The Nigerian music industry is made up of different talented musicians who have carved a niche for themselves with varying styles of music such as rap, afro-beats, afro-fusion and hip-hop. Having only one source of income in Nigeria is not usually the way to the top and a lot of celebrities in the entertainment industry have discovered that. They rarely dwell on their main jobs as artistes but also focus on other sources of livelihood. Many musicians are brand ambassadors and run their own side businesses, asides music. A good number of celebrities have worked hard to build a strong fan base by using social media to their advantage and creating good and consistent music.
Amongst the various means by which Nigerian artistes make their money is through endorsement deals, awards, investments, international collaborations, tours, partnerships, music licensing, concerts, album sale and so on.
Here is a list of Forbes top 10 richest musicians from Nigeria.
1. Davido
Davido is the current richest Nigerian musician 2021 according to Forbes magazine. He also featured on Forbes list of top 10 richest musicians in Africa 2021 and is an international act.
Born David Adedeji Adeleke on November 21,1992, he is the son to one of the wealthiest business men in the country, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke. Most people think his father’s wealth is what he flaunts but this isn’t the case as Davido is also self-made rich man.
He has won many awards since his emergence into the music industry. Awards such as the Mobo award, best African Act etc. He owns his own record label which is also successful. He is known to release hit songs and has worked with other top singers in the country.
The rich celebrity has signed with renowned world musical label SONY records. Davido’s net worth is estimated at 21 million U.S dollars.
More so, his net worth is largely from music and endorsement projects such as the $78,296 MTN endorsement deal, Guinness Nigeria, and Infinix mobile.
Davido also performs in local and international shows, where he earns as much as N10 – 40 million per performance (in Nigeria) and $30,000 for international performances.
Davido net worth and wealth is also affected positively by his YouTube channel, which has attracted over 663 million views since it was created. In addition, his Instagram account is not left out. Davido has an estimated value of $91,100 per post on Instagram.
He ranks number 29 in the world ranking of Instagram Richest Celebrities. As at August 2021, Davido is the second most followed African on the social media app Instagram.
Davido owns a house in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria estimated to worth 140 million naira. He recently bought another house in Banana Island worth multi millions of naira in Lagos Nigeria and apparently owns a house in Atlanta, Georgia USA which reportedly cost $20 million.
The OBO himself has really good tastes in exotic cars, his garage is made up of fleet of exotic cars such as the Rolls Royce Cullinan worth 350 million naira, a Bentley Bentayga worth 100 million naira, a Range Rover Sport worth 80 million naira, a Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 worth 80 million naira and recently, he added one to his garage that is the Lamborghini Huracan Coupe worth over 60 million naira. Prior to these cars, Davido once acquired a Porsche 911 Carrera worth 35 million naira, a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon worth 30 million naira, a Toyota Land Cruiser worth 30 million naira, a Porsche Panamera Turbo S worth 25 million naira, a Audi R8 Coupe worth 25 million naira, a Chevrolet Camaro worth 17 million naira and the first car he acquired at the age of 19; Honda Accord which is worth around 5 million naira.
Looking at his garage you’ll agree that Davido owns at least one of the most expensive cars in the country.
2. Wizkid
Coming in with a close second is Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid. His net worth, as estimated by Forbes, is $19 Million, making him the second richest musician in Nigeria in 2021.
In 2019, Starboy bagged the biggest endorsement deal in Africa with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, the deal is worth $3 million that is 1 billion naira and also bagged an endorsement deal with one of the foremost Mobile technology companies, Tecno Mobile in 2020. He was recently named as the latest ambassador for the international fashion and sportswear brand Puma, he was unveiled in a campaign image as the face of Puma.
One of Wizkid’s houses in Lekki is worth about 70 million naira, he also has another house in Los Angeles USA. Wizkid owns several exotic cars like the Hyundai Sonata worth 6 million naira, a 2012 Mercedes-Benz Kompressor worth 9 million naira, a BMW X6 Crossover worth 12 million naira, a Porsche Panamera worth 13 million naira, a Porsche Cayenne worth 18 million naira, a Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible worth 50 million naira, a Mercedes Benz G63 AMG worth 65 million naira and also not forgetting his newly acquired Lamborghini Urus worth over 100 million naira.
Apart from music sales, Starboy makes a lot of money from his shows and worldwide tours. A show performance from Wizkid costs around 15 – 50 million naira, he sells out his shows in his yearly UK and US tours and has sold out the O2 Arena twice. In 2018. Wizkid joined the league of highest paid artist in the world after he was paid 50 million rupees (over 245 million naira) for performing at a Royal wedding in India.
