How much is Chris Brown worth?
| Net Worth: | $80 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Singer |
| Date of Birth: | May 5th, 1989 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.85 m |
About Chris Brown
Unless you’ve been living under a rock throughout the last decade or so, you either know who Chris Brown is or you’ve at least heard some of his music. An R&B singer whose talent is unsurpassed by the many other artists trying to reach his level, Brown’s rocky personal life and legal issues over the last few years have often overshadowed his grammy-award winning talents.
Born in Tappahannock, VA, Christopher Maurice Brown was involved in music at an early age. He started realizing his vocal talents while performing in his local church choir. He was well known throughout his small town of just 2,000 residents for having a voice that was often compared to Michael Jackson, and dance moves that solidly mimicked Usher.
His mother, a daycare worker named Joyce Hawkins, and his father, Clinton Brown who worked as a corrections officer, both loved the smooth sounds of soul and older R&B music. Growing up, Chris constantly found himself getting into his parents’ music collection, as did many of the kids born in the 80s and early 90s.
With the love for his parents’ music, and his talent shining in the church choir, Brown soon discovered that the hip-hop scene was just as interesting. It was this love for these three styles of music that would shape his music career into what it is today. Local talent shows around town were another great way for the self-taught singer and dancer to showcase his Jackson-like vocals and Usher-like dance moves. A favorite performance for a Chris Brown talent show act was to flawlessly perform a rendition of Usher’s ‘My Way’.
After seeing first-hand how well her son performed in front of a crowd, Brown’s mother sought to find her son a record deal. It was during this time that she would split from her husband, and fall into a relationship with an abusive boyfriend that terrified Chris and possibly even warped his view of what a healthy relationship should look like. Neither Joyce nor her son knew just what was in store for the Brown family in the very near future.
A local Virginian production team known as Hitmission Records came across a very talented, 13 year old Chris Brown while scouring the area for local talent. Lamont Fleming of Hitmission would go on to provide voice coaching for the young artist, and even helped him put together a demo package.
Fleming had many contacts throughout the music industry in New York and was able to use these contacts to plant the seeds for what would soon grow into an amazing career. Tina Davis, an executive with Def Jam Recordings, was so impressed by Chris Brown that she immediately took him to meet music mogul and industry giant L.A. Reid, who has been quoted multiple times as saying he signed Chris that day because he just knew he wanted to be a part of that talent.
Within weeks of meeting with L.A. Reid, Def Jam would undergo a merger that saw Tina Davis lose her job before negotiations on Brown’s contract were finalized. With Davis no longer tied to Def Jam, she was able to officially become Brown’s manager and could freely help him explore other options with regards to other recording companies.
Davis would go on to expose Brown to many labels such as Warner Brothers Records, J-Records, and Jive Records. Brown’s final decision landed on Jive records. His reasoning behind ultimately going with Jive was because of their success working with other at-the-time young artists like Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.
With 50 songs recorded, and 14 officially chosen for his first album, the self-titled Chris Brown album was released November 29, 2005 and would go on to propel Brown into fame and stardom rarely achieved by other R&B and musical artists. The album was so successful, that it debuting at number 2 on the Billboard 200 with sales of over 154,000 copies within the first week. The self-titled album would go on to sell over 2 million copies and be certified as double platinum by the RIAA.
Less than seven months later in June of 2006, Brown released Chris Brown’s Journey, a DVD that shows him traveling the world and preparing for his first visit to the Grammy Awards. Soon his first major tour, The Up Close and Personal Tour, would show him just how successful he had become seemingly overnight.
In 2007, Chris Brown saw his acting career start to take off with his role in the TV series The O.C. and then with his film debut in the movie Stomp The Yard. 2007 was a busy year for Brown as he also opened for the Australian leg of Beyonce’s The Beyonce Experience tour. In the same year, MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 would create a specially retitled episode: Chris Brown: My Super 18 to showcase the new star’s 18th birthday in New York.
2007 wrapped up with Brown appearing in more films and TV shows, and being featured on albums of other big-name artists such as Jordin Sparks, Ludacris, and Sean Garreett. This was all while preparing his second album that would be released in June of 2008, titled Exclusive.
With Brown now having been propelled into stardom, he would have a momentum that would be seemingly impossible to break, despite his numerous domestic and legal issues. Over the next decade he would go on to release 9 studio albums, 6 of which would go on to receive either platinum or double platinum accreditation from the RIAA. He would also release numerous mixtapes and well over 50 singles.
With 6 albums that went platinum or double platinum, numerous high-profile acting gigs, and many successful world-wide tours, Brown has always been well off, even since the early days of his career. There are also many successful business ventures under his belt. Over a decade ago, under Interscope Records, C.B.E. (Chris Brown Entertainment) was formed and has signed many successful artists. In 2012 the Black Pyramid clothing line was launched with moderate success.
Brown’s Total Net Worth
Chris Brown has earned estimated total career income of $125 million dollars. He is one of the world’s best-selling music artists having sold over 197 million records worldwide. As Brown lives in the state of California, he will have had to pay around 47% in taxes on his career income. First, he will have been able to deduct about $10-15 million in business costs, the remainder, $112.5 million dollars, will have become $59.62 million dollars, having paid $52.88 million dollars in taxes.
Chris Brown has never married but has three children. In his personal life, he has likely spent $10-12 million dollars of his career earnings but also probably possesses assets valued at around $3-4 million, not including investment assets. In real estate, Brown bought a $4.35 million dollar property in Tarzana, California in 2014.
Previously, he been living in a property in Hollywood Hills that he had purchased for $1.5 million, in or around 2011. It is speculated that Brown keeps some of his money invested in securities, as well. In his investments, he may have earned investment returns of $25-35 million dollars. Therefore, it is estimated that Chris Brown has a net worth of around $80 million dollars.
Chris Brown’s fame and success can be attributed to two key factors. First, Brown is objectively an amazing performer. His musical, acting, dancing, and live performance abilities are rarely seen among other R&B performers. Second, he was very marketable by industry executives early on in his career, being seen as the African American community’s version of a teen heartthrob. Despite his numerous run-ins with the law, the fame that follows Chris Brown throughout his life always seems to take center stage, regardless of whatever is going on in his personal life. With such a loyal following, his fans are always quick and eager to forgive him for his shortcomings.
Summing-Up
By taking an interest in musical superstars at an early age, Chris Brown was able to hone in on his talents early on. His church choir and the numerous local talent shows where he performed regularly gave him the taste of fame and publicity at an early age. The support from his mother working so hard to find him a record deal would give him the motivation needed to work as hard as he could at capitalizing on the opportunity.
Being an internationally renowned entertainer is one thing, but mixing that success with numerous thriving business ventures is a feat all on its own. Chris Brown has the talent and the business skills needed to be like other mega-rich like-minded performers such as Jay-Z and Dr. Dre, and time will tell if he can keep his personal life in check as he tries to climb his way to the 9-figure club.
