Lil Wayne Net Worth

The Lil Wayne net worth sum of $62 million comes from music sales, concerts and endorsement deals. We also figured estimates for expenses, taxes and investment income. Lil Wayne has earned $135 million over the course of his career and paid an estimated $53 million in taxes. The hip hop artist has shelled out another estimated $23 million in expenses. Of the star’s earnings, $21 million comes from sales of an impressive 30 albums and $13 million from sales of 200 singles. $57 million comes from concert tours and $8 million from endorsement deals. An estimated $5.5 million comes from Lil Wayne’s income as a record producer. Numbers are current as of 12/13/16.

Lil Wayne Net Worth

Lil Wayne Net Worth Facts

Lil Wayne Net Worth Facts
Lil Wayne net worth:$62,427,401
Lil Wayne net worth vs Nicki Minaj net worth:About the same
Lil Wayne net worth vs Kanye West net worthAbout the same
Lil Wayne net worth vs Drake net worth1.4 times smaller
Lil Wayne net worth vs Jay Z net worth8 times smaller
Lil Wayne net worth vs Dr. Dre net worth12 times smaller
Lil Wayne net worth vs Beyonce net worth:6 times smaller
Lil Wayne net worth vs Rihanna net worth4 times smaller
Lil Wayne net worth vs Barack Obama net worth:20 times bigger
Lil Wayne net worth vs typical American household net worth:940 times bigger

Also see: Jay Z Net Worth

lil wayne net worth factsLil Wayne’s net worth of $62 million is about the same as Nicki Minaj and Kanye West’s net worth. Drake’s net worth of $88 million is 1.4 times larger than Lil Wayne’s net worth. Jay Z’s wealth pile of $514 million is 8 times bigger than Lil Wayne’s net worth, and Dr. Dre’s is 12 times bigger at $756 million. Beyonce has 6 times more net worth than Lil Wayne with $372 million. Rihanna has 4 times more with $281 million. Lil Wayne has 20 times more net worth than Barack Obama’s $3.2 million. Finally, Lil Wayne’s net worth is 940 times bigger than the typical American family’s net worth of $68,000.

Also see: Drake Net Worth

Lil Wayne Net Worth Timeline

Lil Wayne Net Worth Through Time
Lil Wayne net worth 2008$22,528,524
Lil Wayne net worth 2009$24,852,223
Lil Wayne net worth 2010$28,133,563
Lil Wayne net worth 2011$32,428,462
Lil Wayne net worth 2012$35,180,267
Lil Wayne net worth 2013$45,595,011
Lil Wayne net worth 2014$54,544,074
Lil Wayne net worth 2015$58,451,234
Lil Wayne net worth 2016$62,427,401

Lil Wayne Net Worth Over Time

The Lil Wayne net worth story started way back in 1999 with the release of his first studio album, The Block is Hot. The album sold 1.4 million copies. That meant $13.7 million for the record company and $1.7 million for Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne has been hammering out the hit albums at a rate of about one every two years ever since. This is a music career that is here to stay. The star performer has ramped up his world tours in the past few years, going from one tour every 5 or 6 years to one every two years. He has earned an average of $18 million per tour. As the chart below shows, the Lil Wayne net worth fortune has gone almost straight up for the past 10 years and counting.

The big jump in the timeline above comes from concert tours. Lil Wayne has always been a hit as a club tour performer. Club tours are great and pull in lots of money, but not as much as world tours in big venues like stadiums and arenas. In 2008, Lil Wayne hit on the idea of a co-tour with Nicki Minaj. That tour brought in $25 million for the singer’s net worth. The tour worked so well for the pair that they repeated it in 2013. In 2014, Lil Wayne teamed up with Drake for a two timing tour powerhouse. Ever since Lil Wayne started touring with other performers, his net worth curve has gone for the moon. As of 10/12/16, the rapper has released his prison Journal for sale. The book is titled Gone ‘Til November.lil wayne net worth breakdown

Lil Wayne Net Worth and Concert Tours

lil wayne net worth concert toursThe lion’s share of a musician’s net worth usually comes from concert tours, and Lil Wayne is no exception. 42% of Lil Wayne’s net worth comes from concert tours. The star’s high profile concert tours include 2008’s I Am Music with Nicki Minaj, 2013’s America’s Most Wanted and 2014’s Drake vs Lil’ Wayne. We estimate Lil Wayne kept 60% of the box office take for the first two tours and 50% of the third, splitting the earnings from Drake vs Lil Wayne down the middle with Drake.

