Future's Net Worth, Career, Early Life

Future is one of the biggest rap artists of his generation, having sold more than 95 million units total.

He's a big reason that the landscape of hip hop music shifted from New York to Atlanta. His music launched him into superstardom, and he has built a tremendous net worth that rivals people of any industry.

There are several lessons that you can take from Future's success, whether you're a fan of his music or hip hop music in general.

Here are some of the things that you should know about Future, an American rap superstar.

Future – American Rap Superstar

American rapper Future, born Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, is a rapper, record producer, and singer/songwriter from Atlanta.

He ushered in a different style of hip hop that has remained consistent for the past decade or so. Future is known as much for his music as he is for his lifestyle, as his relationships with singer Ciara and others have also gained notoriety.

If you love music and business, Future is a worthy case study of someone who worked their way to the top and was able to make something of himself to the point that his wealth is likely to survive generations.

Before anything, you need to take a look at his net worth and how it came to be.

What Is Future's Net Worth?

Future has a net worth of $50 million today. This is a healthy amount of money regardless of what industry you're in.

The majority of Future's net worth comes from his album sale royalties, streams, and money from shows, tours, and merchandise. At this point in his career, he makes about $1 million for each concert.

He does anywhere between 30 to 100 shows per year, which makes it easy to see how his net worth has grown so much over the years. When you take a full account of how his music has earned so much revenue over the years, he deserves credit for becoming one of the biggest selling music artists of his generation.

A Popular Rapper With a Tenacious Work Ethic

A big reason that his work in music has taken off by leaps and bounds is the fact that he has maintained an insane work ethic that has lasted over time. It's been reported that Future has gone to the studio every single day for the past 5 years of his life.

He lit up the mixtape circuit with many of the works he has put out throughout the years. There have been documentaries produced that followed Future around in the studio, showing how he goes through his process. When you look through these scenes, he's almost always in the studio.

Future attributes his work ethic to wanting something different for his life, and losing a lot of people in his life to a life of crime. It's that work ethic that allowed Future to find his sound and figure out who he wanted to be as an artist.

From there, he went on a campaign that would allow him to rise to the top of the music business, which would allow him to get a stronghold in the industry. It's the same work ethic that allowed him to grow his net worth to $50 million and beyond.

His Most Notable Works

If you're going to get an understanding of Future's success, you can look no further than his albums and mixtapes, which took the world by storm. His musical resume is prolific, and he's released volumes of albums and music that will stand the test of time.

The music evolved over the years, as his sound reflected the things that he was going through in his life. In total, he has released 9 full-length studio albums, 2 EPs, and more than 100 singles.

Early Mixtape Releases

Future first hit the mixtape scene with "1000", a project that he released in May of 2010. It's a mixtape that featured 19 tracks and had features from a number of artists.

The mixtape was hosted by DJ Scream, and featured songs like "Life of a G" and "Notice Me".

From there, he released the mixtape "Kno Mercy", later in 2010, which was hosted by DJ Bobby Black. He broke through with his signature sound and acclaim in 2011 when he released the "Dirty Sprite" mixtape.

Dirty Sprite was hosted by DJ Scream, DJ X-Rated, and his longtime DJ, DJ Eco. This mixtape came about when Future was starting to find himself as an artist, and featured tracks like "Watch This" featuring Rocko, "Upper Echelon", and "100 Racks".

From there, he went on a mixtape run, releasing projects virtually every month for the rest of 2011. Some of these mixtapes include "Free Bricks", Streetz Calling", and "True Story".

These releases took him to another stratosphere and set him up for the albums that would also take the hip hop world by storm.

Major Album Releases

In 2012, Future released "Pluto", his first major album release. He sold more than 40,000 copies in the first week, and the album over time would go on to reach platinum accolades for selling more than 1 million copies in the United States.

He released several singles from this album, including "Tony Montana", "Magic (Remix)", and "Go Harder". His single, "Same Damn Time" caught fire, to the point that it was remixed by Ludacris and Diddy, who were much bigger artists at the time.

His next album, "Honest", was released in 2014 and earned him a gold plaque for 500,000 albums sold in the United States. This album was noted for the growth that he made as an artist, in addition to the fact that he now had more star-studded features.

Some of the guest appearances Future received on this album included Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Andre 3000. This album also had several singles that were released, including "Honest", "I Won", and "Move That Dope".

