Superstar musician and rapper Missy Elliott is receiving the Video Vanguard Award at the VMAs [1], and looking at her career and net worth of $50 million, it's easy to see why. This June, Missy became the first female rapper ever to be inducted [2] into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, according to Billboard, and her net worth has continued to climb. According to Harper's Bazaar, her estimated net worth is around $50 million [3]!

For the most part, Missy's huge net worth comes from her music career, with a history of incredibly successful albums. A 2015 Billboard article proclaimed her the bestselling female rap album artist [4] in Nielsen Music history, with over 7.6 million albums sold in the US. Her most successful at that time was 2002's Under Construction, which crossed the two million sales mark. On top of that, Missy has just gotten back into the new music game [5] this August with her first new release since 2005. Her five-track EP, Iconology, is poised to make waves once again [6].

Missy's net worth doesn't just come from her own record sales [7], though. Over the course of her career, Missy has made a habit of working with some of the best, buzziest, and most creative names in music. Harper's Bazaar notes that she's written music for Aaliyah [8], Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey [9], and *NSYNC, among others, and she's served as a producer for Beyoncé, Janet Jackson [10], and Monica. More recently, she's worked with Lizzo [11] and Ariana Grande [12], keeping her musical talents in the public eye, even if she's not up on stage singing herself. She even founded her own label, The Goldmind.

Although she doesn't perform as much anymore, Missy's headline performances over the years have also contributed plenty to her bank account. She appeared on the Super Bowl halftime show in 2015 alongside Katy Perry [13], and the effect was instant: Forbes reported a 2,500 percent sales bump for Missy post-Super Bowl [14] — and no, that's not a typo. She's toured over the years alongside Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Beyoncé, and Alicia Keys [15]. All of this just goes to show that no matter the era, Missy is a timeless legend, and luckily, she's been able to amass a fortune that reflects her game-changing talents.