Is there one person among you reading this article who doesn’t listen to music? We truly doubt so. Music is a wonderful thing, which has been an integral part of human life for thousands of years and should remain so. The only thing that is changing is the genre of music that is most popular at the moment. A few hundred years ago, the most popular was classical music c, then in the 20th century it was first rock and roll, then disco, then punk and at the end of the century it was hip hop.
And since the beginning of the 21st century, the genre rhythm and blues, often abbreviated as R&B, has stood out, which, although it has existed since the 1950s, reached global popularity in the 21st century. Before that, it was mostly music that was only popular in black communities. But that is no longer the case and wherever you are in the world, you must be listening to Rihanna, Beyonce and others. And they became idols to the generations that grew up listening to them. If you are interested in finding out who the richest and most successful R&B singers are, keep reading.
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Beyonce
This American singer, but also a versatile person, was born in 1981 in Houston. At just 18, her rise began. At the end of the last century and the beginning of this, she became famous as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child, which is one of the most popular girl groups of all time. During the seven years that this group has existed, they have had many hits among which the most famous are Survivor, Bootylicious, Say my name and many others. Beyonce was by far the most famous member of the group, although later Kelly Rowland also made a successful solo career.
Beyonce became even more famous after she started her solo career and we would need a whole separate text to list all her biggest hits. She later married Jay-Z, which further boosted the popularity of both. That is why she is considered the most successful R&B singer and her net worth is over 300 million dollars. She released her last album in 2016, so we can certainly expect a new one soon, and since she is also a successful actress, we are sure that her wealth will continue to grow in the coming years.
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Rihanna
According to some information, Rihanna may even be the richest R&B singer, but we put her in second place on our list. What sets her apart from the others on our list is that she is the youngest of all and that she was not born in the USA, but in Barbados. When she was only 17, the single Pon de Replay was released and became an instant worldwide hit. This was followed by the song Unfaithful, which cemented her place on all the charts. From then until today, over 20 of her songs were the most popular in the world at the time they were released.
Unfortunately, she was mentioned a lot in the media for one bad thing, and that is domestic violence case. She was allegedly abused by her then-boyfriend, Chris Brown, also a famous singer. Fortunately, that case is behind her and has not had a negative impact on her life and career. There is various information about its net worth, so somewhere you can find it is 100 million, and somewhere you can even come across that her net worth is over half a billion dollars. In any case, it is a huge amount that puts her at the very top of the list of the richest. You can check this out and see for yourself how much money it is compared to some other famous R&B artists.
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Usher
Usher’s popularity was incredible during the late 90’s and early 00’s although his debut album was released back in 1994, but even though it reached the US Billboard 200 chart, it wasn’t that famous as the next ones. But compared to Beyonce and Rihanna, today he’s nowhere near the stars he used to be. However, at that time he earned so much money that even today he is at the very top of the richest with almost 200 million US dollars. Even if you don’t listen to this kind of music, you’ve probably heard at least of his song Yeah!
He has won several Grammy Awards and has topped the charts in many countries. His fans still hope that he will dedicate himself to making music again as he used to and he is currently expecting the birth of his third child.
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Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is primarily known for her five-octave vocal range. If you are musically educated, you know how amazing and fascinating it is. She is even featured in Guinness World Records because she can reach the highest register of the human voice. But of course, she is far from being famous only for her vocal range. What makes her among the most successful and richest ever are certainly her famous songs that are popular even 20 years after they were first released. She has sold over 200 million records, making her one of the best-selling singers ever, not just R&B ones. Mariah Carey also holds many records, like the one for the highest number of number one singles, as well as many others. The famous music cable TV network VH1 put her in the second place of their The 100 Greatest Women In Music list, behind only Madonna.
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R.Kelly
He was born in 1967 in Chicago, from where his rise to fame began. He is considered one of the most influential R&B and hip hop artists and his influence is considered to be so great that it redefines those two genres. This brought him various nicknames, such as “the King of R&B” which in itself speaks to how important he is. He left high school to perform on the street and in the subway, which certainly seemed crazy at the time. But he later managed to win a TV talent show and little by little he gained the status of one of the most influential R&B musicians. His net worth is over 150 million dollars.
Conclusion
Singers like Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Cee-Lo-Green, Chris Brown and many others equally deserved a place on this list. Also some old stars like Lionel Richie. Yet these 5 stood out for their wealth and global popularity.
