DDG Net Worth

Net Worth: $3.5 Million

Date of Birth: October 10, 1997

How They Make Money: Musical Artist, YouTube Creator, Record Label Co-Founder

Darryl Dwayne Granberry, Jr., also known as DDG, is an American rapper who began as a YouTube creator. DDG’s net worth is an estimated $3.5 million.

DDG started his YouTube career while he was still in high school. Though he has created other businesses since then, content creation will always be a large part of his success. Read on to learn more about DDG’s catapult to stardom, how he spends his money, and what he is working on next.

DDG’s Career: How Does DDG Make Money?

DDG is one of the most successful rappers in his age group. He grew up in the music industry as his father Darryl Grandberry Sr. was a successful sound engineer.

DDG released his first official single “Balenciagas” in 2016, and he has not stopped making music (or money) since. Here is a rundown of how DDG makes his millions.

Vine

Vine, a subset of Twitter and a precursor to Tik Tok in the 2010s, was where DDG began. Vine videos were short six-second clips that users could upload for Vine to host. Many current successful YouTubers started their careers on Vine, including Liza Koshy, David Dobrik, King Bach, and Logan Paul.

DDG had more than 20,000 followers on Vine. Vine creators made money by posting ads, creating sponsored posts, and sharing other people’s videos.

The Vine platform eventually fell as content creators collectively moved to post on YouTube and Instagram instead of Vine. The potential for payment on those platforms was higher, more reliable, and more professional.

YouTube

DDG started his YouTube channel in 2014 when he was just 17 years old. What began as pranks, jokes, challenges, and general comedy turned into a successful business that earned DDG enough to leave school behind.

DDG graduated high school in Pontiac, Michigan when his YouTube channel was starting to get traction. By the time he was a freshman in college at Central Michigan University in 2016, he had multiple successful YouTube channels.

DDG’s comedy channel Pontiac Made DDG now has more than 2 million subscribers in 2022. His second channel was titled The DDG Family. It has around 4 million subscribers and is home to many of his newer vlogs.

DDG decided to leave college once his YouTube channels became extremely popular. When he left Central Michigan University, DDG was averaging more than 650,000 views per video and making more than $25,000 per month on YouTube alone.

As DDG’s YouTube subscribers grew, so did his bank account. DDG made as much as $200,000 per month from his YouTube content and ad revenue.

DDG also released some of his first songs in 2016 via his YouTube channels. His music videos amassed millions of views since then. In 2022, DDG’s separate YouTube channel for his music had more than 2.4 million subscribers alone.

Hit Singles and Sold-Out Concerts

DDG’s first song that gained national attention was a diss track about Lil Yachty. This fit his comedy persona well. It became his most popular YouTube video at the time.

The video has more than 14 million streams on YouTube and 15,000 likes on the DDG Soundcloud page. This was just the beginning of DDG’s successful music career.

DDG knew then that making music would be a smart money move. In 2016, DDG released “Balenciagas” and “Free Parties,” two hip-hop singles. “Balenciagas”, his first single, has almost 1.5 million streams on Spotify. This amounts to about 4,200 dollars due to the not-so-great pay Spotify offers its artists. Not bad for a debut. 

In 2017, he continued his streak and released six more singles,  including the hit “Givenchy” with Famous Dex. The song has more than 17.3 million streams, about 70,000 dollars per Spotify royalties.

His first EP was self-released in 2018 before he signed with Epic Records and released his first studio album  Valedictorian. The album was a nod to DDG’s fantastic scholastic record as he was valedictorian of his high-school graduating class. The album debuted at #61 on the Billboard 200 chart and #20 on the Itunes charts.

DDG’s multi-million dollar deal with Epic records grew his career immensely. The hip-hop division of Epic Records includes DJ Khaled, Travis Scott, Outkast, and 21 Savage, among others.

