Ray J Net Worth

Ray J is a younger brother of a multi-platinum music artist, Brandy, and the first cousin of a legendary rapper, Snoop Dogg.

The singer-actor Ray J is known for his fair share of controversies throughout his career. One is at the top of the list is the sex tap scandal. In 2007, Vivid Entertainment publicly released a sex video recorded in 2002 between him and his former girlfriend Kim Kardashian, who he dated for three years. The sex tape is said to have generated over US$100 million, making it the highest-grossing sex tape of all time. This doesn’t account for the yearly royalties, which are around $360,000.

In 2013, Ray J released the track I Hit It First featuring Bobby Brackins with lyrics hinted at his previous relationship with Kim, the happenings behind a closed door, and a mockery of Kanye West.

When Kim Kardashian and Kanye West married in 2014, Ray J reportedly sent a check that he profited from their sex tape as a wedding gift.

Who is Ray J?

Ray J’s official name is William Ray Norwood Jr., born on January 17, 1981. Ray J was born in McComb, Mississippi. His family moved to California when he was two years old. His older sister, Brandy Rayana Norwood is a well-known music artist; Ray is also the first cousin of a well-known rapper Snoop Dogg.

His father, William Ray Norwood Sr., is a gospel singer and also the voice coach of Ray J and his older sister Brandy. His mother, Sonja Norwood, worked in the entertainment industry.

What is Ray J’s Net Worth?

Ray J’s sources of income came from his music, his venture into eco-friendly transportation, and the notorious sex tape. As of July 2022, Ray J’s net worth is US$14 million.

There’s no exact figure on how much Ray made from his music and other business ventures. In regards to Ray’s adult video, through publicly available information, a payment of $1 million was paid in advance by Vivid Entertainment for the right to ownership, and around $360,000 in royalties is received yearly. The video has generated over $100 million in sales.

Ray J Music Career

At the age of eight, Ray started to make a foothold in the entertainment industry. In 1989, he began auditioning and appearing in TV commercials for various companies. Between 1993 to 1994, he was cast in an American sitcom, The Sinbad Show. His easygoing and likable image made producers and cast members fond of him.

In 1995, Ray J signed with a label record owned by Warner Music Group, Elektra Records, and right away, he began to make his first album. Ray’s debut album Everything You Want was released in 1997, with his lead single Let It Go appearing on the soundtrack of an American action crime film, Set It Off. The lead single peaked at number 25 in the US. In that same year, he was dropped from Electra Records.

After his departure, Ray teamed up with his older sister, Brandy, and recorded a cover of Phil Collins’ Another Day in Paradise. It was listed in the Top Ten chart in many countries, including the UK, Germany, and Switzerland. In Ray’s second album, This Ain’t a Game — before the release, for a year and a half, Ray J collaborated and worked with several well-known artists, including Rodney Jerkins, Lil’ Kim, and the Neptunes. The album was released in 2001 with Atlantic Records; his lead single, Wait A Minute, peaked at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 8 on the Hot R&B/Hip hop chart.

After two years of hiatus, Ray continued on to pursue his music career and began to produce his third studio album with the help of other well-known record producers, including Rodney Jenkins, Timbaland, and R. Kelly. Before releasing his third album titled Raydiation, Ray made a joint venture with Sanctuary Records and his own recording label, Knockout Entertainment. The album was released in 2005 and debuted at number 48 on the Billboard 200, with over 18,300 copies sold in the first week. And the album’s lead single, One Wish, was in the Top 20 hit singles in the UK, US, Ireland, and New Zealand. Over 400,000 copies were sold in the US.

In 2007, Ray’s Knockout Entertainment announced a multimillion-dollar album deal with an NYC-based record label, Koch Records, and with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal’s company Deja 34 entertainment. Ray’s fourth album, All I Feel, featured some well-known artists of that time, including The Game and Yung Berg. In 2018 the album’s single Sexy Can I featuring rapper Young Berg was on topped number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks.

Other Show Business

In 2009, Ray started his own show business where he starred in his own reality tv show, For the Love of Ray J. Eight months later, in November, Ray released the soundtrack for this show with the exact same name. In 2010 he created a spinoff with his sister titled Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business. Followed by the release compilation in 2011, A Family Business, from their reality series.
In 2019, Ray J competed in a UK reality TV program Celebrity Big Brother. Just within a week of appearing, he walked off the show and threatened legal action against the show because of his sore tooth.

Business Ventures

When Ray J ventured into the technology business, he became the founder of Raytroniks. He planned to introduce consumer electronic products to the US market, such as smartphones, smart watches, e-bikes, and fans. He’s, in particular, focused on an electric-powered hybrid bike called Scoot-E-Bike. Using his influence and connection, he secured product placements through celebrities and professional athletic teams, including P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Christ Brown, Stephen Curry, and Justin Bieber.

Family Life

In 2016, Ray J married an American model, Princess Love. The two have two children together — a daughter Medoly Love born in 2018 and a son Epik Ray born in 2020. Four months after their son was born — Love filed for divorce in May 2020.

Controversies

In 2011, Ray punched a rapper, Fabolous, in the face at Palm casino in Las Vegas over a tweet about Ray playing his song One Wish on the piano inside Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s house. After the incident, Ray implied Mayweather as his ‘big brother‘ and nothing more. Ray demanded an on-air apology from Fabolous otherwise he will be smacked again.

In 2014, at a hotel in Beverly Hill, a woman accused Ray of inappropriate touching of her private area. During the seethe of rage, he spat at an officer and kicked out a police car window. Ray was charged with vandalism and resisting arrest; he was released after posting $20,000 bail. However, the Los Angeles County district attorney still pursued the charges. In 2014 prosecutors stated the arrest had turned into four criminal charges of sexual battery, vandalism of a police car, battery against a police officer, and resisting arrest. Ray pleaded not guilty and the case is still ongoing.

In 2012, Ray was also in San Diego where Whitney Houston died. When he heard a ‘disrespectful comment’ about Houston from an officer it prompted him to force entry into the suite. According to his sister Brandy, the death of Whitney Houston made him ‘very distraught’ and ‘disconnected.’ However, they both became very close friends in the last several years before her death. People started to speculate about a possible romantic relationship between the two. At the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law, Pat Houston called security when she saw Ray was seated next to Houston’s daughter, the then 19-year-old Bobbi Kristina Houston.

According to tabloid journalism TMZ, Ray J and Kim Kardashian worked together to leak their 2002’s sex tape.

In 2007, after Vivid Entertainment made the sex video public, Kim sued the company. Kim later dropped the lawsuit and settled for $5 million. However, according to tabloid journalism TMZ, Ray and Kim were paid $1 million in advance, and the payment was split between the former couple. It would have been financial suicide for the company had Vivid Entertainment released a video of this nature of high-profile figures without Ray and Kim’s signatures.

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