With his groundbreaking career spanning nearly three decades, Marshall Mathers—better known by his stage name Eminem—has cemented himself in history as a rap legend. With an impressive track record of multiple number one albums and singles, there’s no denying the artist is successful. However, just how successful? This article dives into Eminem’s net worth to uncover just how much money he has accumulated over the years. From royalties to awards, here’s everything we know about Eminem’s financial success!
How much does Eminem earn?
Eminem, an American rapper, producer, and actor is multi-platinum sold. Eminem has a net worth of $230 million as of the time this article was written. Eminem is a constant top-paid entertainer in the world. Eminem earns around $20 million per year in a given year. Eminem can easily reach $30-50 million in years when he is on tour to promote an album.
Early Life
Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in St. Joseph Missouri on October 17, 1972. Eminem spent his youth traveling around Missouri with his single mother before settling in Warren, Michigan. His parents Marshall Sr. and Deborah “Debbie” Rae Nelson were part of a band called Daddy Warbucks, which performed throughout the midwest, mainly at Ramada Inns.
Debbie and Marshall moved back and forth from Michigan to Missouri after the divorce. They never stayed in one location for more than a year and lived primarily with their family. Marshall was bullied at school as a boy and was an outcast. They lived in Detroit’s predominantly black neighborhood during Marshall’s teenage years.
Eminem originally dreamed of becoming a comic-book artist. But that all changed when he heard Reckless, featuring Ice-T from the soundtrack to “Breakin”. Ronnie, his half-brother, gave the album to Eminem.
He adopted the rap name “M&M” at 14 (based on his initials). He dropped out of highschool at 17 years old. While he worked odd jobs, he also wrote songs and participated in freestyle rap battles all over town.
Slim Shady
Marshall gained respect and recognition from the Detroit hip-hop scene. He joined the group Bassmint Productions which was later renamed Soul Intent. While he was a dishwasher and cook, he recorded music with FBT Productions and Mashin’ Duck Records. Eminem’s debut album, “Infinite”, was released in 1996 by Web Entertainment.
He adopted the more violent, edgier persona of Slim Shady around this time. He raped about drugs, sex and violence as Slim Shady. He recorded “The Slim Shady EP” in spring 1997, which was released by Web Entertainment that winter.
Meeting Dr. Dre
Eminem was featured on The Source magazine’s March 1998 unsigned hype column. Eminem was soon expelled from his home, and he decided to go to Los Angeles to participate in the Rap Olympics. He finished second but, more importantly, a Interscope Records employee loved what he heard so he passed the Slim Shady EP to Jimmy Iovine, CEO of Interscope Records.
Jimmy Iovine performed the album for Dr. Dre, who had just launched Aftermath Records and was looking to sign new talent. Dre later described his initial reaction to Eminem’s demo as the following:
“I was like, what the fuck! What the fuck? My entire career in music has been based on demo tapes and CDs. Jimmy asked me this and I replied, “Find him.” Now. ‘”
Eminem was quickly found and signed a contract to record and polish The Slim Shady EP. Dre will be the Executive Producer.
It was a critical and commercial success immediately. It was eventually certified 4X platinum in the US and Eminem won a Grammy for best Rap Album.
His next two albums were monsters. He released The Marshall Mathers album in May 2000. This album was the most popular in hip-hop history, selling more than 21,000,000 copies. 2002’s The Eminem Show was his next album and sold more than 27,000,000 copies.
Eminem’s worldwide album sales exceed 170 million as of the time this article was written. This is enough to make Eminem the ninth most-sold musical artist, behind Pink Floyd, Rihanna and Led Zepellin, Madonna. Elton John, Michal J, Elvis, and Madonna are all still in second place.
Shady Records/50 cent
Eminem started Aftermath Records’ own label in 1999. He called it Shady Records. D12 was the first artist to sign with the company, a group of rappers Eminem had known from Detroit.
Eminem met 50 Cent in 2002 while filming “8 Mile”. Eminem had heard many mixtapes by 50 Cent and wanted to sign him to Shady Records. Soon, 50 Cent was the first solo artist to sign with Shady Records. The soundtrack to 8 Mile was released by Shady Records in the same year. It would sell over 11 million copies around the world.
50 Cent’s debut album, released in February 2003, went on to be sold 14 million copies worldwide. 50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums in his entire career.
| Eminem Earnings By Year: | |
| Year | Earnings |
| 2004 | $10,000,000 |
| 2005 | $14,000,000 |
| 2006 | $16,000,000 |
| 2007 | $18,000,000 |
| 2008 | $12,000,000 |
| 2009 | $14,000,000 |
| 2010 | $8,000,000 |
| 2011 | $14,000,000 |
| 2012 | $15,000,000 |
| 2013 | $10,000,000 |
| 2014 | $18,000,000 |
| 2015 | $31,000,000 |
| 2016 | $11,000,000 |
| 2017 | $16,000,000 |
| 2018 | $23,000,000 |
| 2019 | $50,000,000 |
| Total: | $280,000,000 |
The above table doesn’t include Eminem’s peak record-selling years, 2000 to 2003. This is because data wasn’t available back then. He sold over 50 million records in those years, and performed 88 concerts solo as part of his Anger Management Tour.
Eminem made at least $100 million from merchandise, record sales, and touring during those years. His career earnings are now estimated at $380 million.
Milestones and Awards
Eminem currently holds 15 Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards and seventeen Billboard Awards. He also has an Academy Award for best song “Lose Yourself” from the 8 Mile soundtrack.
Personal life
Eminem has been a somewhat reclusive celebrity in recent years. Eminem has admitted to having struggled with drugs, and is now clean. Much of his private life was displayed in courtrooms throughout much of the late 1990s and early 2000. Both his mother and ex-wife Kim have been his enemies. Kim and Eminem have a daughter named Hailie. Eminem has custody of Kim’s daughter from a previous relationship, Whitney, as well as his niece Alaina.
Real Estate
Eminem purchased a 8,900-square-foot home in Clinton Township (Michigan) for $1.483 million in 2000. It has been his main residence for many years.
He spent $4.8million on a 15,000-square-foot house in Oakland County, Michigan, in 2003. The former CEO of Kmart lived there. Be aware that Eminem has transformed the property into an electronic fortress with guard booths and electric fencing. These booths are manned 24 hour a day by armed security. The entire neighborhood is also gated and protected by additional security. Eminem lived in this house for a mere ten years. It was listed for sale at $1.99 million in 2017, and eventually sold to a buyer at $1.9 million.
Summary
Eminem is worth $230 million. Eminem is one of the most successful musicians ever, with more than 170,000,000 records sold during his career. He has made millions from his own music and the albums of artists under Shady Records. He earned at least $280million between 2004 and 2019, which does not include his most popular album-selling days. His career earnings are likely to exceed $400 million.