What Is Chris Brown's Net Worth?
Chris Brown is an American R&B musician who has a net worth of $50 million. Since making his debut in 2005, Chris Brown has released 10 studio albums, several of which have gone multi-platinum. Brown started out as a good, church-going young artist. He taught himself to sing and dance, performed in the church choir, and was an all-around little angel. In 2004, at the tender age of 15, he signed with Jive Records and released his first album in 2005. It went double-platinum. His second album, "Exclusive," was an even greater success, spawning multiple chart-topping singles. He has since released many more albums, and while none have achieved the level of success of his first two albums, they have all sold quite well. Unfortunately, Mr. Brown has not been so successful in his personal life. Like many stars who found fame early, he seems to have some self-control issues. This was made abundantly clear after he beat up his now ex-girlfriend, Rihanna, in February 2009.
Early Life
Chris Brown was born Christopher Maurice Brown on May 5, 1989, in Tappahannock, Virginia. He is the son of Joyce Hawkins, a daycare center director, and Clinton Brown, a corrections officer. He has one older sister, Lytrell Bundy. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother became a victim of domestic violence by her new boyfriend. Chris taught himself to sing and dance growing up watching his idols Usher, and Michael Jackson. Brown has also cited his parents' collection of soul records as a major musical influence in his early years.
Getty
Music Career
With his mother's help, Chris sought a recording contract in his early teens and eventually moved to New York to find representation. He recorded his debut self-titled album at the age of 16. His single "Run It!" was popular enough to make Brown the first male artist to have a debut single reach #1 on the "Billboard" charts since Montell Jordan in 1995. In 2007, Brown released his second album, "Exclusive," which debuted at #4 on the "Billboard" charts. "Exclusive" also spawned his second #1 hit on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, "Kiss Kiss." Chris released his third album, "Graffiti," in 2009. He released the album "F.A.M.E." in 2011, and it became his first album to top the "Billboard" 200. The album also earned him a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. His fifth album, "Fortune," was released in 2012, once again topping the "Billboard" 200. Brown released "X," also in 2012, a collaboration album called "Fan of a Fan: The Album" in 2015, "Royalty," also in 2015, and "Heartbreak on a Full Moon" in 2017. Brown's ninth studio album, "Indigo," came out in 2019, and it became his third #1 album to debut on the "Billboard" 200. He followed that up with his 10th studio album, "Breezy," in 2022.
Brown has toured to support all of his albums. He was the opening act for Beyoncé Knowles on portions of her "The Beyoncé Experience" tour and supported Rihanna on her "Good Girl Gone Bad" tour. To date, he has sold more than 197 million albums and singles worldwide. Chris Brown is one of the world's best-selling artists. He has won a Grammy, 18 BET Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, and 14 Soul Train Music Awards.
In 2023, Brown surpassed Elvis Presley for the most RIAA Gold Certified Singles for a male vocalist in history. He also has the most "Billboard" Hot 100 entries among male vocalists. In March 2023, with the album "Under the Influence," he became the fifth artist in "Billboard" history to reach 10 #1 hits on the "Billboard" R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
Acting Career
In January 2007, Brown made his acting debut in the film "Stomp the Yard." He also had a small guest-starring role in the television series "The O.C." Later that year, he appeared in the film "This Christmas." He also appeared in the films "Takers," "Think Like a Man," and "Battle of the Year," as well as the TV show "Black-ish."
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Rihanna Assault
On February 8, 2009, Brown was arrested and charged with making criminal threats against his then-girlfriend, R&B singer Rihanna. The two had an argument which escalated to physical assault and left Rihanna with injuries that required hospital attention. After his arrest, several commercials and TV shows featuring Chris were suspended, and he withdrew from public appearances.
Brown was sentenced to one year of domestic violence counseling, six months of community service, five years of probation, and a five-year restraining order from Rihanna. A month later, he was charged with felony assault. He pleaded guilty in June 2009. The next year, Brown applied for a visa to enter the UK to do a tour of British cities but was denied on account of "being guilty of a serious criminal offense." In March 2011, Brown became violent in his dressing room during a commercial break after he was interviewed by Robin Roberts of "Good Morning America" and was asked about the restraining order and the Rihanna situation. He threw an object through a window that overlooked Times Square, then stormed out of the building shirtless. Brown's probation ended formally on March 20, 2015.
(Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Other Legal Issues
Chris has been involved in scuffles and altercations with Drake, Tony Parker, and Frank Ocean. In July 2013, Brown was charged with an alleged hit-and-run in L.A. The charges were later dropped, but he had 1,000 additional community service hours added to probation. Brown was arrested in Washington DC in October 2013 for felony assault after refusing to take a photo with two men. Brown was released after 36 hours in a Washington jail and voluntarily checked into a rehab facility. After he completed 90 days, a judge ordered him to remain until April 23, 2014. On March 14, 2014, Brown was kicked out of the rehab center for rule violation and sent to Northern Neck Regional Jail. At his May 9, 2014, court date, he was sentenced to 131 days in jail but was given credit for time already spent in rehab and jail. Brown was released on June 2, 2014, due to overcrowding.
Brown is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to his previous felony assault conviction. On August 30, 2016, a call was made to the police from a woman who claimed that Chris had threatened her with a gun in his house. Brown refused entry to the cops when they showed up, and a stand-off ensued that provoked action from the LAPD robbery-homicide division and the SWAT team. He was arrested, and charges were later dropped.
In January 2022, a woman filed a civil suit against Brown, accusing him of raping her on a yacht in Miami in December 2020. Chris denied the allegations and submitted text messages to the Miami police indicating a consensual relationship between the two. The lawsuit was dropped in August 2022 due to a lack of prosecution.
Brown is banned from entering the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan due to his criminal record.
(FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
Other Ventures
Chris has stated in several interviews that he owns 14 Burger King restaurants. In 2012, he launched a clothing line called Black Pyramid. Since 2007, he has operated a record label under Interscope called CBE (Chris Brown Entertainment). In 2021, he launched his own cereal, "Breezy's Cosmic Crunch," as a partner with SoFlo Snacks.
Personal Life
Brown dated model and actress Karrueche Tran. They parted ways in 2015, and Tran was granted a five-year restraining order against Brown, claiming he threatened to kill her. Chris has two children. In 2015, Brown dated influencer and clothing line owner Amy Shehab and was rumored to be dating British pop singer Rita Ora. In 2016, he dated model Krista Santiago, and in 2017 dated influencer Vanessa Vargas. In 2018, Chris and Indonesian pop singer Agnez Mo became an item and even released a single together titled "Overdose." In 2019, Brown dated influencer Indya Marie.
Real Estate
Since 2014, Chris' primary residence has been a 4-bedroom hilltop mansion in Tarzana, California. He bought the property, which has an 8,000-square-foot home on 0.75 acres, for $4.35 million. Here's an aerial shot of Chris Brown's Tarzana mansion:
From 2011 to 2015, he lived in the Hollywood Hills in a hillside home that cost $1.5 million. He vacated this home after getting into a war with neighbors over the graffiti he added to the mansion's exteriors. He previously lived in a condo in West Hollywood. He was essentially kicked out of this condo by the homeowners association for excessive noise and allegedly having hallway dog races. He also frequently parked his cars in the building's handicap spots. He sold this property for $1.6 million, roughly what he paid in 2011.
