You Are Not Ready for How Much Lil Nas X Made From “Old Town Road”

Lil Nas X is a Grammy-winning, record-breaking artist with a debut single that’s still stuck in our heads four years later, so obviously yeah: He’s rich. So rich that even if he’d never blessed the world with Montero and had just dropped “Old Town Road,” he’d be a millionaire. But how much money does Lil Nas X have exactly? Enough to get him a spot on Forbes’s “30 Under 30” list, a fancy mansion in Los Angeles, and several pairs of Satan Sneakers, so let’s jump into it.

^ Lil Nas X checking his bank deposits, I assume.

How Much Did Lil Nas X Make From “Old Town Road”?

Again, you simply are not ready. And actually, before we get into details, just FYI, Lil Nas literally spent just $50 to make this song: $30 purchasing the beat from producer YoungKio + $20 recording it at Atlanta studio CinCoYo. Keep that in mind as we continue, because it makes his profits look even more amazing.

According to Forbes, Lil Nas X earned an estimated $14 million pretax from the song as of 2020 when it was at its peak of popularity. Obviously, this number has doubtless increased since Forbes’s 2020 “30 Under 30” list dropped, but the point is he went from a $50 dollar investment to $14 million in profits.

Side note: The sample Lil Nas X used for “Old Town Road” was actually from Nine Inch Nails, which means they’ve been getting a big share of “Old Town Road” profits. But he isn’t bothered. “Luckily, Trent Reznor [and Atticus Ross] approved of the sample because if he didn’t, I don’t know where I would be right now,” Lil Nas told Variety. “I don’t know if they have 50 percent, but they get a good [size] share of the royalties, which they 100 percent deserve. I mean, the song wouldn’t be here without them. I was, like, ‘I don’t care if he takes 99 percent of the royalties—just let the song stay out.’ Because I can build off it, you know?”

Here’s the sample and the song side by side via WEhiphop, in case this is brand-new info to you!

And speaking of building off his debut hit, Lil Nas X has obviously released a ton of music since “Old Town Road,” including an entire album called Montero. P.S. One of the most iconic singles off of that album, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” spent over five consecutive weeks atop Billboard's Global 200, so, yeah, he’s probs made even more millions recently.

He Has At Least $2 Million Tied Up in Real Estate

Celebrity Net Worth reports that Lil Nas X owns a $2.4 million home in Sherman Oaks, California, and he actually announced the purchase himself on Twitter:

A Note on His Satan Shoes

’Kay, so for a moment there, Lil Nas X was selling “Satan Shoes” with real drops of blood in them for a cool $1,018 each. (666 pairs were made, ’cause, duh, Satan.)

However, the shoes were technically Nikes and the company didn’t exactly agree to them being made, so they sued and won a bid to halt sales. Womp! But whatever, because...

Lil Nas X’s Total Net Worth Is $7 Million

At least according to Celebrity Net Worth! And if you’re like, “Wait...but didn’t he earn $14 million from ‘Old Town Road’ alone?” The answer is yes! But taxes take out a huge chunk of that income, as do expenses, overhead, and fancy purchases like that aforementioned $2.4 million home. Oh, and before we go, heads-up that Lil Nas X also earns undisclosed income from endorsements (like his *multiple* Super Bowl ads, for starters). Most recently he was spotted in a UE Fits custom earbuds commercial—one of his first appearances since December:

Okay, obviously can’t end this article without this, so bye:

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