According to Celebrity Net Worth, Cardi B is worth a very impressive sum for a child of a poor family from the Bronx, New York, who won’t even turn 30 until 2022 — a net worth of approximately $40 million. Per Biography, Cardi’s real name is Belcalis Almanzar (although, given her status, it’s likely that even those who knew her before the fame think of her as Cardi B at this point). Cardi’s fascination with money likely stemmed from growing up poor and allegedly becoming a part of “The Bloods” gang during her teenage years.
Today, Cardi is a self-made millionaire. While some may judge her “risqué” start (and probably still judge her even racier lyrics), she seems to have made it clear she doesn’t care since all a “bad b***h need is the (money).”
Check out how the girl who makes mad “money moves,” Cardi B, has made her fortune over the years.
Cardi B has been honest about how she paid her bills and saved up enough money to fund her dreams — and it started with stripping. Per Vogue, after Cardi graduated from high school, she moved in with her boyfriend when her mother kicked her out of her family home for fighting with her sister. Soon after, she dropped out of community college after failing her English class, her boyfriend became physically abusive, and she got fired from the Amish Market where she worked. This led her to “stripping,” she said, where she “made enough money to move out.”
When Ellen DeGeneres asked Cardi in 2018 whether she liked stripping, Cardi responded, “Hell yes I did!” (via Hollywood Life), explaining how “it paid my bills. Got me my own apartment. It got me my boob job.” We must give Cardi her props — the girl knows how to keep it real.
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While it’s not clear exactly how much money Cardi B has made off her social media accounts, she almost certainly has her social media accounts to thank for her success. “Cardi B came onto our radar via social media,” Mona Scott-Young, executive producer for VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop,” told E! News. “Her personality just exploded on screen and she had all of these Cardi-isms that made her so unique that we just knew she was going to be a star.” Therefore, it’s possible that without her social media following, Cardi never would have been discovered at all.
Today, Cardi expertly uses her social media accounts to brand herself. She’s basically the queen of social media — using it to connect with her fans, promote her albums and concerts, and plug the products and brands she endorses. Let’s just say — with her 118 million Instagram followers, as of this writing – she’s killing it. And that’s not even counting Facebook or Twitter!
Once Cardi B was discovered, she joined the cast of VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop: New York” in 2015 and quickly became a “fan-favorite cast member.” Likely, this indicates that, by 2016, she was earning the higher end of the expected salary range for the show. In 2020, StyleCaster predicted that Cardi made about “$200,000 to $300,000 per season” for her time on the show (likely excluding the first season where she had to prove her worth).
This seems supported by the fact that, in 2016, Celebrity Net Worth reported her net worth at $400,000 (when she had only been on the show roughly a year or two). While Cardi may have “Love & Hip Hop” to thank for the start of her success, she quit the show after two seasons to focus on her music — something we can all be thankful for!
While it’s unclear exactly how much Cardi B has made from her music, when considering how many times she has already made rap history since 2017, it’s safe to say she’s metaphorically rolling in that dough from her music success. Not only did her debut song “Bodak Yellow” start out her immense music career in 2017, but it made rap history by making her the first female rapper in 20+ years to hit No. 1 status without sharing song credits with another artist. Then, in 2021, “Bodak Yellow” made history again by gaining certified diamond status with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making Cardi the first female rapper to receive this status (per Billboard).
In 2019, Cardi also became the first female solo artist to win a Grammy for Best Rap Album for “Invasion of Privacy” (per The Hollywood Reporter), and, in 2021, she won an RIAA Gold & Platinum Award for “WAP” (meaning it sold 6 million copies). That’s simply too much success for us to not assume she’s made some serious cash from her music.
Cardi B has been a promoter of Fashion Nova since the start of her career, but she wasn’t officially partnered up with the biz until 2018. That year, she released her first collection of 82 pieces — all of which sold out “within minutes,” according to People. “I’ve been to the Fashion Nova offices. I’ve seen what they do. I like how they work,” the rapper-turned-fashion designer shared with the magazine about her partnership with the brand. “I like how fast they sell things out. I like how organized they are. I like how they catered to me. Everything I asked them to do they did.” One thing Cardi asked them to do was to make the line feel “high-end” and not “so ‘hoochie mama.'”
