Disgraced singer, songwriter and record producer R Kelly’s net worth has become a subject of ridicule on social media. “Yall…. Google R Kelly Net Worth and Come Back. RT if you’ve got more money than him, â€read a viral tweet that had over 22,000 retweets and over 4,000 quoted tweets, and around 1,000 replies at the time of writing.
Many tweets quote Celebrity Net Worth, a popular website that lists the wealth of actors, musicians, athletes and politicians. According to website, Kelly’s net worth is minus $ 2 million. Is there any truth in this statement? May be.
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According to an IBTimes report since the start of this year, Kelly was worth at least $ 100 million at the peak of his career, but in 2019 he would have had less than one percent of that amount. In fact, according to an April 2020 TMZ scoop, Kelly’s attorneys filed legal documents claiming the singer owed the IRS $ 1,878,737.43. It came after prosecutors insisted Kelly had the means to escape the country, claiming he had already earned more than $ 200,000 in royalties this year alone. Kelly’s attorneys argued that those royalties were likely the gross amount before agents and others took their cuts.
Kelly has sold over 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musical artists in the world. Billboard also named him the best R & B / hip hop artist between 1985 and 2010 and the most successful R&B artist in history. But Kelly’s musical success has come with a plethora of allegations over the years that revolved around child sexual abuse, child pornography and being part of a sex cult.
In 1998, the artist reportedly paid $ 250,000 in settlement costs to a woman named Tiffany Hawkins, who claimed that her sexual relationship with him began when she was 15. Kelly is also said to have settled out of court lawsuits for undisclosed sums filed against him by a former intern at Epic Records in 2001 and two other women in 2002.
In 2019, during her interview with Gayle King on ‘CBS This Morning’, Kelly claimed that she had about $ 350,000 left in her bank account. “So many people have stolen my money. People were logged into my account, â€he alleged. “I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t know what was going on. I was so tired of not knowing where my money was. It’s largely because of me.
In ‘I admit‘, a 19-minute Kelly song released on SoundCloud on July 23, 2018, the singer made numerous allegations against him. But the song also saw him claim that he signed his publishing rights early in his career. Kelly described herself as a “broken legend **”, saying that “the only reason I stay on tour is because I have to pay my rent”. He also reveals that he had to borrow millions from his label, adding that there were times he “couldn’t put food on the table.”
Kelly also said in the song, “I was told I had to sell my cars, I was told I couldn’t get a loan. Said I owed the IRS $ 20 million and they were coming to pick up my house… I admit I felt stupid, staying in the Homewood Suites… Sippin ‘Hennessy, trying to figure out what’s wrong with me come “.
In 2019, it was reported that Kelly spent three nights in jail because he was apparently unable to find the $ 100,000 he had to release to be released. The amount, 10 percent of a $ 1 million bond, was ultimately paid by a 47-year-old woman identified as “a friend” in court documents.
At the time, Lisa Alter, a music lawyer and founding partner of New York-based Alter, Kendrick and Baron, said, “Is the money still being generated? Yes. adding that Kelly might not receive this income if he pledged it as collateral for a loan. However, “he receives royalties from various sources, from his performing rights associations, his record company and his music publishing company.”