His songs still top Billboard’s top 100 Hot music. His musical career can be traced back to 2009 in Empire Mates Entertainment E.M.E records owned by “Banky W” where he recorded his debut album “Superstar” in 2011, which had the Hit track “Holla at Your Boy” which apparently shot him to the limelight. Wizkid won the award for Best Music Video at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021 as a lead artist on Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl.” By February 2021, Wizkid was the most-streamed Nigerian artist of all time on Spotify, with over 3.4 billion streams across all credits.
Wizkid‘s contributions to the Nigerian music industry have earned him several achievements, including the Grammy Award for Best Music Video as a lead artist on Beyoncé’s ‘Brown Skin Girl’, his first ever Grammy Award. He is the most awarded African artist at the BET Awards (3), Soul Train Awards (3), Billboard Awards (3), iHeartRadio Music Awards (2) and MOBO Awards (4). He is also a recipient of an ASCAP plaque for his songwriting contributions to Drake’s ‘One Dance’ which also earned two Guinness World Records, for being the first song to reach a billion streams on Spotify, and at the time being the most streamed song on Spotify. Wizkid was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2019. He is also the most awarded artiste in The Headies award history, He was nominated in the Best Global Music Album and the Best Global Music Performance categories in the 64th Annual Grammy Awards for Made in Lagos Deluxe Edition and Essence respectively. In November 2021, Apple Music Awards announced him as the winner of Artist of the Year (Africa).
3. Don Jazzy
In the music scene, Collins Michael Ajereh, known as Don Jazzy, is the third richest Nigerian Musician in 2021. Don Jazzy is an indigene of Umuahia in Abia State born 26th of November, 1982.
Don Jazzy’s net worth is estimated to be over $18 million. Don Jazzy is not only a musician, but also a music producer and an entrepreneur. This rich music star is the CEO of the Marvins Record Label.
Don Jazzy is known to have an eye for talents. In 2019, he signed Rema and later went on in 2020 to sign Arya Starr into Mavins Record Label. In 2021, he announced a new artist, Magixx
Don Jazzy’s musical career started with his collaborations with D’banj, where the duo made different hit tracks as Mo’hits. This was before they parted ways about a decade ago. It was after the separation that Don Jazzy created the Mavins Records Label.
Aside from his music career, he also has profitable contracts with companies like MTN and Loya milk. Also, among Don Jazzy’s most prominent and recent deals is his endorsement deal with V-Bank.
V Bank, Nigeria’s leading digital bank, announced the extension of its deal with Don Jazzy in December 2020.
4. Burna Boy
Burna Boy is the fourth on the top 5 richest musicians in Nigeria. Born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, on July 2,1991, his net worth is at $17 million. Relocating to Lagos was the best move for Burna Boy as it further helped his career. He started gaining recognition in the music industry in 2012 when he released his hit single ‘Like to Party’ from his debut album L.I.F.E. Burna Boy sold Up to 40,000 copies of L.I.F.E. on the first day of its release and sold L.I.F.E marketing rights to Uba Pacific for 10 million Naira. However, he left Aristokrat records in 2014, and in 2015 he established his record label named Spaceship Entertainment. He debuted his second album ‘On a Spaceship’ on the 25th of November 2015. Burna Boy’s music career has been filled with success stories as he has been making waves both nationally and internationally.
In 2020, Burna Boy released his most recent music album, Twice as Tall, making waves nationally and internationally. The album earned him a 2021 Grammy Award nomination for the Best Global Music Album, making him the first Nigerian with back-to-back nominations at the Grammys as his previous album ‘Africa giant’ had been nominated in the same category in 2019.
In 2021, Twice as Tall won the ‘Best world music album at the 63rd annual Grammy awards. Currently, he is a brand ambassador to Globacom, Mortell Cognac, Nigerian Breweries Plc.
5. 2Baba
2Baba is one of the most influential Nigerian artists. Born Innocent Ujah Idibia on 18 September 1975, he was formerly part of a musical group called “Plantashun Boiz” before he signed to the Kennis Music Record Label. His Net Worth is at $16 million.
Indeed, the ‘African Queen’ brought him to limelight in the year 2004. Since the debut of that song, Tuface has remained top of his game as he has made major hits back to back.
He has won different awards like the MTV Music Awards, Headies and BET Awards. Even though 2face likes living a private life, it’s not hard to tell that he possesses luxurious cars and houses.
He owns two houses in Lagos, one apartment in the US, and relaxation lounges in Ikeja, FESTAC and Lagos Island.
2Baba, in August 2016, became the first African ambassador of Italian alcoholic liqueur Campari. In 2005, he was named as an ambassador of Guinness beer. He is also the brand ambassador for National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. In 2010, 2Baba signed an endorsement deal with Airtel Nigeria. When his contract with Airtel expired, he signed a new endorsement deal with Globacom telecommunication in May 2019. 2Baba was made the brand ambassador of Pazino Homes and Gardens, a real estate firm, in July 2019. Tuface alongside Wizkid was chosen as the face of Hennessy artistry season in 2014. And in 2019, 2Baba became the first and official brand ambassador for Oraimo.
