What Is Nick Cannon's Net Worth and Salary?
Nick Cannon is an American actor, television host, and rapper who has a net worth of $50 million. During his career, Nick Cannon has found success on television, film, radio, and as an entrepreneur/producer.
For his various television hosting duties, notably "The Masked Singer," Nick earns around $25 million every year. He reportedly earns $20 million just from "The Masked Singer."
Nick also has a famously large family. As of this writing, he has welcomed 12 children with six women, including a set of twins with singer Mariah Carey and another set of twins from a different woman. According to Nick himself, he spends more than $3 million per year on his children.
Early Life
Nick Cannon was born Nicholas Scott Cannon on October 8, 1980, in San Diego, California. He was mostly raised by his grandfather. He grew up in Lincoln Park's Bay Vista Housing Projects.
Cannon was affiliated with the Lincoln Park Bloods street gang as a teenager but left the gang behind when he lost a close friend to violence.
He began performing at the early age of 8, and at age 11, he was already performing comedy on his father's local cable access television show. Cannon graduated from Monte Vista High School in 1998.
Nick later moved to Hollywood, where he landed several stand-up comedy gigs at such places as The Laugh Factory, The Improv, and The Comedy Store.
Nick's big television debut came when he landed a role on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy show "All That" in the mid-1990s. Cannon was also part of a rap group as a teenager, Da G4 Dope Bomb Squad, and the group opened for popular nineties acts like LFO, 98 Degrees, Montell Jordan, and Will Smith.
On-Screen Career
In 2002, Nick had a small appearance in "Men in Black II". His first starring role came when he played the main character Devon Miles in the 2002 movie "Drumline." The following year, he starred in the comedy "Love Don't Cost a Thing." Other films include "Shall We Dance," "Roll Bounce," and "Bobby." His role in "Bobby" got him a nod from the Screen Actors Guild Award in 2007, and he was honored with the Breakthrough Actor of the Year Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance. Nick later starred in the 2015 Spike Lee flick "Chi-Raq." Cannon ran "Wild & Out," a successful television comedy sketch show on MTV from 2005 to 2007, for a total of 4 seasons. The show was revived in 2012 with Nick as the host.
Music Career
In 2005, Nick launched his own record label, Can-I-Ball Records. His self-titled debut studio album was released in 2003 and reached #15 on the US R&B chart. The lead single, "Can I Live?," was released in July 2005.
In 2009, Nick formed a new record label, N'Credible Entertainment, after shutting down Can-I-Ball Records. In 2010, Cannon created a parody character of Slick Rick and called himself Slick Nick. He released two singles as the character, and in December 2011, he released a mixtape entitled "Child of the Corn." In July 2013, Cannon released a new single, "Me Sexy." He released a second single, "Looking for a Dream," featuring Afrojack. His second album, "White People Party Music," was released in 2014. Cannon's second mixtape, "The Gospel of Ike Turn Up: My Side of the Story," was released on November 16, 2016. Nick recorded an Eminem diss track, "The Invitation," in December 2019. After Eminem tweeted in response, Cannon recorded a second diss track that day.
"America's Got Talent"
In 2009, Nick replaced Regis Philbin as the host of "America's Got Talent." He served as the host from 2009 to 2016. When he hosted "America's Got Talent," he earned $70,000 per episode. In 2017, Nick announced he wouldn't be back for the 2017 season, citing creative differences between himself and NBC executives. However, the network had already been considering firing Nick after he made disparaging comments about NBC in his Showtime comedy special, "Stand Up, Don't Shoot." Cannon was technically under contract and could have been sued by NBC for breach of contract. Hence, NBC executives at first refused his resignation. However, it was ultimately accepted, and he was replaced by Tyra Banks as host of "America's Got Talent."
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CBS Firing
On the June 30, 2020, episode of Nick's podcast "Cannon's Class," Nick made comments that were interpreted as being antisemitic. While interviewing the rapper Professor Griff of Public Enemy about leaving the group after he made antisemitic remarks, Cannon then discussed several conspiracy theories involving the wealthy Rothschild family that were considered antisemitic.
