Vanilla Ice Net Worth: Music Career & Lifestyle

Robert Matthew Van Winkle, aka Vanilla Ice, has a net worth of a whopping $12 million.

Vanilla Ice is an American rapper, TV host, and actor.

He basically ruled the hip hop scene back in the 90s with chart-topping songs and albums.

To give you the idea, the reformatted version of his album Hooked was released under the title To the Extreme in 1990, which became the fastest-selling hip-hop album of all time.

The album contained Ice’s most famous songs Ice Ice Baby and also the cover of Play That Funky Music.

The smash-hit song ‘Ice Ice Baby’ became the first hip-hop track to top the Billboard. Ice Ice Baby is also considered the song that helped to diversify hip hop by introducing it to a mainstream audience.

Quick Facts

Vanilla Ice Net Worth & Income

Vanilla Ice’s Net Worth

The rapper who brought hip hop music to the mainstream Vanilla Ice’s net worth is a whopping $12 million as of December 2023.

Music being the main source of income to the rapper, he still earns a decent amount from his TV hosting and acting gigs.

In recent years Ice earns around $68,000 a month and approximately $800,000 a year.

Let’s just say half of it comes from his music royalties. The famous song Ice Ice Baby still makes around $400,000 in music royalties each year, three-decade after the song was released. Incredible!

Despite the fact that Ice began his musical journey in the mid-80s, he ultimately gained much-needed mainstream success in the 90s.

In 1990 Ice released his major-label debut ‘To The Extreme’, which sold approximately 15 million copies worldwide.

The album earned the rapper around $16.4 million.

The super hit song Ice Ice Baby was based on the bassline of the song by British rock band Queen and singer David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.”

However, they did not receive songwriting credit or royalties until after the song had become a hit.

Nonetheless, Ice purchased the publishing rights to the song ‘Under Pressure’ in 1990 from its original singers for a whopping $4 million.

Vanilla Ice’s Income

Despite the fact that the rapper is still on the music scene coming up with collaboration songs, he has not been as popular as he was back in the 90s.

Nonetheless, he still does shows and makes appearances in events here and there.

He charges a decent amount for features and stage performances.

Reportedly, Vanilla charges $25,000 from music events.

Aside from that, Ice has made appearances in several films and TV shows, ultimately contributing to his income.

Back in 1991, Vanilla Ice starred in the musical comedy film “Cool As Ice“, for which he managed to bag a cool $1 million.

Furthermore, Ice also appeared in several TV commercials and had endorsement deals during his peak. His brand deals also brought money to his bank account.

Its been more than three decades that the rapper had a chart-topping song which has been pretty beneficial for him to this day.

His Spotify profile has over 3 million monthly listeners bagging him a good chunk of money from the platform.

Divorce Settlement

Vanilla Ice ended his marriage with Laura in November 2018 after 21 years.

After receiving Ice’s current financial information judge ordered him to pay $10,000 per month and $121,000 in previous support payments.

The information also revealed that Ice has more than $3 million worth of liquid assets, including a boat, eight cars, and 15 properties.

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Vanilla Ice’s Net Worth in Different Currencies

Let’s have a look at Vanilla Ice’s net worth in some of the major currencies in the world, including the infamous Crypto Bitcoin

Vanilla Ice | Houses & Cars

Houses

As mentioned before, Ice still has at least 15 properties. He sold his Melbourne Beach four beds two bath house for $4.8 million in 2018.

Similarly, Ice has another Florida estate which he purchased for $715,000. He later transferred the 4,165 square feet house to his ex-wife Laura’s name as a divorce settlement.

Cars

Vanilla Ice is a car guy and owns a fleet of cars.

Seems like the rapper has a thing for vintage Cadillac as he owns at least four of them.

Similarly, some other cars in his collection include Lamborghini, Porsche, Lincoln Mark LT truck, Rolls Royce Phantom, and GMC Syclone.

Vanilla Ice | Lifestyle

Rapper Vanilla Ice leads an affluent lifestyle without having to worry about money ever again. The man has a massive fortune of $12 million.

He lives in one of many mansions drives the fanciest cars America has ever seen.

Similarly, he loves to carry himself in some of the top-tier brands. He is a big sneakerhead and always wears pimped-out pairs.

Some of his favorite sneakers include Nike Air Force and Nike Air Max.

As for his relationships, Vanilla Ice dated queen of pop Madonna for eight months or so from 1991 to 1992.

Though the relationship was short-lived, it still is an impressive dating portfolio, don’t you think?

Similarly, in 1997 Vanilla married Laura Giaritta and have two daughters, KeeLee Breeze and Dusti Rain.

