When it comes to mainstream gay personalities, RuPaul Andre Charles, known to the world simply as RuPaul, is a household name. So how much money does his glamor empire make? What is RuPaul's net worth?
Charles' drag persona, RuPaul, rose to stardom through his music videos in the early 1990s. He is credited with introducing drag, an exaggerated performative style that challenges gender norms, to mainstream pop culture.
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Ru is best known for producing and hosting the Emmy Award-winning reality show “RuPaul's Drag Race.” His management and production team, World of Wonder, has expanded the series globally: “Drag Race” franchises have sprung up in Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Thailand and the Philippines.
Its flagship television show has 15 successful seasons under its belt, and World of Wonder produces a world tour after each season. She has published books and released several albums throughout her career, earning income along the way. How does everything compare?
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What is RuPaul's net worth?
Many sources claim RuPaul's net worth is estimated to be around $60 million by the end of 2023. Another exit pegs the drag icon's net worth significantly higher: $95 million. No source explains where their figures come from.
However, there are some figures that sources do know.
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How much does RuPaul earn from 'RuPaul's Drag Race?'
Honestly, RuPaul's greatest asset is…his hair. But financially speaking, we know more about his earnings thanks to his self-titled show. Produced in 2009 through Paramount. (FOR) – Get a free report Logo Network, our show “RuPaul's Drag Race” pits drag queens against each other to compete for one ultimate prize: the attention of host and head judge, RuPaul herself.
The show aired for 15 seasons and won its fair share of awards. RuPaul earned $50,000 for the role of him in Season 1. Due to the popularity of the show, that salary increased to $50,000 per episode in 2013. As of 2023, Ru now earns around $1 million per episode.
Add to that the money Charles makes as a producer on the series and you can see how RuPaul's net worth has reached such heights.
How much is RuPaul's real estate empire worth?
RuPaul Charles and her husband, Australian painter Georges LeBar, own quite an extensive property collection. Together since 1994, the couple married in 2017. They now share a $13.7 million mansion in the Coldwater Canyon section of Beverly Hills. The 10,309-square-foot theater space, which has its own “Disco Room,” was featured in a cover story and video in “Architectural Digest” magazine.
They also own a two-bedroom condo in West Hollywood valued at $600,000. Don't forget the 1,200-square-foot property located in a historic firehouse in the NoMa section of New York City that they purchased in 1998.
But perhaps most impressive is his 60,000-acre ranch, which stretches from Wyoming to the South Dakota border. In 2020, RuPaul said NPR that the couple leased mineral rights to the property to oil companies, which has sparked controversy among anti-fracking groups.
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How old is RuPaul? What were his early years like?
Towering (in stilettos) nearly seven feet tall, it's hard to believe this larger-than-life personality was once a quiet, sensitive girl. RuPaul Charles was born on November 17, 1960 in San Diego, California, although her parents, Ernestine “Toni” and Irving Andrew Charles, were originally from Louisiana. The first syllable of her name “RuPaul” comes from “roux,” a Creole condiment.
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Captivated by Hollywood from an early age, every time his family took a road trip to Los Angeles, RuPaul begged them to stop by the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2018, Ru received his own star.
RuPaul's parents divorced when he was seven years old. When he was 15, he and his older sister, Renetta, moved to Atlanta, where he attended the Northside School for the Performing Arts, although he ultimately never graduated. Instead, he worked odd jobs, including at the iconic Plaza Theatre.
In the mid-1980s, he became the lead singer of a punk rock band, where he began performing in drag. His drag persona landed gigs as a go-go dancer on the Celebrity Club, was a frequent guest on the public access variety show “The American Music Show,” and in 1989 appeared as a backup dancer in the B-52s' music video for “Love Shack”, his first big opportunity.
In the early 1990s, RuPaul moved to New York City and performed at nightclubs like the East Village's avant-garde Pyramid Club, which helped fuel his rising star. The club was known for hosting a Who's Who of prominent cultural figures of the 1980s and 1990s such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Debbie Harry, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana.
In 1991, RuPaul was hired by World of Wonder, then a fledgling management team. Together, they would produce all of RuPaul's television shows, making millions in the process.
How did RuPaul become famous? Why was it so innovative?
In 1993, RuPaul's music video “Supermodel (You Better Work)” burst onto the international music scene. The song eventually sold 500,000 records and charted on the “Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play” charts. Produced by Tommy Boy Records, the video featured RuPaul dressed in a variety of feminine looks, putting on makeup and posing in modeling sessions. That type of content was considered revolutionary in the early 1990s.
How much is RuPaul's makeup empire worth?
After the success of “Supermodel (You Better Work),” RuPaul received a modeling contract from MAC Cosmetics. In this, she made history as the first drag queen to receive mainstream endorsement. She became the face of her “Viva Glam” campaign with its inclusive slogan “All ages, all races, all sexes.” RuPaul's salary was not made public, but MAC has stated that she generated a whopping $300 million in sales from the campaign.
Suddenly, RuPaul was everywhere! He appeared in countless television commercials, on shows like “All My Children” and in the “Brandy Bunch” movies. In 1996, he landed his own talk show on VH1 called “The RuPaul Show.” He published an autobiography, “Letting It All Hang Out,” and released 14 more dance albums, including a Christmas album called “Ho Ho Ho.”
In 2013, RuPaul moved more into marketing and joined forces with Colorevolution Cosmetics to launch their Glamazon line of ultra-pigmented cosmetics and fragrances. She also collaborated with Mally Beauty on a Mally X RuPaul color cosmetics collection in 2019.
RuPaul is a master of collaboration and marketing; she's a skill she teaches throughout the many seasons of “Drag Race.” It's difficult to determine RuPaul's true net worth, but her status can be summed up in one of her most famous quotes: “She already had hers!”
