Tag: Singer-songwriter

  • Chris Brown Net Worth (2023)

    Chris Brown Net Worth (2023)

    Chris Brown is Worth $50 Million

    Thanks to chart-toppers and killer live shows, Chris Brown has built quite the bank balance. But there’s more to him than music. So much more that, as of 2023, he is rolling with $50 million in the bank. He has enjoyed massive success as a singer-songwriter, actor, and producer, along with his own business ventures. Clearly, the man knows how to diversify.

    Chris started as a wide-eyed teen with huge dreams of becoming a global sensation. His love for his craft, epic talent, and never-say-die attitude have made him a big-name player in the music game. And let’s not forget, it’s helped him join the ranks of the rich in the industry.

    NameChristopher Maurice Brown
    ProfessionSinger-songwriter, Actor, Record Producer, Performer, Entrepreneur
    Net Worth$50 million (as of 2023)
    BirthplaceTappahannock, Virginia, USA
    BirthdayMay 5, 1989
    NationalityAmerican
    Height6 ft 1 in (185 m)
    Relationship statusIn relationship with Ammika Harris

    The Embryonic Stage: Young Chris Brown’s ascent to stardom

    Chris Brown was destined for greatness from the jump. This small-town Virginia guy found his groove in belting out tunes and popping locks as soon as he could talk and walk. He was obsessed with Michael Jackson and could mimic his dance moves down to the last twirl. As he grew up, his taste in music started including big names like James Brown, Sam Cooke, Usher, and Ginuwine.

    Brown got his big break at the tender age of 13, when a local production company, Hitmission Records, spotted him. They gave him a hand in recording a demo and introduced him to the bigwigs at record labels in New York. His infectious energy and silky voice scored him a contract with Jive Records just a year later. The ambitious high-school kid decided to go all-in on his emerging singing career.

    With the right blend of fresh face charm and seasoned vibes, Brown dropped his debut self-titled album in 2005. First single “Run It!” had him climbing the charts almost overnight. In its first week, the album sold a whopping 154,000 copies, got the triple platinum certification, and ended up selling more than three million copies. Just like that, Christopher Maurice Brown, who used to be the small-town kid trying to dance like MJ, became Chris Brown, global phenomenon. The music world and fans saw the rise of a new star. For Chris himself, it was the realization of a dream he’d been chasing his whole life.

    Dollars and Discography: The monetary triumph of a music mogul

    Since the release of his first album, Chris has been doing well for himself. It’s been reported he makes $5 million a year these days, though that figure fluctuates according to his album release and touring schedules. Speaking of live shows, Chris earns from $100,000 to $150,000 for a performance.

    Beats & Burgers: Chris Brown’s alternative revenue streams

    Chris’s ride onto the entrepreneurial highway kicked off in 2012, when he dropped Black Pyramid. This is not your run-of-the-mill streetwear brand, it’s all about that hip-hop swag, from snapbacks to track pants. The brand is now worldwide, with customers from the States to Amsterdam to Tokyo rocking these threads.

    From the stage to the clothing rack wasn’t enough for Brown—he also swooped in on some fast-food cheddar by owning a whopping (whopper?) 14 Burger King joints. Seems as though his time in jail made him appreciate the little things that freedom grants you. He told Rolling Stone in 2014, “A burger tastes 1,000 times better when you’re out.” It probably tastes better when you make money off of each one sold.

    Not one to rest on those entrepreneurial laurels, he also cruised into showbiz by setting up his own record label in 2013: CBE Entertainment. No prizes for guessing what CBE stands for, but it’s also Chris’s way of saying he’s about ‘Culture Beyond Your Evolution’ and ‘Culture Beyond Your Experience’. He’s playing a bigger game here than just his own career.

    From Huracans to Hospitals: Chris Brown’s lavish possessions and philanthropy

    Chris Brown has got $50 million in the bank, and boy does he know how to spend it.

    Like most celebrities, Chris Brown loves his swanky set of wheels. His garage is home to an LW Lamborghini Huracan, a Widebody Bentley Bentayga, a SHERP all-terrain truck, not to mention a Mustang Shelby GT500. Plus, he’s thrown some extra spice into the mix with a badass Rezvani Tank and a sexy Lamborghini Aventador SV.