We know that the 70s and 80s was all rock n roll. It was all drugs, sex, and rock and roll at the time. This not only influenced rock heads and hippies but also hip-hop artists who grew up listening to rock songs.

And the result of it was not that good. During the peak, Ice was addicted to heroin.

He even attempted suicide on July 4, 1994, due to an intravenous drug overdose. Lucky for Ice his friends revived him.

Moreover, for those who don’t know the music of Vanilla Ice, you probably know him from motocross and jet skiing tournaments.

It was around 1995 Vanilla Ice took a much-needed break from music and went on to practice jet skiing and motocross in Florida.

And wouldn’t you know he became good? In fact, he was ranked the world’s No. 6 on sit-down Jet Ski by the summer of 1995.

Vanilla Ice | Charity

Rapper Vanilla Ice has soft corners for the needy and unfortunate.

It’s not like he was born with a silver spoon himself, so he knows how it feels not to have enough.

For this reason, he supports several charity organizations.

In October of 2020, he went on a game show named “Wheel of Fortune” and managed to win $30,000. He donated the prize money to nonprofit called Little Smiles.

He did the same on another occasion and on a different show named “Family Feud”.

Little Smiles used the donated money to buy toys for kids under treatment.

Likewise, Ice also supports other organizations such as Palms West Children’s Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

Vanilla Ice | Music, TV Shows, Endorsements & Investments

Music

Though Ice has released numerous records and albums, he is particularly famous for the hit 90s song Ice Ice Baby.

His debut album To the Extreme is the fastest-selling album in hip hop history.

It topped the charts for an astonishing 16 weeks.

Similarly, after that, Ice released five more studio albums: Hard to Swallow, Bi-Polar, Platinum Underground and Wisdom, Tenacity and Focus (W.T.F).

He released Vanilla Ice is Back, a cover songs album, in 2008.

TV Shows

Ice has appeared in several TV shows and films throughout his career.

Similarly, he has also contributed to the soundtracks of tons of movies, including “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze”.

Moreover, Ice appeared in the reality show The Surreal Life and his own DIY Network show, The Vanilla Ice Project.

The latter show follows Ice as he flips houses around Florida.

Investment & Endorsements

Vanilla Ice was the most popular face during his peak in the early 90s, and it’s obvious he caught the eyes of some brands.

He has endorsed a handful of brands and also appeared in commercials.

In 2014 Ice appeared in the commercial for Kraft macaroni and cheese.

Similarly, he was sponsored by Japanese automotive company Kawasaki in 1995 after being ranked the world’s sixth in jet skiing.

The figure has not been revealed, but given his popularity at the time, he must have made fortune from the deal.

Aside from that, Ice has been pretty savvy with his money and has invested in several sectors.

He owns a real-estate company, a home building company, and a mortgage company.

Similarly, he also owns a strip mall.

Furthermore, the rapper turned property developer Vanilla Ice has his own line of lights named Vanilla Ice Lighting.

He has designed a collection of wall lamps and chandeliers in collaboration with New Jersey-based company Capitol Lighting.

Vanilla Ice | Career

Born in Dallas, Texas, Vanilla Ice’s original name Van Winkle is the name of the man to whom his mother was married when Ice was born.

Ice never knew his biological father.

He learned breakdance at the age of 13 and was really into hip hop and rock music as a child.

He was nicknamed Vanilla Ice because he was the only white breakdance at the time.

Even though he never actually liked the name but it stuck.

Initially, he rapped under the moniker MC Vanilla. Interestingly, he also formed a breakdancing group called The Vanilla Ice Posse.

As of  December 2023, Vanilla Ice’s net worth is $12 million.

Unknown Facts About Vanilla Ice

• Vanilla Ice was arrested and charged with break-in and grand theft after he apparently stole pushbikes, furniture, and other items from a Florida home he thought was vacant in February 2015.
• Ice was stabbed five times in a brawl outside City Lights nightclub in Dallas in January 1987.
• Vanilla won three motocross championships in the 80s.
• His mother is a music teacher and classical pianist.

FAQs

How old was Vanilla Ice when he wrote Ice Ice Baby?

Ice was just 16 when he wrote the lyrics of the song Ice Ice Baby.

What happened with Vanilla Ice and Suge Night?

Though Ice has never accepted it but Suge Knight once dangled him over a balcony threatening to drop him to his death.

What did Freddie Mercury think of Ice Ice Baby?

For the first time, Freddie listened to it he thought it was Under Pressure, but as the track progressed, he was shocked but was not upset.

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