Rapper-turned-celebrity podcaster Joe Budden has been teasing a potential return to Hip-Hop after six years of being in retirement. Since officially retiring from the game, Budden has turned down numerous requests to appear on other artists’ tracks — but a cryptic tweet from Benny the Butcher promised to change all of that.

It’s not clear if this means he’s coming out of retirement. Joe Budden, though, has changed a lot since his days as a rapper. And, in a statement to REVOLT, he said that it was for the best.

“When they say you changed, they be saying it like it’s an insult,” he said to the outlet. “Yes, thank the Lord up above. If ya’ll was really in tune with the dude that was talking that s–t, you should’ve been praying for change. It was nuts.”

Budden has proven to be both a Hip-Hop elder statesman and an accomplished media producer in his own right. Whatever other missteps he may or may not commit, Budden has earned his stripes — and our respect.

Let’s take a look at Joe Budden by the numbers — his bio, his net worth and more.

Editorial note: The net worth listed in this piece is a speculative estimate drawn from various online sources.

What’s Joe Budden's Net Worth?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Joe Budden has a net worth of $6 million.

Most of that net worth comes from the success of his various musical endeavors.

Though “Focus” peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot R&B Charts, “Pump It Up” proved to be a smash. It peaked at No. 10 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and landed Budden a Grammy nomination and placements in “2 Fast 2 Furious,” “Def Jam Vendetta” and “Madden NFL 2004.”

Budden’s self-titled debut album sold more than 420,000 copies upon its release.

Who Is Joe Budden?

Joseph Anthony Budden II was born in Spanish Harlem, NY, in 1980, to Joseph Budden Jr. and Fay Southerland. He and his mother moved to Jersey City when Budden was 13-years-old, and his father was absent for most of his life.

After getting into some trouble as a teenager, Budden was eventually sent to a reform school in North Carolina, where he began honing his rap skills. Eventually, he would find his initial fame and fortune as a solo artist with his breakthrough hit, “Pump It Up.”

Later, he would become known as one-fourth of the Hip-Hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, which also featured Royce Da 5’9, Crooked I, and Joell Ortiz.

Eventually, he joined the cast of “Love & Hip Hop” (later, “Love & Hip Hop: New York”).

Joe Budden’s Podcasting Career

Joe Budden found his greatest success in podcasting. After officially retiring from the rap music game in 2018, he began a much-publicized run as the co-host of Complex’s “Everyday Struggle” podcast.

Today, he hosts “The Joe Budden Podcast,” which is released twice a week on his personal Patreon page (with a simulcast on YouTube) and co-hosts the “State of the Culture” podcast for REVOLT.

His career in podcasting is so successful, in fact, that The New York Times referred to him as “The Howard Stern of Hip-Hop.“

Is Joe Budden Dating?

Joe Budden’s personal life has been the subject of much speculation in the past. In his dating life, he’s been linked to Tahiry Jose, Kaylin Garcia, and Esther Baxter.

 

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Joe Budden has two children. His first child, Joseph Budden III, goes by the nickname “Trey” and was born on May 11, 2001. His most recent child, Lexington, was born in December 2017 to Budden’s “Love & Hip Hop” co-star Cyn Santana. Though Budden proposed to Santana on an episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, the couple is no longer together now.