If there’s one name that everybody recognizes in the world of drag, it’s RuPaul, who is the brainchild behind RuPaul’s Drag Race. This successful series is now in its thirteenth season. Across the pond, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 2 (featuring fan-favorite A'Whora) is also becoming a huge fan favorite. Born in San Diego as RuPaul Andre Charles, he entered the drag scene in the early ’80s. Since then, his career has gone from strength to strength, proving that he’s a winner, baby. His net worth is sky-high.
After he started doing drag, it took RuPaul a few years to become a household name. However, there's an interesting story behind RuPaul's actual name. His mother is from Louisiana and named him "Ru" after the word, "roux," which is the base for gumbo and many other Cajun and Creole recipes. His childhood was an interesting one, as he was thrown out of high school in the 11th grade for skipping class one too many times. After that, he joined the Northside School of Performing Arts. Although he didn’t graduate, attending that school did give RuPaul a tiny glimpse into the world of entertainment, which he would eventually rule.
RuPaul’s fame began in the late ’80s. In 1989, he was voted the "Queen of Manhattan" in a drag showdown. Now, his famous show awards amazing grand prizes and titles. The same year, the Drag Race head judge gained popularity by being "Ru-vealed" in The B-52's "Love Shack” music video. His debut album, "Supermodel of the World," was a chartbuster. In 1996, RuPaul was the first drag queen to feature in a cosmetics ad campaign with MAC Cosmetics. Standing tall at 6’4”, RuPaul helped to raise money for the VIVA Glam MAC AIDS fund. He also hosted The RuPaul Show on VH1, which became a massive hit. In 1994, he met his now-husband Georges LeBar at New York’s Limelight nightclub. The pair have been together in an open relationship ever since, with RuPaul marrying the Australian painter Georges Lebar (who owns a 60,000-acre ranch in Wyoming) in January 2017.
When it comes to creating an impression with a single conversation, the category for Mama Ru is always “Champion.” It only took one pitch meeting with producers to get RuPaul’s Drag Race a green light. The show has gone on to win 9 Emmy Awards (and turn winning queens into stars), and those Emmy wins earned RuPaul a Guinness world record. The show’s growing popularity made him the first drag queen to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 16, 2018. Besides Drag Race, RuPaul recently featured in a Netflix Original show called AJ and the Queen, where he played Ruby Red, a down-on-her-luck drag queen. In 2019, RuPaul launched his self-titled daytime talk show on Fox. It featured his friends Michelle Visage and Ross Mathews as co-hosts.
The famous host co-manages the Wyoming ranch with his husband, Georges LeBar. At the ranch, they sell water and lease mineral rights to oil companies. Some land is also leased to other ranchers. RuPaul also purchased a $13 million Beverly Hills mansion. Each episode of RuPaul's Drag Race earned RuPaul $50,000 in 2013. His current estimated net worth is $60 million. With Drag Race gaining more fans by the day, it seems like RuPaul’s net worth and assets will keep growing.
Source: NYT