    He has also opened his checkbook for some pretty great causes. For instance, back in 2015, he gave a chunk of his album sales from Royalty (a sweet shoutout to his daughter) to Children’s Miracle Network hospital.

    A Royal Family: Chris Brown’s personal life

    Chris was born to a mother who worked in a daycare and a dad who earned a living as a prison officer. His parents divorced when Chris was seven. Soon, his mother—along with Chris and his older sister Lytrell—moved in with his new stepfather. Chris has said that he would lie awake at night and hear the sound of his new father figure beating his mom.

    Fast-forward to Chris as an adult and he is now a father himself. His first kid? A cute little girl named Royalty, who came into the world on May 27, 2014, courtesy Nia Guzman. Then on November 20, 2019, along with his girlfriend, Ammika Harris, he added another child to the squad: a son, Aeko. Aeko and Ammika live in Germany, but that doesn’t stop Chris from playing a parent. It was recently revealed that Chris is a father once more—this time to a girl so lovely, they gave her that name. Chris’s relation to Lovely Brown was confirmed in April 2022, the daughter of Diamond Brown, who was linked with Chris starting back in June 2019.

    Courts & Confinement: Controversies in Chris Brown’s life

    Chris Brown has seen a fair share of controversy, with his name almost a synonym for legal drama and scandal.

    On February 8, 2009, he was accused of roughing up his ex Rihanna and putting her in the hospital. On June 22 Chris would plead guilty to felony assault and accept a plea deal. Community service and five years’ probation would follow, along with domestic violence counseling.

    In 2013, Chris checked into rehab voluntarily, but was then ejected for violent behavior during a family session. The doctors diagnose him with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. He is then relocated to a live-in anger management rehab center where he would spend the next three months.

    Chris was then served a restraining order at the behest of an ex, Karrueche Tran, who claimed Brown was firing off violent texts to her. Chris’s alleged behavior would be in violation of the probation stemming from his assault on Rihanna.

  • Shakira’s Net Worth in 2023

    Shakira’s Net Worth in 2023

    Shakira is Worth $300 Million

    She’s the woman whose hips don’t lie — an admirable trait in any body part. She is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (just ‘Shakira’ to me and you), the talented singer born in Barranquilla, Colombia, who has amassed a $300-million fortune. But it’s not just because of those hips and her voice; her success goes beyond the recording industry, as you will see here in this look at the financial world of Shakira.

    Full NameShakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
    ProfessionSinger-songwriter, Record producer, Actress
    Net Worth$300 million
    BirthdayFebruary 2, 1977 (Aquarius)
    NationalityColombian
    Height5’2″ (157 cm)
    Relationship StatusSeparated (as of 2023)

    A Belly Dancer Becomes Pop Royalty: Shakira’s Early Career and Initial Breakthrough

    Shakira, being the natural talent that she is, began belly dancing and writing songs at the age of eight. Within a couple of years, she was winning talent shows and making a name for herself in her hometown of Barranquilla.

    She was making a name for herself beyond the town’s borders, too. She signed record deal with Sony Music Colombia when she was just 13. The sales figures for her first two albums, Magia (1991) and Peligro (1993), were disappointing. Perhaps this is why she was granted more creative freedom with her third album, Pies Descalzos, which was released in 1995. Here is where her signature sound was born. Suddenly her star quality became apparent and this was reflected in the album’s success, reaching the top of Billboard‘s Latin charts.

    Shakira’s unique blend of Arabic, Latin, and rock influences turned the heads of music lovers, and it wasn’t long before she was selling out stadiums all over the world, and has become the biggest-selling Colombian artist of all time.

    From Colombia With Love: Shakira’s Revenue From Her Main Career

    Shakira’s main source of revenue is her fantastic record sales. She’s sold around 10 million albums just in the U.S., and around 70 million globally. This makes her not only Colombia’s top-selling artist, but also one of the world’s most successful female artists, period.

