Eminem’s net worth is the result of a true rag to riches story. In fact, it is one of the greatest rags to riches stories in American pop culture. Coming from humble beginnings in Detroit trailer parks, Eminem is now one of the most recognizable entertainers in the world. But is Eminem’s net worth on par with other hip hop icons such as Jay Z and Dr. Dre?
Eminem’s Net Worth as of 2015: $200 Million
Eminem, born Marshall Mathers, has released eight studio albums, the sales of which have made him the highest selling artist of the 2000s. Similarly, Rolling Stone named Eminem the 83rd greatest artist of all time, calling him “The King of Hip Hop”. He has sold more than 172 million albums, making him one of the world’s best-selling artists. But how did Marshall Mathers go from Detroit poverty to music royalty? We take a look…
1986
1986: Eminem begins rapping, adopting the names “Manix” and “M&M”, which evolved into Eminem.
1989
1989: A 17 year old Marshall Mathers drops out of high school
1995
1995: Eminem’s rap group, along with friend and future D12 member proof, Soul Intent, released their self-titled EP.
1996
November 12, 1996: Eminem’s debut studio album, Infinite, is released. After the release of Infinite, his personal problems and substance abuse culminated in a suicide attempt.
1996: Eminem and friend Proof founded the rap group D12, or The Dirty Dozen. In order to make up the dozen, it was decided the six members at the time would each create an alter-ego. Proof’s was Dirty Harry, Bizarre’s was Peter S. Bizarre, Kuniva’s was Hannz G. (which later became Rondell Beene), Kon Artis’s was Mr. Porter, Bugz’ was Robert Beck and Eminem created the famous character Slim Shady.
1997
1997: Eminem travels to Los Angeles to compete in the 1997 Rap Olympics. He placed second, and Interscope Records staff in attendance sent a copy of the Slim Shady EP to company CEO Jimmy Iovine. Iovine played the tape for record producer Dr. Dre, founder ofAftermath Entertainment. Dre recalled, “In my entire career in the music industry, I have never found anything from a demo tape or a CD. When Jimmy played this, I said, ‘Find him. Now.'” Although he was criticized by associates for hiring a white rapper, he was confident in his decision: “I don’t give a fuck if you’re purple; if you can kick it, I’m working with you.”
December 6, 1997: Eminem’s debut EP, Slim Shady EP, is released.
1998
March 1998: Hip-hop magazine The Source featured Eminem in its “Unsigned Hype” column
1999
February 23, 1999: Eminem’s second studio album, The Slim Shady LP, was released. The record debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart behind TLC’s FanMail with 283,000 copies sold in its opening week. The record won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, and in 2012, the album was ranked number 275 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
1999: Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg founded the record label Shady Records. He also forms the hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil with rapper and friend Royce da 5’9″.
2000
May 23, 2000: Eminem’s third, and perhaps greatest, studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP, is released. It sold 1,760,000 copies in its first week, breaking US records held by Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle for fastest-selling hip hop album and Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time for fastest-selling solo album. The Marshall Mathers LP has been certified 11× platinum by the RIAA.
July 2000: Eminem was the first white artist to appear on the cover of The Source magazine
2001
2001: Eminem appeared in the Up in Smoke Tour with rappers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit and Ice Cube and the Family Values Tour with Limp Bizkit, headlining the Anger Management Tour with Papa Roach, Ludacris and Xzibit.
2002
May 21, 2002: Eminem’s fourth studio album, The Eminem Show, is released. It was the best-selling album of 2002 in the United States, with 7.6 million copies sold. It became Eminem’s third LP in four years to win the award for Best Rap Album at the Grammy’s.
November 8, 2002: 8 Mile, an American rap film loosely based on Eminem’s upbringing, is released. It made $242 million dollars on a $41 million dollar budget. Eminem won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Lose Yourself”, the song which was iconic to this film. A decade after its release, Vibe magazine called the film a “rap movie masterpiece”.
2002: Eminem and mentor Dr. Dre sign New York rapped 50 Cent to a record deal.
2003
December 8, 2003: The United States Secret Service said that it was “looking into” allegations that Eminem had threatened the President of the United States.
2004
April 27, 2004: Eminem’s rap group, D12, releases their second studio album, D12 World.
November 12, 2004: Eminem’s fifth studio album, Encore, is released.
2005
December 6, 2005: Eminem’s compilation greatest hits album, Curtain Call, is released.
2006
December 5, 2006: A hip hop compilation album distributed by Eminem’s Shady Records, entitled Eminem Presents: The Re-Up, is released.
2007 – 2008
Eminem was on hiatus, recording his next studio album. It was also during this time that he battled addiction to prescription pills. On October 21, 2008, Eminem released an autobiography entitled The Way I Am.
2009
May 19, 2009: Eminem’s sixth studio album, Relapse, is released. . It was his first album of original material since Encore, following a four-year hiatus from recording due to his writer’s block and an addiction to prescription sleeping medication.
December 21, 2009: Relapse: Refill is released. The album was a re-release of Relapse with seven bonus tracks.
2010
June 18, 2010: Eminem’s seventh studio album, Recovery, is released. Recovery went on to become the best selling album of 2010 Worldwide and in the US with sales of 5.7 million worldwide and 3.4 million in the US. At the 2011 Grammy’s It was nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year for the Album and the international chart topping single Love The Way You Lie.
2011
March 2011: Within days of each other, The Eminem Show and The Marshall Mathers LP were certified diamond by the RIAA, making Eminem the only rapper with two diamond-certified albums.
2013
November 5, 2013: Eminem’s eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, is released. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 57th Grammy Awards
2014
November 24, 2014: Eminem’s Shady Records releases a compilation album entitled Shady XV. The compilation consists of two discs, the first featuring new material from Shady Records artists such as Slaughterhouse, Bad Meets Evil, D12 and Yelawolf, as well as the label’s founder Eminem. The second disc includes the label’s greatest hits, also featuring former Shady Records members.
2014: Eminem earned $18 million in 2014.
2015
March 12, 2015: The Official Eminem Box Set, a career-spanning, 10-disc vinyl box set, was released.
July 24, 2015: Southpaw, a film originally written as a spiritual sequel to 8 Mile, is released. While Eminem was originally eyed for the lead role, he would later go on to only be the executive producer of the soundtrack.
According to Forbes, Eminem earned $31 million in 2015, almost double what he made in the previous year. His six shows in 2015’s co-headlining Monster Tour with Rihanna averaged north of $5 million per show; their pair of shows at Metlife Stadium grossed a total of $12.4 million, slightly more than Jay Z and Beyoncé tallied over two nights at the same venue. While he is not the same type of business mogul as some of his contemporaries, such as Jay Z and Dr. Dre, his controversial lyrics, draw as a performer and talent as an artist will see Eminem continue to be one of the highest earners in music year in and year out. With Eminem’s net worth at about $200 million, he is and will remain one of the richest entertainers on the planet.