Born as Rob Van Winkle in South Dallas, TX, Vanilla Ice is infamously known as being the very first white rapper to ever hit the big time. Although often noted as being a ‘one hit wonder’ due to his notorious 90’s hit “Ice Ice Baby”, Vanilla Ice’s fame and success is not limited to his musical talents; this guy is simply an all around entertainment genius. From music, to film, to television, it’s really no surprise that Vanilla Ice’s success just keeps on climbing. But how much exactly has all of that talent and hard work assisted in adding to his epic 2016 net worth bank roll? Drum roll, please! The answer is…
Vanilla Ice’s Net Worth as of 2016: $20 Million
Now let’s take a look at the who, what, when, where, and why’s behind Vanilla Ice’s current million dollar status; net worth time line style!
1990 – 1995
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Spending the vast majority of the 80’s as a motor cross sensation, Vanilla Ice ventured into the realm of rap in 1990 by signing a with contract with SBK Records. Within the same year, he released his first album The Extreme, which sold a whopping 15 million copies worldwide and assisted him in adding a solid $16.4 Million to his net worth bank roll.
In 1991, Vanilla Ice released his 2nd album Extremely Live which which included popular singles like “Rollin’ in My 5.0” which peaked at #30 on the Billboard 200. Later that year, he also went on to play the leading role in the SBK film Cool as Ice, which was released on October 18, 1991 and grossed $638,000 in the box office, ranking in at #14 among the week’s new releases and assisted in him in the gain of another $1 Million dollars. That year, he also performed the song “Ninja Rap” in the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, which easily became one of the most popular songs of his career!
In 1993 he went on to announce that he would be taking a break from music and pursuing his passion for competing in Jet skiing as well as Motocross racing again. However, he still went on to release the album Mind Blowin’ on March 22, 1994 which included popular songs like “Get Loose” and ‘Hit ’em Hard’ and was highly (no pun intended) pro-marijuana friendly.
In 1995, Vanilla Ice decided to clean up his act. After surviving a drug overdose and a suicide attempt, he decided to set up a recording studio in Maimi and joined the grunge band Pickin Scabz. The name of the band was said to reflect his desire to “pick up the pieces” of his wild and crazy life.
Random Networth Fact: Vanilla Ice’s yearly income is estimated at $5 Million; talk about phat paid!
1996 – 2001
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Between 1996-2001 Vanilla Ice finally began to make a legitimate career comeback. He appeared in the song “Boom” by Bloodhound Gang which was featured on their album “One Fierce Beer Coaster” in 1996, went on to get married to Laura Giaritta in 1997, and made his official return to his music career in 1998 by releasing the album Hard to swallow. The album, which sold roughly 10,000 copies, contained popular singles like “Scars”, “Prozac”, and “Too Cold”and was a combination of hip hop, punk rock, and heavy metal.
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In 2000, he made an appearance in the film Da Hip Hop Witch and by 2001 he was back in musical business releasing bringing fourth his 4th studio album Bipolar. The album contained popular hits like “DETONATOR”,”Get Your Ass Up”, “Tha Weed Song”, and “Hot Sex”.
Random Vanilla Ice Networth Fact: Beyond his music and acting, Vanilla Ice also makes roughly $1 Million annually from various sponsors.
2002 – 2007
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Between 2002-2007 Vanilla Ice’s experienced incredible success in both his acting career as well as his musical career. He appeared in the films The New Guy (2002), The Helix… Loaded Theo (2005), and The Bros (2006), released the album Platinum Underground in 2005, and appeared on both the reality TV series The Surreal Life along with the shows spin-off series The Surreal Life: Fame Games.
Random Vanilla Ice Networth Fact: Over the course of his career Vanilla Ice has earned roughly $17 Million from film performances alone.
2008 – 2013
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Between 2008-2013 Vanilla Ice’s music career might not have his main focus, but his television/acting persona became a real hit sensation! He premiered his hit TV series The Vanilla Ice Project on the DIY Network on October 14, 2010 which focused on renovating a house in Palm Beach, Florida as well as published the book Vanilla Ice Project – Real Estate Guide and also appeared in in a film produced by Insane Clown Posse titled Big Money Rustlas (which assisted in adding a solid $5.3 Million to his bank roll).
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In 2011 Vanilla Ice released his 6th studio album W.T.F. (Wisdom, Tenacity and Focus) featuring hit songs like “Turn It Up” and “My Way”, went on to snag himself a $7 Million dollar role in the film That’s My Boy Uncle in 2012, and debuted the TV mini-series Vanilla Ice Goes Amish in 2013.
Random Vanilla Ice Networth Fact: Vanilla Ice earned a nice $2.9 from showing off his house fipping handy-man skills on The Vanilla Ice Project.
2014 – 2016
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Between 2014-2015 Vanilla Ice continued on his EPIC climb towards fame, success, and dolla dolla millionaire status. In 2014 he appeared on several TV series like Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off and Mike & Mike as well as landed himself the hilarious role of Mark Twain in Adam Sandler’s hilarious 2015 comedy movie Rediculous 6.
Random Vanilla Ice Networth Fact: The value of Vanilla Ice’s 8,700 square-foot beach front home in Miami Beach is set at whopping $14.9 Million.
Although he may have been noted on the list of the “Top Ten One-Hit Wonders of the Nineties” as an artist who was:
“Hot for a glorious moment but went cold shortly thereafter.” – Rolling Stone
The truth of the matter is that Vanilla Ice’s ‘ice breaker’ 90’s hit “Ice Ice Baby” may have technically been a bit of a one hit wonder, but this guy’s success obviously didn’t stop there! By that, we obviously mean that he’s had one heck of a run. A run that assisted him in gaining a pretty solid current 2016 net worth of $20 Million!
With nearly 30 years as both a musician and an overall entertainment genius, we can’t say for certain what will happen to that million dollar net worth bank roll of his; but we’ve got a feeling that Vanilla Ice isn’t going anywhere any time soon! Word to YOUR mother.