Russell Wendell Simmons was born on 4 October 1957, in Queens, New York City USA, and is a well-recognized enterpreneur, fashion designer, businessman, television producer, as well as an actor. Russell Simmons is perhaps best known for his contributions to the hip hop scene, namely the creation of the famous record label “Def Jam Recordings”. Simmons is also a known entrepreneur who owns several clothing lines under his name – Phat Farm, together with Baby Phat, American Classics and Argyleculture are all brands that are owned by Russell Simmons.
One may wonder, how rich is Russell Simmons then? Authoritative sources state that Russell Simmons’ net worth is estimated to amount to an impressive $340 million as of mid-2016, accumulated from contributions earned in all his activities during a career which didn’t really begin until his mid-20s.
Russell Simmons Net Worth $340 Million
Russell Simmons grew up with two brothers – Daniel Simmons Jr. is a well-known expressionist painter. and Joseph Simmons is better known as Rev Run from a famous hip-hop group “Run D. M. C.”. Russell initially attended August Martin High School before transferring to City College of New York. He made his acting debut in a film he also co-produced called “Krush Groove” in which the main roles were played by the members of “Run D. M. C” and “Beastie Boys”. Prior to that, in 1983, Russell Simmons together with Rick Rubin co-founded a record label known as “Def Jam Recordings”. Over the years, “Def Jam” has become one of the most known hip-hop labels and has signed such artists as Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Ludacris, Rick Ross and Nas. Simmons’ net worth rose steadily from the success of the label.
Mainly due to the success of “Def Jam Recordings”, Russell Simmons was able to start his other business ventures. In 1992, he launched his own clothing line under the name of “Phat Farm”; the company soon developed from a small shop in New York into a profitable business. The success of “Phat Farm” resulted in the creation of “Baby Phat”, an urban line of clothing, targeted towards women and girls. The revenue of “Baby Phat” alone is estimated to be close to $1 billion.In addition to these two clothing lines, Russell Simmons owns American Classics and Argyleculture.
In 2000, Simmons started an Internet website “360 Hip Hop”, which was later purchased by Black Entertainment Television (BET). More recently, in 2010 Simmons premiered his own television show called “Running Russell Simmons”.
In addition to making money and increasing his net worth from already mentioned businesses, Russell Simmons is a published author as well. In 2007, Simmons co-wrote a book “Do You – 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success”, and in 2011 came out with another book titled “Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All”; all have helped his net worth grow.
In his personal life, Russell Simmons was married to Kimora(1998-2009) and they have two daughters. He dated German model Hana Nitsche during 2012-13. Russell is a vegetarian, an active supporter of a mantra meditation called “Transcendental Meditation”, and has been practicing Yoga for quite some time now.
