When it comes to mainstream gay personalities, RuPaul Andre Charles — known to the world as just RuPaul — is a household name. So just how much money does her empire of glam bring in? What is RuPaul's net worth?
Charles' drag persona RuPaul shot to stardom through her music videos in the early 1990s. She's been credited with bringing drag, an exaggerated performative style that challenges gender norms, into mainstream pop culture.
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Ru is best known for producing and hosting the Emmy-award-winning reality competition “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Her 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.
Her flagship television show has 15 successful seasons in its purse, and World of Wonder produces a worldwide tour after each season. She's published books and released several albums throughout her career, raking in revenue along the way. How does it all stack up?
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What is RuPaul’s net worth?
Many sources claim that RuPaul’s net worth is estimated to be around $60 million as of late 2023. Another outlet pegs the drag icon’s net worth significantly higher — $95 million. Neither source explains where their figures come from.
There are some figures, however, that sources do know.
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How much does RuPaul make from ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race?’
Truthfully, RuPaul biggest asset is... her hair. But financially speaking, we know the most about her gains from her eponymous show. Produced in 2009 through Paramount's (PARA) -) Logo Network, whose show "RuPaul's Drag Race" pits drag queens against each other to compete for a ultimate prize — the attention of the host and main judge, RuPaul herself.
The show has aired for 15 seasons and earned a nice pile of awards. RuPaul earned $50,000 for her role in season 1. Due to the show’s popularity, that paycheck grew to $50,000 per episode in 2013. As of 2023, Ru’s now making about $1 million per episode.
Add to that the money Charles makes as a producer of the series and you can see how RuPaul's net worth has achieved such heights.
How much is RuPaul’s real estate empire worth?
RuPaul Charles, who uses both he/she pronouns, owns an extensive property collection with husband, Georges LeBar, an Australian painter. Together since 1994, the pair married in 2017. Now, they share a $13.7 million mansion in the Coldwater Canyon section of Beverly Hills. The theatrical 10,309-square-foot spread, which has its own “Disco Room,” was featured in a cover story and video in “Architectural Digest” magazine.
They also own a two-bedroom condominium 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 back in 1998.
But perhaps most impressive is their 60,000-acre ranch, which spans from Wyoming all the way to the South Dakota border. In 2020, RuPaul told NPR that the couple leased the property’s mineral rights to oil companies, which has stirred up controversy from anti-fracking groups.
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How old is RuPaul? What were his early years like?
Towering (in stilettos) at nearly seven feet in height, it’s hard to believe this larger-than-life personality was once a quiet and sensitive child. RuPaul Charles was born Nov. 17, 1960, in San Diego, California, although his parents, Ernestine “Toni” and Irving Andrew Charles were originally from Louisiana. The first syllable of his name “RuPaul” comes from “roux,” a Creole seasoning.
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Captivated by Hollywood from a young age, whenever his family took road trips to Los Angeles, RuPaul begged them to drive past the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2018, Ru was given his own star.
RuPaul’s parents divorced when he was seven. When he was 15, he and his older sister, Renetta, moved to Atlanta, where he attended the Northside School of Performing Arts, although he ultimately never graduated. Instead, he worked odd jobs, including at the landmark cinema, Plaza Theatre.
In the mid-80s, he became the lead singer of a punk rock band, where he began performing in drag. His drag persona got gigs as a go-go dancer at 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" — her first big break.
In the early 1990s, RuPaul moved to New York City and performed in nightclubs like the East Village’s edgy Pyramid Club, which helped propel his rising star. The club was known for hosting a Who’s Who of prominent cultural figures of the 1980s and 1990s like Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Debbie Harry, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Nirvana.
In 1991, RuPaul was signed by World of Wonder, then a fledgling management team. Together, they would go on to produce all of RuPaul’s television shows — minting millions in the process.
How did RuPaul become famous? Why was she so groundbreaking?
In 1993, RuPaul’s music video “Supermodel (You Better Work)” burst onto the international music scene. The track ultimately sold 500,000 records and ranked on the “Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play” charts. Produced by Tommy Boy Records, the video featured RuPaul outfitted in a variety of feminine looks, applying makeup, and posing at modeling shoots. That kind of content was considered revolutionary for 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 a mainstream endorsement. She became the face of their “Viva Glam” campaign with its inclusive “All ages, all races, all sexes” slogan. RuPaul’s salary wasn't made public, but MAC has stated that it generated a whopping $300 million in sales from the campaign.
Suddenly, RuPaul was everywhere! She appeared in countless TV commercials, on shows like “All My Children,” and in the “Brandy Bunch” movies. In 1996, she landed her own talk show on VH1 called “The RuPaul Show.” She 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 got into more merchandising, joining forces with Colorevolution Cosmetics to launch his 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 herself — it's a skill she teaches throughout the many seasons of "Drag Race". It's difficult to suss out the true net worth of RuPaul, but her status can be summed up in one of her most famous quotes: "She already done had hers!"
