Born Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson in Los Angeles, CA, Tyga seemed destined for greatness at an early age.
Although he initially claimed to have been born & raised in Compton and, later, Gardena, TMZ eventually revealed that the rapper — whose name is an acronym for “Thank You God, Always” — was actually born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, and his parents were relatively well off.
Still, it’s not where you come from, but where you’re going. And where Tyga went was straight to the top. He first made his mark in the music industry in 2009, when his music was licensed to the video games “Need for Speed: Undercover” and “Madden NFL 2009.” He even did some work with his cousin, Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes.
But from his early days as part of the Young Money collective to his current business ventures that include some surprising forms of income, Tyga has always stayed booked and busy. And while Hip-Hop aficionados may be divided on the quality of his music, they can’t deny that his $5 million estimated net worth, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Let’s take a look.
Editorial note: The net worth listed in this piece is a speculative estimate drawn from a variety of online sources.
Live Performances
Forbes reported that Tyga’s big money in the music business is not in the music, itself, but in the live performances. In 2014, the outlet reported that Tyga pulled in more than $50,000 per performance — more money, at the time than any other act on the outlet’s “cash princes” list other than J. Cole and A$AP Rocky (To put this in perspective: at the time, Nicki Minaj was only worth $29 million, while Drake was only worth $10 million).
“I think I’ll always be recording, I love making music and the things I can do with music, I’m a creative,” he said to the outlet. “I’d like to be way more set in the business world. I like doing business, and I always like to challenge myself.”
Clothing & Watches
According to The Mirror, Tyga had his own clothing, sneaker, and watch line at the height of his popularity. In 2013, he teamed up with Reebok to launch the TRAWW line, to the tune of $1.5 million. He also had his own clothing line, Last Kings, and a line of watches called Gold Pharoah.
Adult Entertainment
In December 2020, Tyga announced that he’d gotten into the burgeoning adult entertainment business, which exploded with OnlyFans’ popularity during the pandemic. HotNewHipHop reported that after Tyga banked more than $7 million for some inappropriate photos, he decided to cash in on the adult entertainment craze by launching Too Raww, a lifestyle, entertainment and management company for men and women looking to make some coins in the industry. He would know a thing or two about that — at one point, he was one of the platform’s top-earning celebrities. In August 2021, he deleted his OnlyFans account to launch Myystar, its competitor, as AfroTech previously reported.
Chicken Franchise
In July 2020, AllHipHop reported that Tyga launched a new chicken franchise called Tyga Bites. But rather than own a series of restaurants, Tyga got creative with his idea. He offered the franchise to bosses at 500 existing U.S. eateries to teach staff members his secret recipe and help them survive during the coronavirus pandemic. And since no chicken meal is complete without the potatoes, Tyga also offered up Tyga Tots — his own take on “tater tots” — chocolate chip cookies and soft drinks.
