R. Kelly continues to deal with the guilty verdicts in both his New York City and Chicago cases. The R&B legend has been sentenced to over 30 years in connection to his crimes against young women throughout his career. While he will be in jail for the foreseeable future, Kelly’s bank accounts have also been left in shambles, and the once millionaire hitmaker is now a few millions in debt.
Several net worth sites are currently reporting that R. Kelly is actually valued at -2 million dollars following all the fallout from his case. This is definitely due to declining album sales, his inability to tour, and mounting legal fees. R. Kelly was receiving generous donations from his loyal fanbase, who have maintained the singer is innocent and being framed. They put money on his commissary, but unfortunately, those funds were recently seized. Nearly $28,000 was taken away from Kelly’s jail fund and applied towards restitution in the state of New York. According to ABC News, the money will be deposited into an interest-bearing account to pay special assessment fees associated with his case and an undisclosed restitution amount, based on court documents. If any money is left over following those payouts, the remaining will go towards a fine and JTVA assessment.
Prior to going to jail, R. Kelly had already lost a substantial amount of money in a lawsuit with the landlord of a studio he was renting. At the time, it was reported that Robert was left with about $600 after the bank took $150k from him to pay back rent. At the time, Kelly’s lawyers admitted that his finances were a “mess.”
Now a federal judge is requiring the troubled singer to pay two women a total of $309,000. One victim identified as Jane will receive $300,668.18, while Stephanie is entitled to $8,400. According to court documents, Jane will receive over $300,000 due to singer infecting her with herpes. The money will be used to treat her STD.
At the peak of his career, it’s rumored that Kelly was worth at least $100 million thanks to hits like “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Trapped in the Closet.” However, during one hearing in 2020, Kelly told the judge that he owed the IRS about $1.9 million. He also owes his ex-wife Andrea Kelly $160,000 in unpaid child support. Kelly was so poor coming into jail that he could not post the $100k for his bail, which ended up being donated by a fan. Kelly’s fans need to hold off on any more donations because it looks like they’ll be going right to his outstanding debt.
