R Kelly net worth: R. Kelly is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. In 2020, R. Kelly NEGATIVE net worth is $2 million, at his peak his net worth was easily in the tens of millions maybe even $100 million. In April 2020, Kelly revealed to a judge — while filing a motion for parole — that he owed nearly $1.9 million to the IRS alone.
Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on January 8, 1967 in south Chicago. He dropped out of high school to perform as a subway musician. His big break came when he won a $100,000 award on the television talent show Big Break . Kelly signed to Jive Records in 1991 and released the 1993 album Born into the 90s with his group Public Announcement . Soon after, he released his solo debut, 12 Play, which eventually went six-times platinum.
At the same time, he began a career as a record producer for others, including teen pop singer Aaliyah ‘s debut album . In 1995, his album R. Kelly” four million times. Soon after, his single “I Believe I Can Fly” topped the charts and won three Grammy Awards. During the 2000s, Kelly released a string of multi-platinum albums, as well as the multi-part hip hop opera Trapped in the Closet , which he released in short stints to radio stations. The last part of Trapped in the Closet was officially released to the public in spring 2010.
In 1994, Kelly secretly married Aaliyah , although the marriage was later annulled. He married dancer Andrea Lee in 1996and the couple had three children before divorcing in 2009. R. Kelly’s career has seen some controversy over the years. He was arrested and charged with allegedly having sex with an underage girl. He was eventually acquitted of all 14 charges. R. Kelly has released 14 studio albums, five compilation albums, and three collaboration albums. In addition to his three Grammys, Kelly has won dozens of awards including multiple AMAs, a BET award and numerous Billboard honors. His most recent albums, Black Panties and The Buffet, were released in 2013 and 2015, respectively. He has also taken part in 12 official tours around the world between 1994 and 2013. He also plansTrapped in the Closet to Broadway.
R Kelly’s 2019 Net Worth: Had R. Kelly never faced any legal troubles, his net worth would easily have exceeded $150-200 million. Over the years, Kelly has reportedly paid tens of millions of dollars to allegedly settle dozens of lawsuits filed by women who claimed the singer had molested her. Kelly reportedly lost a large chunk of his net worth after divorcing Andrea Lee, his wife from 1996-2009, the most lucrative years of his career. In 2012, it was revealed that Kelly owed $5 million in unpaid taxes for seven years. In 2013, he lost his Chicago home to foreclosure after not paying the mortgage since 2010. In 2018, he was evicted from two Atlanta-area homes after failing to pay more than $30,000 in rent arrears and fees. As of January 2019, he lives in a rented townhouse in Trump Tower in Chicago.
In July 2018, R. Kelly released a 19-minute song on Spotify addressing many of his allegations. On that song, Kelly claimed he was broke and had to tour “just to pay rent.” He also admits to owing the IRS $20 million at a time and being forced to borrow millions of dollars from his label to pay bills. His financial struggles are compounded by the fact that his controversies prevent him from touring in many countries abroad and his US tours are often blocked by protests. Additionally, Spotify and other streaming services have stopped offering his songs in their own public playlists. On Spotify, individuals can still stream his songs from their own account,
In January 2019, Chicago building inspectors were granted the right to search R. Kelly’s recording studio after receiving reports that the building had been renovated multiple times without permits. R. Kelly does not own the studio, he has rented it since 2017. The 8,000 square foot building was listed for sale for $4 million at the time of the inspection. At the same time, the building owner had filed a lawsuit against R. Kelly, alleging unpaid rent. According to the lawsuit, Kelly’s rent is $23,000 a month and he hasn’t paid it in seven months. At the time the lawsuit was filed, he owed the landlord $167,000.
On January 14, R. Kelly’s record label RCA/Sony revealed that they would be shelving all of his future music releases, effectively effectively stopping Kelly from making any money. He owes RCA/Sony two more albums from his recent record deal. RCA/Sony has also refused to provide funding for new music videos. The label is in a tough spot as Kelly has not yet been convicted of a crime as of the writing of this article. Firing him and withholding money on allegations appears to be legally difficult. If his contract includes a “morality clause,” there’s a chance RCA/Sony could use it to get out of the deal.
In late February 2019, R. Kelly was arrested on a number of new charges. His bail was set at $1 million, which could have been settled with a $100,000 payment. Unfortunately, Kelly is so short on cash that it took him several days to raise the money. In fact, it was reported that the $100,000 actually came from a woman named Valencia Love, whose exact relationship to R. Kelly is unclear. While Kelly was in prison, his ex-wife Andrea filed a lawsuit seeking $160,000 in unpaid child support.
| Assets: | -$2 million |
| Birth date: | January 8, 1967 (53 years old) |
| Gender: | Masculine |
| Height: | 6ft (1,854m) |
| Job: | Singer, record producer, songwriter, singer-songwriter, music video director, actor, musician, music manager, multi-instrumentalist, rapper |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
| Last updated: | 2020 |
