We know Nick Cannon is hilarious. We know he used to be married to Mariah Carey. We know he hosts a half dozen TV shows and podcasts. We know he has a lot of children (11 total as of this writing). But what you probably don't know is that he controls a media empire that generates $100 million per year. At least, according to Nick Cannon.
Nick is the subject of an interesting recent interview with the LA Times. I say "interesting" because in the interview you quickly get the impression that he's:
a) sick of mainly being known for having tons of kids.
And
b) wants recognition for building a business empire that he claims is much more lucrative than anyone has ever reported.
(Photo by Paul Zimmerman/WireImage)
11 Children
Let's start with the kids.
As you may have noticed, Nick has become somewhat of a punchline in pop culture for having so many kids from so many different women.
As of this writing he has 11 kids from six moms. That does not include a 12th child who tragically died of a rare form of cancer at 5 months.
His first children are a set of twins he had with Mariah Carey in 2011.
He welcomed another set of twins a decade later in June 2021 (after having two other kids in between the Mariah twins). He had two other kids from two other women in June 2021. Let me repeat that and put it another way: Nick had four children in June of 2021 from three women. This was Nick's June 2021 timeline:
- June 14, 2021: Nick and Abby De La Rosa welcome twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir.
- June 23, 2021: Nick and Alyssa Scott welcome a child they name Zen. Tragically, Zen died five months later from brain cancer.
- June 28, 2021: Nick and model Bre Tiesi welcome son Legendary Love.
And then in the four months between September and December 2022 he welcomed four children from four women.
The man likes to have sex without a condom. I don't blame him.
$100 Million Empire
In the LA Times interview, Nick is clearly frustrated that all anyone wants to talk about is his many children and the assumed financial burden he must be under to keep all those mouths fed. The interviewer references a rumor that popped up at the end of 2022 that claimed Nick spends at least $3 million per year on child support.
Back when the rumor was bouncing around, Nick addressed it on a podcast, claiming he actually spends way more than $3m on his kids every year.
Striking a similar chord, Nick tells the LA Times:
"When you think about my lifestyle, I have to generate at least $100 million a year."
LA Times:
"You're currently making $100 million a year?"
Nick:
"Yeah. Everybody thinks Ryan Seacrest has tons of money. I do everything that he does times 10. Well, not times 10 — times three. Because he does a lot."
LA Times:
"Here are all of the things Nick Cannon does: He hosts two seasons a year of the Fox competition series "The Masked Singer," for which he says he's paid more than $20 million. He hosts "Wild 'N Out," the freestyle comedy show he created in 2005, which starts filming its 21st season for VH1 next month. There's a Live Nation "Wild 'N Out" arena tour too, plus themed sports bars in San Diego and Miami that he owns."
So there's a lot to unpack here.
Prior to this interview, the general consensus among entertainment salary insiders (including Celebrity Net Worth) was that Nick Cannon was making $5 million per year from "The Masked Singer." That number was in-line with what other comparable reality hosts are known to make.
As a comparison, Blake Shelton – the longest-tenured continual host of "The Voice," makes $13 million per season of that show.
If Nick is really making $20 million per year just from "The Masked Singer," he is quietly one of the highest paid people on TV.
If I'm being skeptical (which I am), I can't fathom how/why Fox would pay Nick $20 million to host "The Masked Singer." Could they not pay some other equally famous and talented person… for example Mario Lopez… $2 million per year to take his place? Would the audience even notice? Is Nick Cannon worth $20 million per year to that show?
Here's another example: Tucker Carlson's salary at Fox was $10 million per year. He hosted the highest-rated cable news show before he was fired in April 2023. That was a daily show, all year round, viewed by an average of 3 million people per night. The last season of "The Masked Singer" averaged around 3.5 million viewers, with the finale reaching just under 5 million. So bigger yes, but not by a lot.
In addition to the endeavors mentioned above, Nick hosts a daily 3-hour podcast called "The Daily Cannon," a slew of other current and upcoming reality shows and has a half dozen musical acts signed to his Ncredible record label, owns part of a restaurant in LA and is putting the finishing touches on his second romance novel which he describes as "an urban Fifty Shades of Grey." I'm not joking.
Let me be clear – I'm not trying to take anything away from Nick. I like Nick. I think Nick Cannon is hilarious. But I am skeptical of these financial stats he's casually dropping in the interview. Stats that aren't questioned or fact checked at all by the interviewer. For example. Based solely on the following line from Nick:
"When you think about my lifestyle, I have to generate at least $100 million a year."
The interviewer breathlessly replies:
"You're currently making $100 million a year?"
He goes "yup," she goes "wow" and then titles her article:
"Yes, Nick Cannon has 11 kids with six women. He also makes $100 million a year"
Just like that. Bing bang boom. Nick Cannon factually makes $100 million a year. Which, btw, would put him in the realm of the highest-paid athletes and movie stars on the planet. It would also certainly be more than enough money for Nick to afford 11 kids and 11 more kids!
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