Net Worth

R Kelly Net Worth: R. Kelly’s Financially Situation Today

Lakshmi

r kelly net worth

American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer R. Kelly. R Kelly has a negative net worth of $2 million. At his peak, Kelly’s net worth was likely in the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. In April 2020, while arguing for his release from prison, Kelly disclosed to a judge that he owes nearly $1.9 million to the IRS alone.

Please scroll down a few paragraphs for a detailed breakdown of R. Kelly’s current financial problems and peak success.

Early Life and Beginnings of Career

On January 8, 1967, Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on the south side of Chicago. He left high school to pursue a career as a subway musician. The $100,000 prize he won on the television talent shows Big Break was his big break. Kelly signed with Jive Records in 1991, and his group Public Announcement released the album “Born into the 90s” in 1993.

Personal Life and Controversies

Kelly secretly wed Aaliyah in 1994, but the marriage was later annulled. In 1996, he married dancer Andrea Lee, with whom he had three children before divorcing in 2009.

R Kelly’s career has been marred by controversies throughout the years. He was arrested and charged with having sexual relations with a minor. Eventually, he was cleared of all 14 charges.

r kelly net worth

Success

R. Kelly released his solo debut, “12 Play,” in November 1993. The album was eventually certified six times platinum, primarily because of the single “Bump n’ Grind.”

Kelly simultaneously began a career as a record producer for other artists. The entire debut album of the teenage pop singer Aaliyah was produced and written by him.

His album “R. Kelly” sold four million copies in 1995. Immediately thereafter, his single “I Believe I Can Fly” topped the charts and won three Grammys. In the 2000s, Kelly released a series of multi-platinum albums as well as the hip-hop opera Trapped in the Closet, which he released to radio stations in short segments. In the spring of 2010, the final portion was officially released to the public.

R. Kelly has released fourteen studio albums, in addition to five compilation albums and three collaborative albums. Kelly has won dozens of awards in addition to his three Grammys, including several AMAs, a BET award, and numerous Billboard awards. His most recent albums, “Black Panties” (2013) and “The Buffet” (2015), were released, respectively, in 2013 and 2015. In addition, he has participated in 12 official world tours between 1994 and 2013.

A Lost Fortune

If R. Kelly had never encountered legal issues, his net worth would have easily exceeded $50-100 million. Kelly has reportedly paid tens of millions of dollars over the years to settle dozens of lawsuits filed by women alleging that she abused them. Kelly is rumored to have lost a significant portion of his net worth after divorcing Andrea Lee, his wife from 1996 to 2009, the most lucrative years of his career.

In 2012, it was discovered that Kelly owed $5 million in back taxes spanning seven years. He lost his Chicago home to foreclosure in 2013 because he had not paid his mortgage since 2010. In 2018, he was evicted from two Atlanta-area residences for failing to pay more than $30,000 in delinquent rent and fees. At one point in recent years, he rented a townhouse in Trump Tower in Chicago.

Financial and Legal Problems

R. Kelly released a 19-minute song on Spotify in July 2018 in which he addressed a number of his allegations. In this song, Kelly asserts that she is destitute and must tour “just to pay rent.” In addition, he acknowledges once owed the IRS $20 million and was forced to borrow several million dollars from his record label to pay bills.

His financial difficulties are exacerbated by the fact that he cannot tour in many foreign countries due to his controversies, and his U.S. tours are frequently disrupted by demonstrations. Additionally, Spotify and other streaming services have removed his songs from their respective public playlists. Individuals can still stream his songs from their own accounts on Spotify, but they will no longer be recommended in public playlists such as Discover Weekly or other Spotify-curated playlists and radio channels.

r kelly net worth

In January of 2019, Chicago building inspectors were granted permission to search R. Kelly’s recording studio following reports that the building had undergone multiple renovations without proper permits. Since 2017, R. Kelly has been a tenant of the studio, which he does not own.

At the time of the inspection, the 8000-square-foot building was actually listed for sale at $4 million. Concurrently, the building owner filed a lawsuit against R. Kelly for unpaid rent. According to the complaint, Kelly’s monthly rent was $23,000 and he had not paid in seven months. Upon filing, he owed the landlord $167,000 in rent.

On January 14, R. Kelly’s record label RCA/Sony announced that they were suspending all of his upcoming music releases, effectively preventing him from earning additional income. Currently, he owes RCA/Sony two more albums from his most recent record deal. Additionally, RCA/Sony has refused to fund new music videos.

As of this writing, Kelly has not yet been convicted of a crime, placing the label in a difficult position. It would be difficult from a legal standpoint to fire him and withhold payment based on allegations. If his contract contains a “morals clause,” there is a chance that RCA or Sony could use it to get out of the deal.

R. Kelly was arrested late in February 2019 on a series of new charges. His bail was set at $1,000,000, which could have been paid for with $100,000. Unfortunately, Kelly was so cash-strapped that it took him several days to acquire the funds.

According to reports, the $100,000 came from a woman named Valencia Love, whose relationship with R. Kelly remains unclear. While Kelly was incarcerated, his ex-wife, Andrea, filed a lawsuit seeking unpaid child support in the amount of $160,000.

How Many Kids Does R. Kelly Have With Andrea Kelly?

The disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly has three children. His three children’s names are Joann Kelly, Jay Kelly, and Robert Kelly Jr. His children are shared with his ex-wife, Andrea Danyell Kelly.

R. Kelly’s Financially Situation Today

In “I Admit,” a 2018 song released on Spotify, R. Kelly raps…

“The truth of this message is that I’m a legendary pauper. The only reason I remain on tour is to cover my rent. I never thought it would come to this, to be the most disrespected artist. Consequently, I had to compose a song about it. Because they consistently twist my words. Believe me, it is difficult to admit this.”

If we assume that the lyrics in the song accurately reflect his life at the time, we can conclude that the song is about his life at the time. In the song’s lyrics, he “admitted” that he owed the IRS $20 million. This was the first time R. Kelly began to be honest about his financial difficulties. R. Kelly was once worth well over $100 million dollars, perhaps even closer to $200 million. In any case, it was high enough that in 2009, when he was required to pay a divorce settlement to his ex-wife Andrea Kelly, he was able to come up with $40 million.

Among the many reasons for R. Kelly’s initial success was the fact that he was not only a successful singer but also a successful basketball player.

Kelly signed a contract to play basketball for the Atlantic City Seagulls shortly following the release of his first two albums. In the year 2000, Kelly received a multitude of accolades that were instrumental in establishing him as an R&B superstar.

r kelly net worth

Kelly continued to release new albums and tour the world to promote his music for the remainder of the 2000s. Kelly and Jay-Z became rivals after one of his tours, titled “Unfinished Business.” The inability of the two artists to resolve their differences led to the eventual filing of a $75 million lawsuit by R. Kelly against Jay-Z.

In 2011, Billboard magazine ranked Kelly as the top R&B artist of the previous quarter-century. During that time, the artist announced he would be taking a musical hiatus due to throat surgery. In December of that year, he made his first appearance on The X Factor, performing his hit single “I Believe I Can Fly.” Kelly returned from surgery and continued to release new albums and headline various tours.

FAQs

What is R Kelly’s net worth?

R Kelly’s estimated net worth is -$2 Million.

What is R Kelly’s age?

R Kelly was born on January 8, 1967, making him 55 years old at present.

What is R Kelly’s height?

R Kelly’s height is 1.85 meters, or 6 feet 1 inch.

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