'Get Lucky' creator Pharrell Williams builds $250m fortune

Pharrell Williams’ success has been down to more than just luck, with an estimated net worth of around $250 million it makes him one of the richest musicians in the world. Pharrell is a renowned American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer and film producer. 

Pharrell was born in Virginia Beach on the 5th April 1973. He is the eldest of three sons to Pharaoh and Carolyn Williams. Pharrell met Chad Hugo in a 7th-grade summer band camp, where he played the keyboards and drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone. In the early 1990s, Chad and Pharrell formed the group, The Neptunes, with friends Shay Haley and Mike Etheridge. Later, the group entered a high school talent show and was discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was located next to Princess Anne High School. After graduating from high school, the group signed with Riley.

The Neptunes

Over the course of the next ten years, The Neptunes would develop their sound. By the early 2000s, they had established themselves as a prolific and successful production group, producing a staggering number of hits between 2000 and 2009, and winning multiple awards in the process. At one point, songs they produced comprised 43% of the songs played on US radio. In addition to producing hit tracks, Pharell has also released multiple solo albums, and tours with his band, N.E.R.D. The producer’s biggest hit of the 2000s was undoubtedly ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’, a Snoop Dogg track that he produced and features on. The track became Snoop Dogg’s first number one song of his career. It went 2x platinum and was named ‘The Biggest Rap Song’ of the 2000s by Billboard. The 2010s saw Pharrell reach even higher levels of fame, as he worked on three chart-topping songs. The first single was the Robin Thicke track, ‘Blurred Lines’, which was known for its jazzy instrumental and raunchy music video. The song accumulated over 700m views on YouTube and over 500m plays on Spotify. Following ‘Blurred Lines’, Pharrell worked on the track ‘Get Lucky’ with Daft Punk, the song reached number one in over 20 different Singles Charts. The final track is the lead song from the Despicable Me soundtrack, ‘Happy’. The song again topped the Billboard Hot 100 and it became the 21st-highest charting song of the entire decade. Pharrell’s record sales speak for themselves, as it sold a total of 30 million copies in singles; 6.5 million of those were ‘Get Lucky’, 7 million were ‘Happy’, and an astonishing 15 million copies of ‘Blurred Lines’ were sold. It is estimated that Pharrell made $5 million from ‘Blurred Lines’ and it’s likely that he made tens of millions from the other two tracks. That doesn’t even account for his other music, as the producer has composed all of the music for the entire Despicable Me franchise.

Business Endeavors 

Besides music, Pharrell has had great success in his entrepreneurial endeavors. Williams launched ‘I am OTHER’ in May 2012, a multimedia creative collective that serves as an umbrella for all of his endeavors, including Billionaire Boys Club and ICECREAM apparel, textile company Bionic Yarn and a dedicated YouTube channel. The channel was launched as part of YouTube's $100 million original channel initiative. The programming on I am OTHER channel focuses on music, culture, fashion, and the arts and launched with original series such as Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae. 

Billionaire’s Boy Club and Ice Cream Footwear

In 2005, Williams partnered with Japanese fashion icon Nigo to create the streetwear brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream footwear. The duo also collaborated on a range of footwear called Ice Cream. The fashion label then expanded to include Billionaire Girls Club. The brand is estimated to do $10-15m in revenue each year

Adidas

In 2016 Pharrell entered a partnership with Adidas and released his ‘human race’ collection on July 23, 2016. The deal saw the maverick design an eco-friendly collection for the sportswear maker’s Originals apparel range. It was developed through Williams’ textile business Bionic Yarn, which recycles plastics into wearable clothing.

Human Race

In November 2020, Williams launched Humanrace, a skincare brand. The vegan, fragrance-free, and ‘clean’ brand  launched with a trio of products that come together to create the ‘three-minute facial’. The Rice Powder Cleanser, Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator, and Humidifying Cream was created in partnership with Pharrell’s dermatologist Dr. Elena Jones.

Philanthropy & Charity Work

Williams owns From One Hand to Another (FOHTA), a non-profit organisation. Their vision is to modernise the traditional community center in order to empower underserved children by giving them access to new technology, media, and art. In addition to his other philanthropy, Williams built a $35 million dollar after-school center in Virginia Beach, his hometown. He also offered internships to 114 Harlem High School students. They were all accepted to college and the purpose of Pharrell's donation was to help students become the next leaders who will enact real change. Verizon partnered with Williams on April 26, 2019, to launch a tech-fused music curriculum in nationwide Verizon Foundation Learning schools. The education organisation under Verizon Foundation works toward providing free technology, internet access, and technology-focused curriculum to under-resourced middle schools.

Real Estate

In 2001, Pharrell paid $1.85 million for a 9,000 square-foot waterfront home in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 2007 Pharrell sold his Miami Beach penthouse apartment for $8.5 million. That same year he upgraded to a triplex penthouse, also in Miami, that had over 9,000 square feet of living space. This penthouse cost $12.5 million. In 2012 he listed this home for a shade under $17 million. He ultimately accepted $9.35 million in 2015. In 2015, Williams and his family moved to a 17,000 square-foot home in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles. He paid $15.6 million for the property, whose previous owner was Tyler Perry. Pharrell listed this home for sale in March 2020 for $17 million. In April 2020 Pharrell paid $30 million for a home in Coral Gables, Florida. The waterfront property was previously listed for $45 million. Williams apparently wanted it so badly because he wanted to spend the quarantine in it. When the pandemic virus halted travel and music activities, artists spent their time locked up in their own homes or studios. The property sits on 3.5 acres and has a 17,000 square foot and features 12 bathrooms, a waterfront, an elevator, and a wine cellar that can keep 2,000 bottles.

Other business deals

In May 2011, it was announced that Williams would serve as creative director of KarmaloopTV alongside founder and CEO Greg Selkoe and former AMC president Katie McEnroe. In August 2013, Williams created a line of sunglasses for the fashion brand Moncler called ‘Moncler Lunettes’. Williams announced a collaboration between G-Star Raw and his textile company Bionic Yarn called ‘RAW for the Oceans,’ a collection of denim made from recycled plastic that is found in the ocean. Williams has also developed a unisex fragrance in collaboration with Comme des Garcons, designed sunglasses, and jewellery for Louis Vuitton, designed furniture with Emmanuel Perrotin, and released a collection for Uniqlo.

Film & TV

Williams has had several roles in film and television. One he is best known for is as a coach on ‘The Voice’ between 2014 and 2016. He was chosen for this role as a replacement for Cee-Lo Green. Williams also appeared as a performing guest on ‘Popstar’ in the same year that he left ‘The Voice’. Furthermore, he was the narrator for the 2018 adaptation of ‘The Grinch’. Pharrell narrated the most recent adaptation of The Grinch, which was an animated take on the story starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character. And though Pharrell’s salary for his part in the film is undisclosed, the movie was a huge hit, grossing over half a billion dollars worldwide. It’s possible that Pharrell’s contribution would have gotten him a percentage of the movie’s gross profit, and if that’s the case, it would have been a decent payout for just a few days worth of voice-over work.

Though his music and extremely polished productions have earned Pharrell enough wealth to live several lifetimes over, it’s his collaborations with other musicians and working with brands and movie studios that has helped him reach an estimated net worth of $250 million. In 2020, Pharrell and Jay-Z collaborated on a song called ‘Entrepreneur’, which makes sense as they have both made fortunes outside of the music world, but Pharrell is becoming more adventurous with his business ventures, and it’s paying off.