Honorable mention:
6. D’Banj
Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo best known by his stage name, D’Banj is worth $13.5 million. He is signed to major endorsements deals like, Heritage Bank worth millions of naira, he is Nigerian brand ambassador of Ciroc drink, brand ambassador of Beats By Dre and also a brand ambassador of popular gadgets and phone accessories company SLOT.
He’s first endorsement was with energy drink Power Fist and was formally endorsed by Globacom Nigeria, a deal worth $442, 000, he has a cream platform called Brainchild Cream worth $100,000, he charges about 7 – 8 million per show and makes a lump sum money from his tours and concerts. He’s also an entrepreneur and has other investments that bring him millions.
The Koko Master as he usually calls himself, owns several luxury assets and has great love for exotic cars, added to his garage is the Aston Martin Vantage worth $200, 000 (over 76 million naira) and surprisingly he got two for himself that’s over 152 million naira. He also has a Rolls-Royce Wraith worth 304 million naira, a Bentley worth 114 million naira, a Rolls-Royce Ghost worth 146 million naira, a Mercedes Benz SL500 worth 47 million naira, and a Ferrari F30 worth 104 million, a Porsche 911 worth 64 million naira and his latest addition is a customized Rolls Royce Wraith worth 100 million naira. He also has two Toyota Land Cruiser Prado another Mercedes Benz C Class and a Harley Davidson bike worth 3.5 million naira. He owns a luxurious house in Lekki, Lagos Nigeria and reportedly has another one in the United States of America.
D’banj has being into music right from his university days, he started by playing the harmonica when he was small and was shot into prominence when he released Tongolo in 2004, a song he collaborated with Don Jazzy. Afterwards he co-founded Mo’Hits record with Don Jazzy and they released couple of hit songs and album under the record.
7. Olamide Baddo
Olamide Adedeji also known as Olamide Baddo or Baddosneh is worth $12 million. He’s the first Nigerian artiste to sign a multi million naira deal with Ciroc in 2013, he also has an endorsement deal with one of the telecom operators in Nigeria, Etisalat worth millions of naira. He’s endorsed to Guiness Stout, Monster Energy Drink, Goldberg Lager, Sterling Bank, Peak Milk and a also brand ambassador of Itel phones his most recent multi million naira endorsement deal. Olamide charges about 5 – 8 million to perform in a show and makes lump sums from his yearly tours and concerts as his fans always turn up massively to his shows and concerts.
Moving on to luxury, Olamide is not left out, he has fleet of extravagant cars like the Mercedes Benz G – Class worth 23 million naira, a Range Rover Sport worth about 15 million naira, a Range Rover V8 worth 20 million naira, a Royce Rolls Phantom worth over 70 million naira and the newest addition to his garage is the Lamborghini Aventador worth over 218 million naira. Prior to these, he bought a Toyota Venza worth 6 million naira for his producer then.
When it comes to landed properties, Olamide has acquired luxurious properties to himself. His house in Lekki is worth 70 million naira, he has 2 houses in Bariga, one said to be worth 25 million naira and the other worth 20 million naira.
Olamde is a successful Nigerian rapper and mostly raps in his native tongue, Yoruba. He became popular after he released his hit single Eni Duro in 2011 which was followed up by the release of his debut album Rapsodi. He’s not just a successful rapper but is unique and has carved a niche for himself in the music hip hop industry.
Olamide is one of the most consistent and hardworking artistes in Nigeria, over the last decade he has dropped hit songs back to back, infact there’s no year Olamide has not had at least one hit song and most times his hit songs are accompanied with a unique dance style making him a very creative artiste in Nigeria. He has twelve studio albums, his latest album is UY Scuti, released on June 18, 2021. He also owns a record label called YBNL with signed talented artists like Fireboy, DJ Enimoney etc.
Olamide has bagged several awards to himself; in 2013, he won Best Indigenous Artiste and Best Collabo with hit song Ghost Mode where he was featured by Phyno (Nigeria Entertainment Awards), he also won Album of the Year and Best Rap Album with his album YBNL in 2013 and also Best Street Hip-Hop Artiste (The Headies). In 2014 he also won Album of the Year and Best Rap Album (The Headies), in 2016 he won Album of the Year for his album Eyan Mayweather and also won Rap Act of the Year (Nigerian Entertainment Awards (NEAs) and many more.
8. Phyno
Chibuzo Nelson Azubike best known by his stage name Phyno is a singer, songwriter and record producer. He’s worth $11 million and is the number 8th on forbes list of richest musicians in Nigeria. He’s a brand ambassador of top brands like the Monster Energy Drink, signed endorsement deal with Glo, Airtel and Nairabet worth millions of naira. He also has an endorsement deal with Life Lager Beer, Cadbury Nigeria PLC and Tom Tom.