DDG currently has more than 4.1 million followers on Spotify from his music. His estimated income from Spotify is around $8,000 per month. His streaming income outside of his prank videos on YouTube solidifies that his music career is worth taking seriously.

Though the deal with Epic Records was great for DDG’s career, he was vocal about how he never needed a label to be successful. He was already doing well as an independent artist. In 2020, DDG used his business knowledge to start his record label Zooted Music.

DDG released the LP Die 4 Respect in March of 2021. It featured a song titled “Moonwalking in Calabasas” that was very popular. Later, in 2021, DDG brought rapper Blueface onto the song as a feature, and the Blueface remix exploded. The song was certified Platinum by RIAA in June of 2021.

DDG’s concerts sell out across the United States. The average ticket price for a DDG concert is between $50 – $200. To meet him at a meet-and-greet before or after a show typically costs fans around $100 per person.

Zooted Music Label

One of the most important things to DDG is that he remains in control of his career. After his deal with Epic Records in which he brokered retaining ownership of his masters, DDG launched Zooted Entertainment. He joined forces with his music industry friends Eric O’Connor and Dimitri Hurt to create the Zooted Music label and Zooted Studios.

The goal of Zooted Music is to represent content creators and musicians. Zooted Music has 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube and 40,000 followers on Instagram. Zooted Music artists include Paidway T.O and “Sneakly Link” singer Autumn Corin.

On the content-creation side of Zooted Entertainment, signed artists include the famous Tik Tok comedian Danrue and Bad Girls Club participant Seven Craft.

Zooted Studios, a subset of Zooted Entertainment, caters to African-American creators by promoting their content on platforms where it otherwise may not be showcased. His dedication to this cause is near to his heart as he is an African-American creator, as well.

Zooted Entertainment came under fire in recent years for its practices of inexplicably releasing signed talent. DDG unapologetically commented on this in a YouTube video he shared publicly in 2021, claiming there were no hard feelings and that he is very particular about the quality of the content associated with his brand.

Investments: Cryptocurrency and NFTs

DDG is interested in more than music and content creation. He remains vigilant in creating a brand that has multiple streams of income.

DDG tried his hand at crypto investing without knowing much about the cryptocurrency space. He admits that even though he invested in bitcoin for years, he lost as much as $40,000 at one point. He continues to invest and learn as he goes.

The rise of bitcoin in recent years has added greatly to DDG’s net worth. DDG invested as much as $60,000 into Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin when Bitcoin was only worth $16,000. Today, his original investment has increased in value by more than 300%.

The Michigan-born rapper is always looking for ways to invest his money and ensure he can continue to take care of his family. In August of 2021, he joined the mainstream NFT craze when he purchased a $260,000 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT. DDG explained in later vlogs that he understands NFTs may not be for everyone, but he believes he will re-sell the NFT for millions soon.

Gaming

DDG’s net worth includes his income from gaming and streaming his gameplay. He often competes with other YouTubers in sports video games including NBA 2k. You can watch DDG play other creators on YouTube where he bets as much as $20,000 on a single game.

DDG is open about his love for gaming. He views it as a release and a great way to turn his mind off after a long day. While working on his highly-anticipated 2018 album Valedictorian, gaming was a way for him to escape the pressure and enter another reality.

DDG is inspired by his gaming and often uses it as inspiration for his songs. His ability to step back from the seriousness of his businesses gives him a moment to refocus and create better content for his fans.

How Does DDG Spend His Money?

Rap artist DDG is not shy about spending his money. His favorite possessions include his vast selection of cars, homes, and jewelry.

Cars

Outside of DDG’s large homes complete with black marble and wine cellars, his cars are one of his priciest expenses. DDG’s present and past cars include:

• $350,000 custom Rolls Royce Wraith with a custom-made all-white interior
• $250,000 Lamborghini Urus he bought in October of 2020
• $140,000 BMW i8, which was his first major vehicle purchase
• $150,000 Mercedes Benz G-Class that he purchased when he was 20 years old

DDG enjoys taking care of his family and friends. He spent $60,000 on a BMW for his mother and gave her an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii for her birthday. One of his most popular videos in 2022 shows him and his friends spending $300,000 in one day in Miami, Florida, on a whim.

