From taking $500 gigs to making $13M in 2022: how Megan Thee Stallion is building wealth

Since breaking into the music industry in 2019, rapper Megan Thee Stallion has shown no sign of slowing down in both music and business. From taking $500 gigs in her hometown of Houston, she has grown her brand to the point where she now rubs shoulders with some of the established brands.

She has partnered with Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, BTS, and Dua Lipa to do music. In business, her collab collection with Fashion Nova became an instant hit in 2020. According to TMZ, she made $1.2 million in sales in the first 24 hours. The 106-piece collection focuses on a “premium denim look with corset bodysuits, tops with matching pants, dresses, and outerwear,” as reported by ABC News.

Also, in 2020, she collaborated with Cardi B on WAP which got nearly 2 billion streams on YouTube and Spotify. “That was the song for her. I don’t think it would have made sense for anybody else,” Cardi B told Forbes. “She added that spark.”

Three years after her collab collection with Fashion Nova, the musician continues to amass a massive fortune. In a recent interview with Forbes for a cover story in November 2022, she told the magazine, “I’m trying to really build something.” That same year, Megan Thee Stallion made history as the first Black woman to grace the cover of Forbes 30 under 30. From the interview, she reportedly earned an estimated $13 million from a combination of royalties, ticket sales, endorsements, and merch. 

“I’ll take a break when I’m dead,” she told Forbes. “I’m trying to really build something.” She added, “When I start sitting, I feel like I’m not doing enough or I’m giving somebody else the opportunity to pass me.”

The superstar rapper has amassed a good number of endorsement deals that only A-list artists can imagine, regardless of her X-rated songs. She has endorsement deals with Nike, Revlon, Cash App, and Popeyes. “A roughly $1 million deal with Popeyes gave Megan a signature ‘Hottie Sauce’ and $250,000 for her own Popeyes restaurant,” Forbes wrote. Time Inc. also paid her $3 million to produce a documentary on her life, the magazine said.

Before becoming Megan Thee Stallion, she was Megan Pete. Her mother, Holly Thomas, was a bill collector and aspiring rapper who raised her in South Park, a Black neighborhood in Houston. She went on to study nursing at Prairie View A&M, one of the largest historically Black colleges in America.

While in college, Megan Thee Stallion was creating YouTube videos and subsequently caught the attention of hip-hop manager Travis Farris. In 2018, she was signed by 1501 Certified Entertainment, a Houston-based independent label, for a $50,000 advance. And since her first project Tina Snow in 2018, she has never looked back, combining her music with business deals.