We all know that R. Kelly is one of the worst people on the planet, and we can all take comfort in the fact that he’ll probably be going to prison for a very long time.
Of course, there’s no guarantee of that, as it’s a known fact that the American justice system functions very differently for those who belong to the one percent.
And even if he gets locked up for life, prison will be a cake walk for Robert because he’s so rich … right?
Well, not necessarily.
You see, new revelations about the disgraced R&B legend’s financial situation have made it look as though inmate Kelly will be living off the same commisary Ramen as everybody else at Cook Country Penitentiary.
As TMZ reported this week, the rumors originated with an obscure website called Celebrity Net Worth.
So yeah, this story should be taken with several grains of salt, especially given the outlandish nature of the site’s claims.
According to the crack team of researchers at CNW, Kelly’s net worth is — ready for this? — negative $2 million!
There are many reasons to doubt that this figure is anywhere near accurate, and we’ll get to those in just a minute.
But regardless of whether or not they hold up under the slightest scrutiny, reports like this tend to go viral for a reason.
After all, if there were any truth to this claim, it would mean that anyone with a freakin’ dollar in the bank is a full-blown baller compared to R. Kelly.
In the days since the figure was made public, a bunch of no-name rappers — some guy named 42 Dugg, in particular — have been cackling in delight on social media and roasting Kelly for his dire financial straits.
While we’re 100 percent in favor of mocking R. Kelly all the time and for any reason, it’s a safe bet that he probably still has more money than 42 Dugg.
As for Celebrity Net Worth’s methodology in arriving at the negative two million figure, well … it’s dubious, to say the least.
It seems that they landed on a TMZ story from last year, in which it was reported that Kelly owed $2 million in back taxes.
Obviously, that doesn’t equate to a negative net worth of the same amount, unless Kelly liquidated his assets and drained his bank account in order to get out of debt and still owed $2 million.
But hey, why would we expect the people at Celebrity Net Worth to understand how net worth works?
Anyway, while their estimate is laughably far off, Kelly is almost certainly in a very precarious financial situation these days.
Ever since the documentary Surviving R. Kelly premiered back in 2019, the singer has been unable to earn and has been constantly shelling out for defense attorneys.
The 54-year-old is mired in several criminal cases at the moment, and each of them is costing him a pretty penny.
Kelly’s sex trafficking trial is soon to wrap up, and despite all the money he spent on top-tier lawyers, it seems very likely that he’ll be headed to prison.
And to add insult to injury, the guy won’t even have enough money left over to sue Celebrity Net Worth!