He’s the owner of multi million naira properties and cars which include a Toyota Avalon worth 13 million naira, a Range Rover Sport worth over 90 million naira, a Bentley Continental GT worth 73 million naira, a Rolls Royce Phantom worth 170 million naira and a Polaris Slingshot worth 7 million naira. He owns a 3 bedroom flat duplex in Lekki, Lagos Nigeria worth 170 million naira and another house in Enugu Nigeria, his home town worth 70 million naira.
Phyno Fyno as he usually calls himself is one of the best and most talented rappers in Nigeria. He raps fluently in his native language, Igbo as well as in English. He started as a record producer in 2003 but shot into limelight with his hit song Ghost Mode where he featured his fellow rapper Olamide. The song was received well across Nigeria especially the south east where it was like a national anthem.
In 2013, Phyno won ‘Man of the Year’ and ‘Best Collabo’ for his hit song Ghost Mode which he featured Olamide (The Headies), he also won ‘Best Collabo’ for his song Ghost Mode (Nigeria Entertainment Awards). In 2014, he won the ‘Rap Artiste of the Year’ (City People Entertainment Awards) and ‘Best Rap Single’ for his hit song Parcel (The Headies).
9. Timaya
Enitimi Alfred Odom popularly known by his stage name Timaya is worth $10.5 million. He has endorsement with top brands like Glo, Mtn and Henessey worth millions of naira. Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa, as he fondly calls himself charges about 2 – 4 million naira for show performance and his garage shows he’s a great lover of exotic cars as well. His fleet of exotic cars includes a Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, a Bentley Continental GT, a Range Rover Sport 2013, Range Rover Sport 2016, a Mercedes-Benz GLE, a Lexus SUV GX269, a Porsche 911 carrera, a Mercedes-Benz Maybach S650 2018, and the latest addition to this list is a Rolls-Royce Cullinan 2019 worth 123 million niara.
Timaya owns one of the most luxurious celebrity mansions in the country, his mansion which is located in Lekki Lagos Nigeria is worth a whooping 500 million naira. He owns another house in Portharcourt, his hometown which is worth 100 million naira.
Timaya owns ‘Dem Mama records’, a record label and came into prominence after releasing his hit single Dem Mama which was followed up by his debut album True Story. He’s often regarded as the Dance Hall King and is unique in his own style of music.
Timaya has won many awards like the Album of the Year, for his hit album True Story which he won in 2008 (Nigeria Music Awards). Also in 2008, he won ‘Best Reggae/Dancehall Album’, for his hit album True Story (The Headies), in 2009, he won Best Reggae/Dancehall Album, for his hit album Gift and Grace and ‘Best Collaboration’, for his hit song Good or Bad (with J. Martins and P-Square) (The Headies). 2010, he won Best Collaboration, for his song Kokoroko (with Kefee) (The Headies), he also won the ‘Dancehall Act of the Year’ in 2017 (AFRIMMA).
10. Psquare
Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye best known by their stage name P Square cannot be left out of this list. They’re worth about $10 million individually. Even though they are no longer together as a pair, their success and contribution to the African music can never be forgotten.
The duo came together and formed their music group called P Square. They started making music and became a household name when they released their hit song Senorita.
The duo have a joint house in banana island called Square Ville worth of 200 million naira, they also charge about 10 million naira for shows and make money from their tours and concerts. They have endorsements and investments that rakes in millions of naira for them individually, apart from music and owns multi million naira properties and assets to their names. They also have mansions next door to each other in Atlanta USA.
Peter Okoye who now goes by the stage name Mr P as a solo artist has an endorsement deal with sportswear brand Adidas, Olympic Milk, Kia Motors, Merrybet, Glo, in partnership with Mtn and owns a raffle draw company called Zoom Lifestyle worth muti millions of naira.
Peter owns fleet of exotic cars like Range Rover, a Dodge Challenger, a Jeep Wrangler, a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon and he posted a picture of him beside a white Lamborghini Aventador Roadster worth 141 million naira. Prior to these, he also has a Porsche 718 Cayman, Bentley Mulsanne and a BMW X6. He owns one the most expensive properties in Lagos, his Banana Island mansion where he lives with his family, worth 1.5 billion naira.
His brother Paul Okoye who is also known as Rudeboy or Kingrudy has an endorsement deal with Glo, he’s one of the most subscribed Nigerian artiste on Youtube with over 1 million subscribers and makes money from his music videos on Youtube. He also makes good money from music sales as he has dropped several hits as a solo artist.
Paul Okoye owns extravagant cars like BMW X6, Range Rover, 2014 Benz C-Class Coup, Jeep Wrangler and he posted a picture of himself in a Lamborghini Huracan worth 130 million naira. He also owns a mansion in Parkview Estate Ikoyi where he lives with his family.