    After signing with Sony Music Colombia when she was only 13, she signed a major deal with Epic Records (a Sony subsidiary) in 2006. They asked for two more albums (one in English, one in Spanish) and a compilation of previous releases.

    Shakira also earns a considerable amount from her concerts. She personally makes around $1.5 million a show, with each stop generating around $2.2 million. These paychecks have gone a long way in building Shakira’s $300-million net worth.

    Business Scents: Revenue From Shakira’s Business Ventures

    Aside from her talents both in singing and songwriting, Shakira has lucrative business deals as well that pad her bank account.

    The singer owns a Malta-based company called Tournesol Limited, which is worth about $3.3 million. She has also launched her own perfumes lines, including ‘S by Shakira’ and ‘S by Shakira Eau Florale’, which made its official debut at the Champs-Élysées Sephora store in Paris, France.

    Sha has made herself known in Hollywood, lending her voice to Gazelle in the smash hit Zootopia in 2016, and hosting NBC’s dance competition series “Dancing with Myself”.

    And that $300-million net worth has allowed her to invest in her personal passion projects, including donating to the Magic Spoon cereal company in June 2022. She also invested in Japanese company Rakuten, a cash-back conglomerate, in 2017, and helped finalize a $223-million sponsorship deal for FC Barcelona.

    Recently, she sold 100% of her music publishing rights to UK-based Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which contributed massively to her net worth.

    Living it Up: Shakira’s Swanky Stuff and Giving Back Game

    Though coming from humble beginnings, Shakira has forged a successful career that has allowed her to live large.

    In 2001, she acquired a $1.1-million mansion in Florida’s La Gorce Island, and sold it four years later for $1.5 million. She then purchased a deluxe Miami Beach mansion for over $3 million. And while the relationship did not last, she still maintains a luxury property — complete with seven bedrooms, two kitchens, a pool, and a home gym — with ex-boyfriend Gerard Piqué in Barcelona, Spain, worth about $5.9 million.

    But her real estate listings don’t stop at homes. Shakira has a 12-acre farm in Uruguay, a vacation spot in Cyprus, and a $15-million private island in the Bahamas.

    If you took a look inside the garages of those properties, you might find Shakira’s collection of cars, which includes a Mercedes Benz SL550, a Tesla Model S, an Audi A7 Sportback and Q7, a BMW X6, and another Mercedes Benz SLK 250. Not to mention the $20-million private Learjet 60XR she owns with Piqué, though that might need a slightly bigger parking spot.

    Shakira has also invested in digital art, and has partnered with artist BossLogic to create the La Caldera collection, a series of NFTs depicting the Colombian singer as a warrior in a futuristic world called Caloris.

    When she isn’t earning money or investing it, Shakira likes to give some back. Shakira has been a UNICEF goodwill ambassador since 2003, raising awareness of the struggles of children in third-world countries. She also created the Pies Descalzos Foundation, which helps children affected by violence in Colombia. In 2018, her foundation teamed up with Costa Cruises to build a school in Colombia.

    Shakira’s Personal Life

    Shakira had a Catholic upbringing, having attended Catholic schools. She interrupted that education when her career took off at a young age but returned to complete her education and earn her high school diploma.

    In 2000, Shakira started seeing Argentinian lawyer Antonio de la Rúa. The two dated for over a decade. Following the breakup, in 2011, she dated Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué, with whom she had two children: Milan, born in 2013, and Sasha, born in 2015. Despite a relatively difficult break-up in 2022, the two have been amicable recently and are regularly seen together with their children.

    These Government Docs Don’t Lie: Major Events and Controversies

    Despite her success and celebrity status, Shakira is not immune to the taxman. The singer found herself in serious legal troubles, being accused by the Spanish government in 2018 of not paying $15.9 million in taxes between 2012 and 2014. News that she was indicted with six counts of tax fraud went international. The debate over her residency and taxes has turned into a legal battle that could potentially ended in large fines or even jail time. In 2022, the prosecutor asked for an eight-year prison sentence for the six tax-fraud charges; the case is still ongoing as of 2023.