Future really broke through in terms of critical acclaim with his DS 2 album, which was a mainstream-friendly abbreviation of the phrase "dirty sprite". The singles "F*ck Up Some Commas", "Where Ya At", and "Stick Talk" got heavy play on radio stations all over and featured creative visuals to go with the music.

Beginnings in Atlanta

To understand where Future has ended up, you have to understand where he came from.

He's an Atlanta native, born and raised, and attended Columbia High School in the Decatur area. He was able to get a head start in the music industry thanks to having family members with connections.

His cousin, Rico Wade, is a founding member of Atlanta's legendary Dungeon Family collective. The Dungeon Family is responsible for launching the careers of fellow hip hop and R&B superstars like Outkast, The Goodie Mob, Sleepy Brown, and Organized Noise.

These artists are known as the forefathers of the Atlanta movement and have been responsible for the success of artists and groups like TLC and En Vogue.

In his early career, Future went by his real-life nickname, Meathead. However, he was given the name "Future" by the Dungeon Family, because they saw him as the future.

Future, like many rappers of his era, first learned how to make money in the streets, prior to becoming legitimate artists and superstars. Drug selling and drug use are constant themes in his music, including the downside that comes with that lifestyle, including depression and self-loathing.

A Unique Style

Perhaps the biggest contribution that Future has made to music is the fact that his sound has completely shifted the landscape of the genre. While rap music based out of New York and other areas focuses heavily on lyrical content and punchlines, Future's music is most notable because of its melodies and musical quality.

He's credited as the forefather of the "mumble rap" sub-genre, and a slew of other artists followed suit, focusing more on singing rapping, and melodies, rather than hard-hitting lyrics and metaphors.

He's done music with everyone from Kanye West and The Weekend to Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce. He's even written melodies for singers and artists in other genres outside of hip hop.

His recording process involves feeling the music first and filling in lyrics later, which is a big reason that it is so melody-focused. His albums often allude to dirty sprite, which is a nickname for the drug involving codeine and promethazine cough syrup, mixed with soda and other types of sweeteners to mask the taste of the medication.

Future Family and Relationships

Future's most notable relationship was with singer-songwriter Ciara. The two share a son together. Their relationship had the most legs out of any other that he has had, as they were engaged to be married for some time.

However, the relationship fizzled out and they ended the engagement in 2014. Ciara has since gone on to marry NFL quarterback Russel Wilson, and they have full-time custody of the child.

He has multiple children, each by a different mother. His paternity has been a major subject of gossip column fodder and is one of the main reasons outside of his music that his name remains in the headlines.

Expanding the Sound of His Music

As he finds mainstream music success, Future continues to push the limits of his sound and challenge himself as an artist. This is why he continuously finds placements on movie soundtracks, including the soundtrack to the movie The Black Panther, which Future executive produced.

He released a double album, Future/Hendrixx, which received widespread acclaim for its versatility and willingness to push the boundaries of his music. The second half of the album saw a more vulnerable Future, as it is essentially an R&B album and not a rap album.

This song features a number of love songs and songs that deal with regret, failed relationships, living the high life, and a number of other subjects. The Future side of the album is filled with the high-octane, high-energy raps that have become a part of his trademark sound.

This album pushed Future to another level in the mainstream, as he was featured on talk shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live and other late-night shows. Since it's a double album, he receives twice the spins on streaming services. This earns a substantial boost in royalties, which goes on to contribute to his net worth.

He's also been featured on plenty of compilation albums with artists like DJ Khaled, Beyonce, and Jay Z. These high-profile placements have landed Future in a who's who among artists in all genres. Because his music has a big stadium feel, he's also been able to perform in all sorts of settings that bring in large crowds.

Getting a cut of the ticket sales to these shows is yet another reason why his net worth continues to match the music output. This, along with writing, producing, and executive producing for other artists, creates streams of income that allow Future to remain financially successful even if he decides to never record another song or album.

Future the Rapper

As you can tell, Future has a body of work that rivals most music artists. Since music is his main source of wealth, it's no surprise that these album sales have led to his more than $50 million in net worth.

Take these facts as a lesson in hard work in entrepreneurship, since Future is a worthy case study for both.

Our net worths are for entertainment purposes only. We do our best to provide accurate figures, but we cannot guarantee their accuracy. The figures are based on public information and estimates, and may not reflect the true value of assets or liabilities.