How much is DJ Khaled worth?
| Net Worth: | $100 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional DJ |
| Date of Birth: | November 26, 1975 (age 47) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5 ft 6 in (1.69 m) |
About DJ Khaled
After starting out in radio, DJ Khaled thought he could do better than the artists he played on his show, and since then the producer has released 13 albums in extraordinarily quick succession and has 12 featured singles under his belt. His single “Higher” (feat. John Legend & Nipsey Hussle) won a Grammy award for “Best Rap/Sung Performance” in 2020. Though it was the 2010s when Khaled found success and created literally dozens of mainstream radio hits, he had been hosting radio shows in the 90s and was hired as the DJ for Terror Squad’s live gigs.
After producing several of the group’s releases, Khaled threw his hat in the ring and in 2006, he put out his first record, Listennn… the Album, which featured the biggest household names in rap, including Kanye West, Birdman, Pitbull, T.I., Dr. Dre, Drake and countless others.
The producer’s debut record opened up the Khaled floodgates and after that it seemed like he’d never rest, going on to quickly follow up the success with 2007’s We The Best, 2008’s We Global, and 2010’s Victory. His fame grew with each consecutive release and, unlike many other artists, whose album sales fade over time, Khaled has sold more records and earned more money essentially year on year. His album, Victory brought with it the global hit, “All I Do Is Win”, a song that went on to become certified triple platinum.
It was in the mid 2010s when Khaled become a worldwide phenomenon, he used social media to elevate his brand to the next level and promote his first album that would top the Billboard 200 chart at number one, Major Key. It was an album of many firsts, as not only was it his first chart topping album, but it was his first album to be nominated for “Best Rap Album” at the Grammy Awards, and his first album to be certified platinum.
Khaled became so successful that it cost $300-500,000 to hire him for an event. 2018 was one of his most financially successful years, earning $27 million. Leading up to that point, the producer had two number one albums on the Billboard 200 chart, and a total of eight in the top 10. He has had one song peak at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, called “I’m The One”, and it’s thanks to the guest spots from Justin Bieber, Quavo, Lil Wayne, and Chance The Rapper that it has 1.6 billion views on YouTube.
For the release of his 11th album, 2019’s Son of Asahd, Khalad released the record free with energy drinks to sell more copies, and the novelty of combining the art of music with sugary energy drinks paid off. However, Khaled was disqualified from having the record sales from the energy drinks count towards the Billboard 200 chart. Though DJ Khaled was salty, insulting the likes of Tyler, The Creator for charting higher than him upon Son of Asahd’s release, the album still charted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and the gimmick of selling records through energy drinks worked as 100,000 copies of the album were downloaded through the promotion.
Not only has the producer made millions of dollars topping charts, but Khaled also makes a lot of money re-selling beats. According to Dave Longstreth, of the band Dirty Projectors, when attending a party at Kanye West’s house, he walked in to a room where DJ Khaled was playing beats from a laptop to West. Khaled had bought the beats from an up and coming producer and was excitedly trying to sell them to Kanye, but apparently Kanye sat there shaking his head to all of them.
Khaled is also an expert marketer. If he isn’t trying to sell Kanye beats, he’s trying to sell alcoholic beverages through social media and music videos. Though it is undisclosed how much the musician made, Khaled must have earned seven figures at least as he promoted Ciroc Vodka and Bumbu Rum on his Instagram over 300 times, and the brands were prominently displayed throughout many of his music videos.
Thanks to marketing himself through social media, Khaled has become so well known for his huge personality, even going on to cameo in movies and playing a fictionalized version of himself in Pitch Perfect 3. Adding to his character are his ad-libs and mantras that have become parodied to no end, such as “Another one!”, and screaming his own name, but it’s all part of the Khaled brand that has made him so popular.
Khaled’s songs work like they are put through a machine. He has a process that is impossible to fail. The producer gets two or more chart topping artists of the moment together, and pastes their verses over trap music, reggaeton music, or whatever is trending that year.
As Khaled would surely make heavy metal if it was popular enough, it is rare that Khaled doesn’t capitalize on any trend, whether it’s music genres, fashion, or business. Just like Drake, Khaled capitalized on dancehall and afrobeat music when it temporarily entered the zeitgeist in the mid-2010s. Khaled has his finger on the pulse and is able to hop on trends to no end, releasing music that is influenced by the Billboard charts.
DJ Khaled’s Total Net Worth
DJ Khaled earned a reported $39 million dollars in 2019 from his music sales, tours, and his endorsements. He has also earned an estimated $70 million since then. Khaled is endorsed by Apple, Ciroc, Champ Sports, Mentos, and Weight Watchers, among others. His total career earnings, are an estimated $160 million. Of that amount, around $12-18 million is expected to have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $145 million, will have been taxed at a rate of around 40% as Khaled has been residing between the states of California and Florida. After tax, it is estimated that his career earnings are at around $87 million dollars, having paid $58 million dollars in taxes.
DJ Khaled is married to Nicole Tuck and they have two children together, Asahd and Aalam Khaled. In his personal life things have remained calm, Khaled bought a waterfront home in Miami for $25.9 million in 2018. In terms of money spent, not invested, he has likely spent $10-12 million dollars of his career earnings but also probably possesses assets valued at around around $4-5 million. In his investments, he may have earned investment returns of around $20-25 million dollars. Therefore, it is estimated that DJ Khaled has a net worth of over $100 million dollars.
Summing-Up
DJ Khaled was born Khaled Mohammed Khaled and became famous in the 2010s from collaborations with megastars Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, John Legend, and Nicki Minaj, to name a few. After becoming one of the most prolific hit makers of the 2010s, an industry darling, and surprisingly enough, a social media personality and influencer, DJ Khaled now reportedly has an estimated net worth of $100 million.
