From spending time moving between homeless shelters as a 12-year-old to debuting Number One on the Billboard charts, rapper A$AP Rocky’s net worth is a far cry from his modest upbringing.
A relentlessly charismatic artist, A$AP, whose real name is Rakim Athelaston Mayers, has had his fair share of legal battles over the years but has found eternal love with Rihanna. She’s “the love of my life,” he told GQ in a 2021 cover story. Life is “so much better,” he said in response to the question of what it’s like to be in a relationship. “So much better when you got the One. She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones.” He continued, adding that he’s comfortable with monogamy: “I think when you know, you know. She’s The One.”
Together, they enjoy considerable fortune—though she brings a lot more to the table from a financial perspective—and fame as well as an adorable son, whom they welcomed in May 2022. Here’s everything you need to know about A$AP Rocky’s rise to be one of the most revered people in the hip-hop business.
What is A$AP Rocky’s net worth?
A$AP Rocky’s net worth is estimated to be $20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Born in Harlem on October 3, 1988, he started writing rap songs in the third grade. As a 13-year-old, A$AP’s father was imprisoned for dealing drugs and his older brother, Ricky, was killed in a shooting at age 20. Ricky had taught his younger brother how to rap and in the wake of his death, A$AP took music much more seriously.
ASAP Rocky. Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
“I never got in too deep to the point where I let it get the best of me,” he said, in an interview with MTV in November 2013. “Everybody’s dream is to make it big with that sh—t and get out. I didn’t make it big, so I got out.” A$AP, his mother and sister moved around homeless shelters and he turned to sell then-illegal cannabis and crack cocaine. A$AP served two weeks in prison for drug dealing but continued to write rap songs.
In 2007, A$AP joined a Harlem-based collective of rappers, producers and others with musical inclinations, called A$AP Mob Crew. He hit the national rap scene in early 2011 and one of his singles “Peso” found him a burgeoning collection of followers online. “Purple Swag” came soon after and A$AP signed with Sony, RCA Records and Polo Grounds music in a deal worth $3 million.
In July 2012, A$AP scored a slot at the Pitchfork Music Festival. Later that month, he booked his TV debut on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon but was arrested the night before following alleged involvement in a brawl. His performance was rescheduled for August 21 and A$AP performed “Goldie” and garnered mainstream attention.
His debut album, Long. Live. A$AP was recorded in 2013. It was received well by critics and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. A 40-date national tour came shortly afterward and his first studio release went certified Gold, having sold 500,000 copies. In the same year, A$AP released his own clothing brand and would go on to collaborate with luxury avant-garde fashion designer and close pal, Raf Simons.
2015 was a bit of a tumultuous year for A$AP in terms of musical releases. His second studio album At.Long.Last.ASAP was leaked online due to his record label RCA to expedite its release a week earlier than planned. “In light of the album leak on Monday, we asked the stores to place the product on the shelves and we expedited all assets to the digital music providers to get the album up by midnight in support of the new release date,” a statement said at the time, per the New York Times. It received generally positive reviews and debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, but sales were underwhelming and was the lowest-selling album of his career.
Image: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images.
Over the years, A$AP has collaborated with a number of other artists such as Tyler, the Creator, Drake, Kid Cudi, Frank Ocean and Lana Del Ray. He’s also appeared in the films Dope, Zoolander 2, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and All Rise.
In addition to music and creative pursuits, A$AP invested in Klarna, a privately held Swedish fintech company with a valuation north of $31 billion in 2021. “It’s a radical way to approach the crediting system,” A$AP told Forbes at the time. “It helps people with financial literacy.” He continued, speaking of his childhood in Harlem and surrounded by families of low-income backgrounds. “You’re setting yourself up for financial debt,” he says. “There’s no system that helps us deal with things when it comes to student loans, the IRS, banking or credit.” He described Klarna as a “layaway plan” at a global scale.
As mentioned, he’s had some legal issues in the past. Perhaps the most notable was in July 2019, when A$AP was arrested for aggravated assault in Sweden after a street altercation. He was kept in custody at the Kronoberg Remand Prison until the end of the month. The family asked many famous people, including then-President Trump, to help the #FreeRocky cause. Whether it actually helped is up for debate. A$AP told GQ in a 2021 cover story that “he didn’t help—he made efforts and he rooted for me to come home, but he didn’t free me.”
Outside of music, he and his now-girlfriend Rihanna had been friends for years—their romance was speculated about heavily. By November 2020, their relationship was confirmed by People. In 2021, they made their red carpet debut at the Met Gala a year later. In January 2022, Rihanna and A$AP announced they were expecting a baby together in the most epic pregnancy shoot we’ve ever seen. Their baby, a son, was welcomed in May 2022.
Image: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.
“I will always remind my children to never lose their imagination, even as adults, no matter what,” Rocky said in an interview with Dazed that month. He added that he hopes to “raise open-minded children” and “not people who discriminate… And I’m not trying to describe a saint, but realistically, I just want a cool child with cool parents.”
What is Rihanna’s net worth?
Rihanna’s net worth is valued at $1.4 billion, per Celebrity Net Worth. She achieved billionaire status in 2021 thanks to the success of her Fenty brands—Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin and Savage X Fenty lingerie. “I never thought I’d make this much money, so a number is not going to stop me from working,” she told the New York Times when questioned if she plans to ever take a break. “The money means that I can take care of my family. The money means that I can facilitate the businesses that I want to. I can create jobs for other people.”
In one of the most highly anticipated performances in recent memory, Rihanna stepped out on stage at the Super Bowl LVII in 2023. In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 radio in January 2023, A$AP Rocky said he was elated about his partner’s return to music. “I’m so glad that my lady’s back making music again and whatnot, and getting back out there,” Rocky told Apple Music. “It’s just incredible.” He continued, “The Super Bowl is huge, and her being the creative she is, she going to bring it, man. I’m excited. I’m more excited than everybody else, honestly.”
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