Nigerian superstar Davido has earned himself a top spot among Africa's leading music stars in the last decade. Spreading the tentacles of his music business and tunes to different parts of Africa and the world, Davido rakes in millions by making music and performing at shows.
So, we will be exploring how the 30-year-old singer makes and spends his money.
Despite his father's immense wealth, Davido has been able to work hard to earn his place on the Nigerian music scene. After five years on a co-owned label, HKN, he kicked off his record label, Davido Music Worldwide, in 2016 and signed Dremo, Dammy Krane, Mayorkun, and several music producers. Davido earns a lot of money from the proceeds of album sales and performance fees of the artists signed to his record label. Undoubtedly, Davido also makes huge sums from his albums and music sales. His earnings for his musical works don't end with album sales because he also smiles to the bank with proceeds of the tremendous amount of views garnered by his videos on YouTube and Vevo. His 2017 hit song, "If," sold thousands of copies as a single from his album; on the other hand, 'Fall' had a sale of more than 1.5 million units globally, making it the best-selling afrobeat song.
In 2014, Davido was raking between 3 million and 3.5 million naira per show after releasing his hit banger, 'Aye.' At the moment, industry experts say Davido charges between 10 million and 40 million naira for shows within Nigeria and between 20,000 to 50,000 dollars for performances outside the shores of Nigeria.
Davido landed his first endorsement deal with MTN Pulse, after which he went on to become one of the telco's leading ambassadors. Years later, he signed another deal worth millions of Naira with Guinness Nigeria. While the specific figures for the Guinness deal were not revealed, Davido's contract with MTN reportedly earned him 30 million naira.
In 2015, Davido, alongside Yemi Alade, joined Closeup as youth ambassadors. Not resting on his oars, Davido joined Wizkid and Tiwa Savage in the Pepsi league, earning himself an ambassadorial for the beverage company in Africa. The Pepsi deal earned Davido a whopping N100 million.
Davido has an undying love for these three things, and he doesn't hesitate to spend heavily on them. What do you think they are? You are absolutely correct if you said automobiles, jewellery, and houses. The singer, who has an estimated net worth of $40 million, is considered the wealthiest Nigerian artist. So, his car collection has to show that. And it does. In 2021 alone, he purchased a Rolls Royce worth 183 million naira and took delivery of his 285 million Naira Lamborghini Aventador. Furthermore, the Nigerian superstar bought a 2022 Maybach SUV worth $300,000 right after he sold out the 02 Arena in London for the second time. His car collections include a Bentley Bentayga, a Porsche Carerra, and a Ferrari 468 Italia.
In addition to cars, Davido owns several houses in Nigeria and the USA. The self-professed son of a billionaire bought himself a $100,000 luxury home in 2016, a few months after he completed his 140 million naira mansion tucked inside highbrow Lekki in Lagos. He spoiled himself with a 1.5 million dollar mansion in Banana Island in 2020 and purchased another house in the same location in January 2022. As if that was not enough, Davido added a land worth 2.5 billion naira to his real estate assets.
Davido's acquisition of jewellery is nothing short of legendary. He has patronized all the celebrated jewellers from Nigeria to the UK and the United States. His chains and rings are all customized with diamonds and golds, and his wristwatches range from the most expensive Rolex wristwatch to the coveted Richard Mille wristwatches. In 2019, Davido appeared at IceBox, an Atlanta-based jewellery store, where he brought in a Louis Vuitton bag full of cash. By the time Davido walked out of the store, he had already spent $150,000 on that one trip. A year before that, he purchased a 27 million dollar Bombardier private jet, making him the first Nigerian artist to own one. Although at that time, there were rumours that it belonged to his father, Davido used the plane for most of his international trips, and he continues to do so. The jet, which costs seven hundred thousand dollars to maintain per year, can fly at a top speed of five hundred and forty miles per hour. So it is safe to say that he lives a life that many of his fans can only dream of.