song with Anderson .Paak. See Dre’s tweet about the match-up below.

 

Sources:

StatisticBrain.com

Quora.com