Jewelry

The content-creator and rapper loves to spend his millions on his watch collection. He believes it's one of the best ways to protect his money in something that will retain value.

DDG’s first Rolex was $20,000 when he was 19. It was a gift to himself to celebrate his success. Today, he owns almost half of a million dollars in watches including a $280,000 Richard Mille, a two-tone Audemars Piguet, and a rose-gold Cartier bust-down skeleton watch.

His jewelry collection continues with his bracelets and necklaces. DDG owns a $16,000 diamond cross, a $12,000 Cartier bracelet, and more than $150,00 in Cuban necklaces.

His necklace pendants are all diamond-laced including a special one for his brother who passed away when DDG was a child. This “Deno” pendant features a picture of the two as children and is covered in diamonds.

Homes

Investing in real estate is another major part of DDG’s net worth. He owns multiple homes including a six-bedroom mansion that cost around $2.4 million.

DDG’s home is the basis for quite a few YouTube videos. He gives house tours often. Just one of his YouTube house tour videos has more than 1.3 million views. With ad revenue, his house tour video made him more than $2000 profit in 2021.

DDG spent more than $700,000 on upgrades to the home. It features Chanel carpets, black marble floors, a movie theater, a wine cellar, a sauna, and Off White art installations.

Giveaways

DDG gives many of his older pendants away to his devoted fans on Twitter and YouTube. He often does $1,000 giveaways on his social media channels for fans who like his videos and subscribe to his channels.

How DDG Got On His Path

DDG was born Darryl Dwayne Granberry, Jr. on October 10, 1997. His father, Darryl Granberry Sr. was an audio engineer who also worked in the automotive industry. His mother, Tonya, worked as a retail salesperson.

DDG’s net worth is a major contrast to the neighborhood he grew up in. Pontiac, Michigan, Darryl Jr.’s hometown, is a northern suburb of Detroit. He grew up around gangs and saw more violence than many other children his age in other cities.

When Darryl Jr. was 16, his brother died in a shooting. This incident had a major effect on DDG’s outlook on life. It happened the same year Darryl began content creation as Pontiac Made DDG on YouTube.

Shortly after his brother's death, Darryl Jr. graduated from International Tech Academy. He was an excellent student and graduated with high honors. He attended Central Michigan University but did not last long there.

Once DDG realized how much money he could make online, he lost interest in school. He dropped out to pursue YouTube content creation full-time. Two years later, DDG released his first music.

The release of his independent single “Lettuce” featuring Famous Dex garnered 500,000 in its first hour. The media outlet Worldstar Hip Hop contacted DDG and asked to manage the song’s release by airing it on their channels. Within a year of the release of “Lettuce,” he signed with Epic Records.

DDG was interested in music at a young age due to the musical influence of his father at home. He began working on music with his dad and recording music as a child.

DDG’s Noteworthy Relationships

DDG was in a long-term relationship with fellow YouTuber Kennedy Cymone that began in 2018. The two got engaged but split shortly after the announcement.

DDG entered a relationship with five-time Grammy award-nominated artist Halle Bailey in 2021. The two seem very in love. They appear on red carpets together for various events in California and showcase their relationships on both of their Instagram accounts.

DDG’s Net Worth, Final Thoughts

DDG is an American rapper and creator who got his start making funny videos on YouTube. What began as pranks turned into a lucrative career.

DDG’s wealth comes from multiple streams of income including real estate, content creation, and his music. He has a loyal fanbase and more than one billion views across YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Twitter.

He continues to make music and plans to focus on his music career going forward. DDG’s net worth in 2022 is an estimated $3.5 million and growing.