Concert Tours and Lil Wayne Net Worth
Concert Tours and Lil Wayne Net WorthBox OfficeLil Wayne %Lil Wayne Earnings
I Am Music (2008 Lil Wayne with Nicki Minaj)$42,000,00060%$25,200,000
America's Most Wanted (2013 Lil Wayne with Nicki Minaj)$30,000,00060%$18,000,000
Drake vs Lil Wayne (2014)$28,000,00050%$14,000,000
Total Lil Wayne Net Worth from Concerts$57,200,000

Also see: Dr. Dre Net Worth

Lil Wayne Net Worth and Music Sales

lil wayne net worth album salesMusic sales make up the second biggest chunk of the Lil Wayne net worth picture with 25%. The artist has earned $21 million from sales of his 13 studio albums and 27 compilation albums, EPs and mixtapes. The star’s first album, 1999’s The Block is hot sold 1.4 million copies and pulled in $15 million in revenue. Since artists who write their own songs earn about 11.1% of sales according to industry experts, Lil Wayne’s cut of that album was $1.7 million.

Album Sales and Lil Wayne Net Worth

Album Sales and Lil Wayne Net Worth
Album NameUnit SalesRevenue at $10.99 eachLil Wayne Earnings at 11.1%
The Block is Hot (1999, Lil Wayne debut album)1,400,000$15,386,000$1,707,846
Lights Out (2000)500,000$5,495,000$609,945
500 Degreez (2002)500,000$5,495,000$609,945
Tha Carter (2004)878,000$9,649,220$1,071,063
Tha Carter II (2005)1,400,000$15,386,000$1,707,846
Like Father, Like Son (2006)500,000$5,495,000$609,945
Tha Carter III (2008 biggest contributor to lil wayne net worth)3,800,000$41,762,000$4,635,582
Rebirth (2010)778,000$8,550,220$949,074
I Am Not a Human Being (2010, 2nd Lil Wayne album in one year)953,000$10,473,470$1,162,555
Tha Carter IV (2011 2nd biggest Lil Wayne hit album)3,500,000$38,465,000$4,269,615
I Am Not a Human Being II (2013)529,000$5,813,710$645,322
Free Weezy Album (2015)500,000$5,495,000$609,945
Other Albums2,000,000$21,980,000$2,439,780
Total Lil Wayne Net Worth from Albums17,238,000$189,445,620$21,028,464

Also see: Kanye West Net Worth

Singles Sales and Lil Wayne Net Worth

Lil Wayne’s 200 singles contribute in a big way to his net worth total, adding $13 million to the pile. The hip hop star has sold 42 million singles as lead artist and 55 million as featured artist for a total of 97 million sales. Each single costs about $1.99. Lil Wayne takes home an estimated 11.1% of that for songs as lead artist and 3.3% for songs as featured artist. Lil Wayne’s hit singles include Got Money, Drop the World and How to Love.

Singles and Lil Wayne Net Worth
Units SoldRevenue at $1.99 EachLil Wayne Earnings
Singles as Lead Artist (11.1%)42,000,000$83,580,000.00$9,277,380
Singles as Featured Artist (3.3%)55,000,000$109,450,000.00$3,611,850
Total Lil Wayne Net Worth from Singles97,000,000$193,030,000.00$12,889,230

YouTube and Lil Wayne Net Worth

As of 12/13/16, Lil Wayne’s YouTube channel has amassed 92 million views. His Vevo channel has pulled in 19 times that or 1.91 billion views. Marketing experts estimate YouTube pays about $7.60 for each 1,000 views. That puts Lil Wayne’s YouTube earnings at $13,066,656.