Considering the immense success of her first line, Fashion Nova prepared for the increasing demand for Cardi’s second lines by ensuring “nearly [five] times the amount of inventory as the first go-round” (per TMZ). But, after a mere 24 hours, they were already almost sold out and “struggling to meet the demand” — earning Cardi a quick $1 million. Cha-ching!
Cardi B has done commercials for Amazon’s Alexa and Pepsi — both of which aired during the Super Bowl. In 2018, Cardi took over as a voice for Amazon’s Alexa in the hilarious ad featuring her, Rebel Wilson, Gordon Ramsay, and Anthony Hopkins (per Billboard). Then, in 2019, Cardi did two commercials for Pepsi — one on her own and another with Steve Carell and Lil Jon — both of which aired during the Super Bowl and featured her signature line “okurrr” (per People).
According to a New York Post article from 2016, how much a celebrity makes for a Super Bowl commercial “ranges from $500,000 to $2 million depending on the commercial and the celebrity,” according to one ad exec who’s worked on the highly-coveted spots. So, while we can’t say exactly how much Cardi made from these commercials, it’s safe to say it’s A LOT — especially considering her commenting to People that “Pepsi’s money.”
In 2016, before Cardi B was even all that well known, she endorsed the New York-based lingerie (and sex toy) store Romantic Depot by doing radio and television ads which, of course, got re-aired in New York when she became way more famous in 2017, per Yahoo!. It’s unclear how much she made from her work with Romantic Depot, but it’s safe to say the girl who’s all about the money wouldn’t do it for free.
The most impressive part, however, was that Cardi earned (and, likely, still does) as much as $20,000 every month just from wearing clothes by Fashion Nova (per Vox). Don’t we all wish we could be paid to wear such cute clothes?!
In 2021, Cardi partnered with Starco Brands to create “Whip Shots,” which is exactly what it sounds like — whipped cream in a can that’s infused with “ultra-premium vodka” (per The Spirits Business). Whip Shots come in three different flavors — caramel, mocha, and vanilla — and will begin to become available across the U.S. in 2022. While it’s not evident how much Cardi has or will make from this endeavor, it’s safe to say she’ll earn a decent amount, and, frankly, with how delicious this idea sounds, it seems likely it will be a success.
In 2019, when Cardi B’s decision to not go on tour was questioned, the sassy “Bodak Yellow” star took to Instagram to explain her “money moves” in a (now deleted) post that threw some serious shade to anyone questioning her money-making decisions. Cardi’s post explained how, during the summer of 2019, she made no less than $300,000 for a single concert and even went so far as to post a spreadsheet of her earnings (via iHeart).
The spreadsheet showed that Cardi generally earns somewhere between $450,000 and $750,000 per show and that she’s raked in as much as $900,000 for a single show. Cardi’s post went on to break down how this ultimately made her more money than going on tour would — because a tour consists of other expenses, including production, costumes, makeup, and hair. She ended her post with “I loveeeee money and I know how to make it … I hope I answer ya question.” You tell ’em, Cardi. Clap back, girl!
While it’s unknown exactly how much Cardi B has made from her parts on screen, it’s safe to say it’s a decent amount. Outside of music videos, Cardi has appeared on an episode of “Being Mary Jane” as the character Mercedes, played Diamond in the 2019 movie “Hustlers,” and portrayed Leysa in the “Fast & Furious” franchise film “F9: The Fast Saga” (she was even invited to appear in the movie by Vin Diesel himself, per Insider). As of this writing, she even has her first lead role in the upcoming film “Assisted Living.”
Cardi has made it pretty clear she enjoys acting for the money. When discussing her experience making “Hustlers” in 2019, she told Ellen DeGeneres in an interview that it was difficult work but that she “enjoyed it” and discussed her plans to do it again, adding how she “enjoy[s] the checks” (via Metro UK).
It was later that year when Cardi was invited to appear in the ninth installment of “The Fast and the Furious” (via Insider). Diesel told Entertainment Tonight in 2021 that Cardi will also be a part of the 10th and final film of the franchise as well. “We are very much excited to evolve her character and to expand it to the finale,” he said. It’s safe to say that, in the future, Cardi can look forward to many more of those checks she likes so much.
