Back in the year 2007, the internet was rocked when an intimate recording of Kim Kardashian and Ray J was released online and it seemed like virtually every adult watched it. Since that remarkable pop culture moment, Kim Kardashian has gone on to be one of the most talked-about “reality” show personalities in the world. On top of that, she built a business empire which has made her incredibly wealthy.
Unlike Kim Kardashian who is famous for a lot of reasons these days, in reality, a lot of people still know Ray J best as the guy who was in that tape. However, anyone who has followed his life and career closer will know that is a shame as the guy has kept very busy and accomplished an awful lot over the years.
While there is no doubt that he has a lot less money than Kim does, Ray J has done made a lot of money and done a lot of things since his tape with Kardashian was released. In fact, according to celebritynetworth.com Ray J has a $14 million fortune which is a figure that the vast majority of people would love to have. With that in mind, it begs an obvious question, how did Ray J amass his $14 million net worth?
Career Beginnings
Given the name William Ray Norwood Jr. at birth, it often seems like Ray J was born to become a music star and all-around entertainer. After all, he is the first cousin of one of the best rappers of all-time, Snoop Dogg, and the imminently talented singer Brandy Norwood is his sister. With that in mind, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone when Ray J signed with Elektra Records in1995.
After first garnering mainstream attention when his debut album “Everything You Want” was released in 1997, his lead single “Let It Go” appeared on the film Set It Off’s soundtrack. After that, Ray J went on to record a song for the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack and collaborated on a cover of “Another Day in Paradise” with his sister Brandy.
Continuing to work in the music industry, in 2001 and 2005 Ray J released his second and third albums, “This Ain’t a Game” and “Raydiation” respectively. Unfortunately for him, however, neither of those records was a smash hit, even though the lead singles from both albums managed to chart at the very least.
On the bright side, during the ‘90s and early-2000s, Ray J got another career off the ground when he began to act in a series of movies and TV shows. An accomplished sitcom actor, from 1993 until 2006 Ray J showed up in a slew of popular comedy series including The Sinbad Show, Moesha, and One on One.
Tabloid And Internet Sensation
Following in the footsteps of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee or Paris Hilton and Rick Salomon, in 2007 Kim Kardashian and Ray found themselves in the spotlight after the world saw their intimate tape. Already broken up by the time their tape was released to the public, Kardashian and Ray J suddenly found themselves in the crosshairs of the paparazzi and tabloid writers.
On top of all the attention that Ray J got for appearing in a private recording with Kim, during the late 2000s the tabloids routinely wrote articles about every aspect of his love life. During the 2000s, Ray J was linked to a long list of famous women including Whitney Houston, Tila Tequila, Lil’ Kim, and Pamela Anderson, lots of people were fascinated by his personal life. In fact, people have continued to follow the ups and downs of Ray J's marriage in recent years.
Making Money At Every Turn
Since the year 2007, he has made the most of the attention he received from the private tape he made with Kim Kardashian even though Ray J has said he was horrified that it was leaked. For example, Ray J’s last album to date, “All I Feel”, came out the year after the tape did and his new music embraced the world’s impression of him at that time. Previously perceived to be a pretty family-friendly artist, Ray’s J’s 2008 album was a lot more explicit than the music he’d released up until then.
Seemingly aware that music no longer was his best route to make a large amount of money, Ray J began to focus more on appearing in movies and TV shows during the 2010s. Still a semi-successful actor, Ray J starred in a sitcom called The Rickey Smiley Show and he showed up in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Then, in 2009 his first “reality” show, For the Love of Ray J, debuted and he hasn’t looked back ever since. After all, he went on to star in Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business, and today he is best known as part of Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood’s main cast.
A hard worker, Ray J founded Raytroniks Inc., a consumer electronics company that paid stars like Snoop Dogg, Justin Beiber, Stephen Curry, and Brandy for product placement deals. From there, Ray J went on to form a business partnership that created Raycon Global Inc., a company that aimed to help people lead more efficient lives through the sale of electronics. Hopefully, these businesses go on to make Ray J a lot of money since so many celebrity businesses fail.