Believe it or not, Lil Wayne started out as Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. A kid who grew up in Hollygrove, one of New Orleans’ poorest neighborhoods. Wayne was destructive, but he was also creative and poured his frustrations into rap. Wayne started rapping at the young age of 8. Eventually, he caught the attention of Bryan and Slim Williams, brothers and the founders of Cash Money Records. They were so impressed with the budding rapper that they signed him on and at the young age of 12, Lil Wayne had released his first record. Much like Eminem, Lil Wayne’s early life was filled with personal issues and family problems. Life outside the studio during his early teen years was rough for Wayne. He sold drugs for a brief period of time and accidentally shot himself in the chest with his mother’s gun. Luckily, the bullet went straight through and he recovered just two weeks later. Wayne joined the hip-hop group Hot Boys in 1997 and got his first real taste of success. Their debut album sold more than 400,000 copies, and their second album released two years later in 1999 sold over 1 million copies. At the young age of 16, Wayne was already a successful rap artist. And, Lil Wayne’s net worth increased. He launched his solo career in 1999 with the release of his debut album Tha Block Is Hot. The album reached number one on the U.S. R&B charts and sold over one million copies. His next two albums didn’t have as much success, but he bounced back in 2004 with the release of Tha Carter, and The Carter II in 2005. Lil Wayne’s net worth increased by leaps and bounds by this time. Tha Carter III was released in 2008. It was arguably his most successful album selling nearly 4 million copies. Then In 2018, he released Tha Carter V, and it went straight to number one on the charts.
It’s estimated that Lil Wayne’s net worth sits at around $120 million, which is pretty incredible considering he grew up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in New Orleans. His wealth ranks up there with Lebron James, Conor McGregor, and Justin Bieber. You can say a lot of things about Lil Wayne, but no one can deny his work ethic. He’s worked hard to reach this level of success.
