Known by the stage name of Lil Wayne, Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. is American rap artist, actor, as well as a record producer, born on 27 September 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Although he debuted in the music industry with rap groups, Lil Wayne rose to prominence largely due to his solo works.
So just how rich is Lil Wayne, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, Lil Wayne’s net worth is estimated to be $180 million, most of which he has accumulated from his rapping career. In 2012 he earned as much as $600,000 per live show, so that year his income amounted to $30 million, then in 2013 it rose to $46 million dollars, which suggests his net worth will continue to rise.
Lil Wayne Net Worth $180 Million
Lil Wayne studied at Eleanor McMain Secondary School, and then Marion Abramson Senior High School, but when he was 14 years old, Wayne decided to leave school and pursue a career in music, even though he was a promising student. From childhood, Lil Wayne had been fascinated with rap music, hence when he met Bryan Williams, commonly known as Birdman, he soon joined his “Cash Money Records” label. It was with Birdman that Lil Wayne co-created his first rap group called “The B.G.’z”, eventually with Birdman’s help, launching a successful and profitable rapping career. Subsequently Lil Wayne joined “The Hot Boys” with Juvenile, B.G. Rapper and Turk, releasing the album “Guerrilla Warfare” in 1999, which topped the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and made it to #5 on the Billboard 200.
Lil Wayne then went solo, releasing “The Block is Hot” which sold 230,000 copies in the first week, and peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 music chart, eventually totalling 1.4 million sales and earning platinum certification. Following this success, Lil Wayne came out with “Lights Out”, “500 Degreez”, and “Tha Carter”, which would later inspire the releases of “Tha Carter II” and “Tha Carter III”; the latter album proved to be a huge mainstream success, as it sold more than a million copies during its first week, managing to reach #1 on music charts in the United States and Canada. “Tha Carter III” spawned such popular singles as “Got Money”, “Mrs. Officer” and “Lollipop”, totalling 2.8 million record sales by the end of 2008.
To date, Lil Wayne has now released 11 albums, with the eleventh one coming out in 2017 under the title “Tha Carter V”, all selling well and contributing greatly to his net worth.
Aside from being a rap artist, Lil Wayne has proven to be a talented actor. In 2000, he made his film debut in Brian Williams’ action movie “Baller Blockin’”, starring alongside “Hot Boys” and “The Big Tymers” consisting of Williams and Mannie Fresh. Lil Wayne’s most recent film appearance was in Tim Story’s sports drama movie called “Hurricane Season”, starring Forest Whitaker, Taraji P. Henson and Isaiah Washington, all adding somewhat to his bank account.
In his less-than-private personal life, Lil Wayne has four children with four women. His first daughter was born to his high school sweetheart Antonia Johnson when he was 16; they married in 2004 but divorced in 2006. His first son was born in 2008 to radio broadcaster Sarah Vivan, his second son Cameron Carter to actress Lauren London in 2009, and his third son was born to singer Nivea in 2009. Apparently he is currently unattached! Meantime, in 2008 he served an eight-month jail sentence for criminal possession of a weapon.