On July 14, 2020, in reaction to the comments, ViacomCBS terminated its relationship with Cannon, which had long aired his show "Wild 'N Out," citing "hateful speech and antisemitic conspiracy theories." Cannon also hosts a radio show on KPWR Power 106 called "Nick Cannon Mornings."
On July 16, 2020, he announced via tweet that he would be taking time off from his radio show to reflect and create an action plan. The show is on hiatus indefinitely. He issued an apology on Twitter and was able to remain the host of the Fox show "The Masked Singer," which he has hosted since 2019.
Mariah Carey Marriage and Divorce
Nick was married to singer Mariah Carey from 2008 to 2016. They were married at her private estate on Windermere Island in The Bahamas. They have two children together, twins Monroe and Moroccan. Nick and Mariah officially confirmed their separation in August 2014. Their divorce was finalized in 2016.
Divorce Settlement
As part of their divorce proceedings, we learned from legal filings that when Mariah entered the marriage in 2008, she had a net worth of $150 million, while Nick was worth less than $500,000.
Furthermore, the filings showed that Mariah earned a total of $6.3 million in 2014, while Nick earned $2.7 million. As part of their eventual settlement, which was undisclosed, Nick was given the title to a 2012 Ferrari and required to pay $5,000 per month to a trust for their twins. Soon after filing for divorce, Nick and Mariah sold their longtime home in LA's Bel Air neighborhood for $9 million. They purchased the home in 2009 for $7 million. A previous owner was Farrah Fawcett, who sold the house in 1999 for $2.7 million after living there for over two decades.
(Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)
How Many Kids Does Nick Cannon Have?
As of this writing, Nick Cannon has 11 kids from six women, including TWO separate sets of twins. That does not include one child who tragically died of cancer at five months old.
As you can see in the timeline below, in June 2021 alone, he welcomed FOUR children into the world from three different women.
Nick Cannon Children Timeline
- April 30, 2011: Nick and Mariah Carey welcome twins Monroe and Moroccan.
- February 21, 2017: Nick and Brittany Bell welcome son Golden Sagon.
- December 23, 2020: Nick and Brittany Bell welcome daughter Powerful Queen.
- June 14, 2021: Nick and Abby De La Rosa welcome twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir.
- June 23, 2021: Nick and Alyssa Scott welcome a child son Zen. Tragically, Zen died five months later from brain cancer.
- June 28, 2021: Nick and model Bre Tiesi welcome son Legendary Love.
- September 14, 2022: Nick and LaNisha Cole welcome daughter Onyx Ice Cole.
- September 23, 2022: Nick and Brittany Bell welcome son Rise Messiah.
- November 11, 2022: Nick and Abby De La Rose welcome a girl they named Zeppelin.
- In December 2022, Nick and Alyssa Scott welcome daughter Halo Marie. Halo Marie is Nick's 12th total child and 11th surviving child.
Annual Child Expenses
In a November 2022 episode of the podcast "The Neighborhood Talk," Nick was asked to confirm estimates that he spends $3 million per year on his children. Here's how he responded:
"I definitely spend a lot more than that on my children annually. I don't plan to ever have to participate in the governmental system."
So, to be clear, Nick spends over $3 million per year on his kids, but none of that is court-ordered or involved in a government system at all. Pretty impressive!
Real Estate
In 2009, when he was married to Mariah Carey, the couple paid $7 million for a lavish estate in LA's Bel-Air neighborhood. The Sprawling mansion was sold in 2015 for $9 million as part of their divorce. In July 2021, Nick bought a $3.2 million mansion in Saddle River, New Jersey, that he had been renting for some time already. In February 2024, Nick paid $3.1 million for a home in the LA suburb of Woodland Hills.
Activism
Nick Cannon enrolled at Howard University in 2016 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Criminology/Administration of Justice in 2020.
Cannon runs his own charity, the Nicholas Scott Cannon Foundation. He filmed a public service announcement in 2011 for the organization Do Something, a platform that encourages teens to find a cause they are passionate about and to engage with and contribute to their communities. Since 2011, Cannon has served as a celebrity spokesperson for the National Association of Letter Carriers' annual food drive.