YouTube and Lil Wayne Net Worth
YouTube and Lil Wayne Net WorthViewsRevenue at $7.60 per 1,000 ViewsLil Wayne Earnings
Lil Wayne Channel (100%)92,429,157$702,462$702,462
Lil Wayne Vevo Channel (85%)1,913,961,999$14,546,111$12,364,195
Total Lil Wayne Net Worth from YouTube$13,066,656

Endorsements and Lil Wayne Net Worth

lil wayne net worth endorsementsLil Wayne’s net worth could be a lot higher if not for his relatively weak endorsement deal lineup. Compared to other stars of his calibre, Lil Wayne doesn’t appear to stack up well with endorsement deals. The rapper’s deal with Mountain Dew famously imploded in 2013 over a reference to the Emmet Till beating and death in one of his songs. Emmet Till was an African American teen who was beaten to death in 1955 in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Till’s family complained about a Lil Wayne lyric that compared sex to Till’s murder. After the complaint, Mountain Dew severed ties with Lil Wayne and said they had no future plans to work with Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne does still have some endorsement deals, most notably his Trukfit clothing line. We estimate Lil Wayne has earned a lifetime total of $8 million in endorsements. That’s about $500,000 per year.

Young Money Entertainment

Another part of the Lil Wayne net worth picture is his work as a record producer. Lil Wayne started Young Money Entertainment in 2005. The label has produced ten #1 records, including albums by Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Drake. We estimate Lil Wayne’s net worth has grown by $500,000 a year from record production income.

Lil Wayne Net Worth: Putting it All Together

lil wayne net worth taxesEarnings are only one part of the Lil Wayne net worth story. To round out our data, we added in taxes, expenses and investment income.

Lil Wayne is in a 39.6% tax bracket. Since he lives in Florida, he pays no state taxes whatsoever. That gives the star a huge jump on other performers who live in New York or California, with state tax rates anywhere from 8% to 13%. We put Lil Wayne’s lifetime tax bill at $46 million in income taxes and another $7 million in taxes on investments.

We estimate Lil Wayne spends about 20% of what he makes on expenses, including business expenses, cost of living, staff, agents and other fees. That takes another $23 million dollar bite out of Lil Wayne’s net worth.

Finally, stock and bond investments will add an average of 6% to the typical investor’s net worth over the years. We estimate Lil Wayne has pulled in $19 million in investments.

Also see: Nicki Minaj Net Worth

Lil Wayne Net Worth Calculations

 

Lil Wayne Net Worth Over Time
YearTotal Lil Wayne EarningsAdjustments for Tax, Expense, InvestmentLil Wayne Net Worth
1999$2,609,552-$1,555,293$1,054,259
2000$2,011,651-$1,160,738$1,905,173
20011401706.471-$765,466$2,541,413
2002$2,011,651-$1,104,274$3,448,791
20031401706.471-$705,614$4,144,884
2004$2,472,770-$1,315,657$5,301,997
2005$3,609,552-$1,947,489$6,964,061
2006$2,511,651-$1,228,064$8,247,648
20071901706.471-$811,631$9,337,723
2008$31,737,288-$18,546,488$22,528,524
20093633570.819-$1,309,872$24,852,223
2010$5,745,200-$2,463,860$28,133,563
2011$7,903,186-$3,608,287$32,428,462
20123633570.819-$881,766$35,180,267
2013$22,278,893-$11,864,148$45,595,011
201417633570.82-$8,684,508$54,544,074
2015$4,243,516-$336,356$58,451,234
2016$3,951,117$62,427,401
Totals$116,740,744-$54,338,393$62,427,401

On 6/20/16, Time magazine pointed out that every time Lil Wayne writes a song about a sports team, that team wins a championship. That includes the Lakers, the Packers and the Cavaliers. The rapper gave a shout out to the Cavs on twitter when they won NBA finals. He also tweeted about his new game.

 

 

Sources

The New York Times