DMX Net Worth

DMX, born Earl Simmons, may no longer be with us but his legacy as one of the hardest, most prolific American rappers will live on. With numerous albums released to the world, DMX combined a deep, gravel-like voice to create hit singles, like “Where the Hood At?” and “X Gon’ Give It to Ya.” Such singles, along with his other musical releases and acting credits, made the man wealthy and famous.

How wealthy? You may ask. Let’s dive deeper into the rap legend and discover DMX net worth together!

DMX’s Net Worth

When it comes to celebrity net worth pieces, we typically see stars with many millions of dollars to their name. But DMX, due to legal and financial difficulties before his death, proves different.

So, what is DMX’s net worth? At his passing, his net worth was -$1 Million.

That’s right, negative one-million dollars. Why?

In 2013, DMX declared bankruptcy, listing $50,000 in assets and somewhere between $1 million and $10 million worth of liabilities. Then, in 2017, he was arrested and charged with 14 counts of tax fraud, landing him in jail for a full year, and with a lasting debt of $2.3 million. He was unable to pay back said debt before his untimely passing, though.

Who Was DMX?

Born on December 18, 1970, Earl Simmons was better known by his stage name DMX. He started rapping early in the early 1990s and found commercial and critical success when his debut album dropped in 1998.

But the rap scene wasn’t enough for DMX’s talent. He turned his attention to the big screen, too. Here, he would star alongside the likes of Jet Li and others in films such as Belly, Romeo Must Die, Cradle 2 the Grave, and more.

On a personal level, DMX considered himself a born-again Christian, stating he read the bible daily before his passing. His aspirations as a born-against Christian included becoming ordained as a pastor to help guide someone—anyone—through life’s challenges.

A Look at DMX’s Many Feuds

In the 1990s, it was not uncommon to find DMX, Jay-Z, and Ja Rule collaborating on rap albums. The three became known as Murder Inc.

Sadly, due to internal issues, the rap group was short-lived. DMX and Jay-Z argued relentlessly, and later, DMX would trash talk Ja Rule during interviews, calling the man a “copycat.”

DMX later released a diss track, “They Want War,” to begin a very public feud with the two rappers, though Ja Rule did not respond. The feud finally ended in 2009.

Unfortunately, the feud between DMX and Jay-Z continued to sizzle in the background for many years. The two, apparently, never really worked things out before DMX’s death.

On Instagram, DMX claimed to want a rap battle between himself and Jay-Z, though that never occurred.

DMX on Your TV

Alongside his rap career and starring roles on the big screen, DMX also made a few appearances on the silver screen.

His roles mainly included playing himself on The Chris Rock Show, South Park, MadTV, Chapelle’s Show, Eve, and Moesha.

His acting career in various television series began in 1998 and ended in 2017. In his later years on the small screen, he would mostly feature on documentaries about his life and career as a rap star.

Thankfully, such roles live on and can be viewed on television and online.

DMX Albums

Since he first began his rap career in the early 1990s, DMX released chart-topping hits that, to this day, remain memorable, catchy, and downright iconic. It’s tough not to listen to a DMX song without singing along or bopping your head to the beat.

His first album, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, was released in 1998. From there, he went on to release a total of eight rap albums.

• It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998)
• Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood (1998)
• …And Then There Was X (1999)
• The Great Depression (2001)
• Grand Champ (2003)
• Year of the Dog…Again (2006)
• Undisputed (2012)
• Exodus (2021)

Interesting Facts About DMX

Alongside his numerous contributions to the rap scene from his early days to his passing, rapper DMX was a multi-faceted, interesting individual. His intricacies and history make for fantastic reading, and we’re here to share a few interesting facts about DMX with you!

• DMX endured a particularly rough childhood. At the age of six, his mother hit him so hard over a simple mistake that he lost two of his teeth. This type of abuse from his mother and her boyfriends, as his father was out of the picture, occurred frequently. At age seven, he was jailed for stealing, quickly followed by issues at school, including multiple fights with both teachers and classmates. Then, at age 10, he was expelled.
• In total, DMX fathered fifteen children with multiple women throughout his lifetime. At the time of his death, his youngest was five years old. That being said, the rapper only married once. This marriage, to ex-wife Tashera Simmons, lasted fourteen years before ending in separation. He had four children with Tashera.
• At the tender age of 14, DMX was offered a marijuana cigarette laced with crack cocaine. Before his death, DMX claimed his rap mentor, Ready Ron, provided the drug, to which he would become addicted and struggle regularly throughout his lifetime.
• All-in-all, DMX was jailed, at minimum, 30 times in his lifetime. His various crimes included carjacking, robbery, theft, tax evasion, violation of court orders, and more.
• His death, on April 9, 2021, was reportedly due to a drug overdose that led to a heart attack and a vegetative state in the hospital. There, his vital organs shut down and he passed away at the age of 50.

DMX endured a relatively short—by today’s standards—life filled with drama and grief from the very beginning. Despite these hardships, Earl Simmons lives on as one of the greatest rap stars coming out of the 90s.

If you enjoyed this look at DMX’s net worth, you may also like our coverage of Drake’s net worth!

DMX FAQs