Kevin Liles Net Worth: How Rich is the Music Executive Actually?

Kevin Liles is an American record executive. He is the co-founder of 300 Entertainment and holds the position of CEO of the record label. The Billboard Magazine recognized him as the R&B/Hip-Hop Executive of the Year in 2020. Kevin previously served as President of Def Jam Records. Kevin Liles net worth is estimated at $60 million as of 2023.

Early life & Career Beginnings

Kevin Liles was born on February 27 in the year 1968 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was mostly absent in his life. Kevin was raised by his mother, Alberta Fennoy. His mom was 16 when she had him. During the time, his mother was still unmarried. When he was 2, his mom married Jerome.

Kevin studied at the Woodlawn High School and then joined Morgan State University. He attended the University to study electrical engineering on a scholarship from NASA. However, he left the University program to pursue a career in music.

Kevin started off his music career as one of the members of the Baltimore-based DJ crew, Numarx. Then in 1986, along with the music group, he wrote the song “Girl You Know It’s True”. The song was originally recorded by Numarx, and later the song was performed by the pop duo, Milli Vanilli. However, the pop duo performed the song without his awareness or consent which led to a subsequent lawsuit. The issue was later resolved by Grammy.

Kevin Liles Net Worth & How He Made Money?

 

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Liles and his music group founded the Marx Brothers Records which released several regional hits. The group also opened acts for LL Cool J, Run-DMC, and Salt’N Pepa. At the starting days of his music career, he worked as an unpaid intern at Def Jam in 1991.

While working on the record label, he used to deliver records to radio stations based in Mid-Atlantic. The starting work at Def Jam builds early bricks for his unusual success story in the show business. With his hard work, he kept on moving from one post to another in the record label. After seven years, he eventually became the president of Def Jam Music Group.

Liles looked after the creation and development of brands of the record label which includes Def Soul, Def Jam South, and Roc-A-Fella. In 2002, the record label merged with Island Records. Soon after the merger, he left the company. Then he started working for the Warner Music Group. At the music group, he was a part of the leadership team which made the company public.

Liles decided to step down from Warner Bros and work on his own professional goals in 2009. He took the decision to leave the company during the time when record and CD sales started to crumble. On leaving the music group, he said that he never left the company but just pressed the reset button. Then, Kevin launched KWL Enterprises in New York City. He worked closely from his offices on Park Avenue on the development of each brand of the company and cultivate all areas of music artists’ careers.

Liles has helped many artists build up their careers such as D’Angelo, Big Sean, NASCAR driver, Trey Songz, and Wallace Jr. He recently collaborated with some of the music industry friends, Jay-Z and Mariah Carey to launch their own beverages through a new brand called Go N’Syde. Through the new brand creation, the customers would be able to get access to entertainment from any smartphones curated by celebrities.

Kevin co-founded the record label, 300 Entertainment with three partners, Todd Moscowitz, Roger Gold, and Lyor Cohen in 2012. One of the co-founders of a record label, Cohen said that working with Kevin for more than two decades led to the new collaboration. The independent label is distributed by Atlantic Records and includes big investors such as Google.

Personal Life

Kevin Liles is a married man who tied the knot with philanthropist, Erika. Kevin tied the knot with Erica on July 10, 2010. He reportedly shares three kids with his wife, Erica. Kevin recently took the stand and advocated for Young Thug on June 2. Young Thug is one of the 28 individuals who were indicted on RICO charges.

Kevin stood with Young Thug for releasing him on the bond which would possibly be $1 million in expenses of 24-hour security. Liles mentioned in the 2nd June testimony that he would be willing to take responsibility for Young Thug’s release on bond. Kevin further agreed to the prosecutor’s condition that he will be responsible if Thug breaches any conditions. He considers the rapper, Young Thug as his son. 

Kevin Liles Net Worth Timeline

Kevin Liles’ personal wealth is estimated to be around $60 million as of 2023. He has bagged a vast chunk of money from establishing and working with many record labels. Kevin is also an active philanthropist, who has worked for many good causes through his foundation, The Kevin Liles for a Baltimore Foundation.