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American rapper and R&B singer-songwriter, Nicki Minaj, has an estimated net worth of $75 million. In 2011, Nicki Minaj became the first female rapper to join the Forbes Magazine’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings list at No. 15 with $6.5 million earnings between 2010 to 2011. Currently, she is the only female on the list.
Her debut album Pink Friday went platinum shortly after its launch in 2011, and she’s not shy about her earnings: on Kanye West’s “Monster,” she boasts that she gets $50,000 for her guest verses. She is known for her brightly colored wigs and ensembles whose style ranges from a girlish voice to a guttural growl. Influenced by the unpredictable rhymes of Missy Elliot along with the sexually charged attitudes of Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown, the Queens native was discovered thanks to her MySpace page. It was there that Dirty Money Entertainment CEO Fendi first heard her ability to freestyle and first laid eyes on her steamy set of promo shots. With killer curves, she was obviously proud to flaunt, plus a background in the performing arts thanks to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art (the school that had inspired the movie Fame), Minaj was a perfect fit for Fendi’s urban DVD magazine, The Come Up.
Minaj appeared in numerous volumes, including number 11, which spotlighted her future label boss, superstar rapper Lil Wayne. Through Fendi, Wayne contacted Minaj and signed her to his Young Money label. They began building her career through mixtapes like Lil Wayne’s Dedication 3 and Minaj’s own Sucka Free. Meanwhile, appearances on various remixes — everything from T.I.’s “No Matter What” to Jeffree Star’s club track “Cupcakes Taste Like Violence” — helped spread the word. The big breakthrough came when Wayne added his rhymes to her “High as a Kite” single, a mixtape favorite in 2008.
The year 2009 saw more guest appearances and mixtapes, including the Beam Me up Scotty mixtape, featuring the street single “I Get Crazy.” In 2010, the singles “Your Love” and “Check It Out” preceded the release of her official debut album, Pink Friday. Nicki was born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982 in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. To date, she has sold 20 million singles as a lead artist and 60 million singles as a featured artist worldwide.
Earnings & Financial Data
Date |
Category |
Description |
Amount |
---|---|---|---|
2013 |
Record Sales |
Estimated earnings from her album The Pinkprint (certified 2x platinum by RIAA, and gold by BPI and IFPI-SWE) |
$2,200,000 |
2013 |
Record Sales |
Estimated earnings from the collaboration album Rise of an Empire as part of Young Money |
$53,000 |
2012 |
Performance Fee |
Estimated earnings from the collaboration album Rich Gang as part of Rich Gang |
$40,000 |
2012 |
Asset |
Value of her Lamborghini Aventador |
$400,000 |
2012 |
Asset |
Value of her Malibu Monster House |
$11,800,000 |
2012 |
Record Sales |
Estimated sales of the album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded |
$859,000 |
2012 |
Performance Fee |
Estimated performance fee |
$150,000 |
2012 |
Salary |
Salary as judge of American Idol Season 12 |
$12,000,000 |
2012 |
Ticket Sales |
Estimated ticket sales of Pink Friday Tour |
$1,450,000 |
2011 |
Record Sales |
Estimated earnings from her album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (certified 2x platinum by RIAA, platinum by BPI and IRMA, and gold by ARIA) |
$3,000,000 |
2011 |
Record Sales |
Estimated earnings from her reissued album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up |
$36,000 |
2010 |
Asset |
Value of her Bentley Continental |
$200,000 |
2010 |
Record Sales |
Estimated sales of the album, Pink Friday |
$1,890,000 |
2009 |
Record Sales |
Estimated earnings from her album Pink Friday (certified 3x platinum by RIAA, and platinum by ARIA and BPI) |
$2,500,000 |
2008 |
Record Sales |
Estimated earnings from the collaboration album We Are Young Money as part of Young Money (certified gold by RIAA) |
$500,000 |