Kandi Burruss’ career in the entertainment industry may have begun in the music scene, but this is not all she’s famous for. Today, she’s widely recognized for her TV roles, particularly on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, where she’s been acting since 2009. That isn’t all, however. She was able to build a profitable career as a businesswoman on top of her accomplishments in the entertainment world. Thanks to all her star appearances, as well as her business ventures, Kandi Burruss’ net worth in 2023 is estimated at over $30 million.
Kandi Burruss’ journey started in College Park, Georgia, where she wrote songs and sang, and continued to her current TV roles and several successful businesses. In this post, we’ll explore her successes and the ventures that contribute millions to her net worth.
Kandi Burruss Net Worth Breakdown:
Kandi Burruss is more than just a TV personality – she is also a successful singer, record producer, and businesswoman. The details about her earnings are often kept private, but we managed to gather some information on what contributes to Kandi Burruss’s net worth.
| Asset or Income Source | Contribution to Net Worth |
| The Real Housewives of Atlanta pay | $450k-$2 million per season |
| Earnings from Xscape | Unknown |
| “Hey Kandi” album | Sold 260k+ copies in US |
| “Kandi Koated” album | Unknown |
| Bravo spinoff TV shows | Unknown |
| Restaurant business | $2 million per year |
| Social media endorsements | $27k per post |
| Real estate | $1 million |
| Car collection | $400k+ |
| Total Net Worth | $30 million |
Kandi Burruss Net Worth: The Early Life of a Reality Star
Born Kandi Lenice Burruss, the now popular TV personality was born on May 17, 1976, in College Park, Georgia. She was one of two siblings until 1991 when, tragically, her older brother Patrick died in a car crash. Kandi Burruss was 15 years old at the time.
As for her education, Burrus attended high school in the Atlanta suburb of East Point, at Tri-Cities Performing Arts High School. At the age of 15, she embarked on her career as an actress with her appearance on “Teen Summit”, a BET network series.
When Burruss got her high school degree in 1994, she was already successful in the music industry, so she decided not to pursue a college education.
In January 2013, Kandi Burruss married Todd Tucker, a line producer whom she met during the filming of the fourth season of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”. The couple has four children, including her first child Riley Burruss who she had during a previous relationship with Russell Spencer. The other children’s names are Kaela Tucker, Blaze Tucker, and Ace Tucker.
Kandi Burruss Net Worth: From Music Star to Millionaire Mogul
Kandi Burruss is one of the very few people who knew what they wanted to be from a very early age – and became quite successful at it right away. Her early success was impressive, but what followed is even more impressive, especially if we consider the millions of dollars in Kandi Burruss’s net worth. Let’s learn more about her story and how she built such wealth.
Kandi Burruss’s Music Career
Kandi Burruss initially earned her wealth through her music career, where she embarked as part of a quartet with a few high school friends. She then continued to grow on the music scene, establishing a solo career years later. Burruss joined the scene at the age of 15 when she appeared on the Teen Summit network series by BET. This debut was in 1992.
Xscape
During high school, Kandi Burruss joined forces with LaTocha Scott, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, Tamera Coggins-Wynn, and Tamika Scott, to form “Xscape”, a group that Jermaine Dupri would later sign to do his label So So Def Recordings. A year after the group formed, Coggins-Wynn left it, so they became a quartet.
The records that this group released back in the day still generate a residual income for the star, though the details are unknown. In 2017, Bravo TV launched a series of 4 episodes on the Xscape group called “Xscape: Still Kickin’ It”.
When Burruss was 17 years old, Xscape released their debut album Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha, the one that gave the groupmates their first hits in the Top 10 list. Their title “Just Kickin’ It” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 and moved to the second spot a few weeks later. Since September 18, 1993, “Just Kickin’ It” spent a total of 21 weeks on the chart!
But, these Top 10 hits weren’t the only great appearances for the group – they just marked the beginning. In 1994, the quartet achieved another hit with their ‘Understanding’ song, which reached number eight in January. The group continued their success, creating four more Top 10 hits in their subsequent album before they split in 1998.
Here is a full list of the albums before Xscape disbanded:
- “Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha’ in 1993
- “Off the Hook” in 1995
- “Traces of My Lipstick” in 1998
The friends decided to part ways when LaTocha Scott pursued a solo career, but they didn’t stay away for long. The quartet made appearances on the soundtracks for “Big Momma’s House” and “Hardball” after a successful stint on the scene. However, this also didn’t last long, since the group disbanded once again until 2005.
Xscape won Album of the Year in 1996 at the Soul Train Music Awards. Kandi Burruss was one of the songwriters for the group, and she wrote some of their best-performing titles including “Feel So Good” and “Can’s Hang”.
Songwriting
Kandi Burruss became a successful songwriter at a very young age. She co-wrote “No Scrubs” for TLC, and wrote “Bills, Bills, Bills” for Destiny’s Child. The latter charted at the very top of the Billboard Hot 100, helping Burruss to win the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishes’ Rhythm & Soul Music Award.
She also wrote “Bug a Boo” and “The Writings on the Wall” for Destiny’s Childs.
This was only the beginning of Burruss’ success in songwriting – and the initial big rise in her net worth. She went on to write for Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Da Brat, NSYNC, MC Lyte – and even Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys.
In 2000, Kandi Burruss released her solo album named “Hey Kandi”. The album was a success, but it didn’t break any records, charting at number 32 on the R&B Albums chart by Billboard. Still, it sold over 260,000 copies in the US, a massive accomplishment for anyone. The album’s top singles were “Cheatin’ on Me” and “Don’t Think I’m Not”
Even with an already successful career behind her, Burruss was dropped by Columbia as one of their recording artists. But, this didn’t stop her from writing music to this day, through her own company.
Ten years after the release of “Hey Kandi” in 2000, the songwriter unveiled her second and most recent studio album titled “Kandi Koated” She would later use this name to launch a collection of luxury cosmetics celebrating inclusivity and diversity in 2019.
Kandi Burruss as an Actress and Reality TV Star
In 2009, Kandi Burruss was invited to replace DeShawn Snow on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” in the show’s second season. Ever since, she has appeared in every season of the show, which makes her the longest-serving cast member to date.
Her success on “Real Housewives” was so significant that Bravo created a spinoff titled “The Kandi Factory” in 2012, followed by another in 2014 that documented her wedding to Todd Tucker. This wasn’t the end of the spinoffs; here is a full list:
- “The Kandi Factory” in 2012
- “Kandi’s Wedding” in 2014
- “Kandi’s Ski Trip” in 2015
- “Xscape: Still Kickin’ It” in 2017
- “Kandi & the Gang” in 2020
All the spinoffs were aired by Bravo. The last spinoff was canceled after only one season on the air.
While her most popular appearances are linked to Real Housewives, these aren’t the only TV ventures of the actress.
In 2012, Kandi Burruss was a guest on “Don’t Be Tardy for the Wedding”, working alongside Kim Zolciak-Biermann. She also appeared on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and won the third season of “The Masked Singer”, Fox’s competition show in 2020. When Kandi Burruss appeared on Celebrity Big Brother by CBS, she took the sixth spot.
That’s not all, though. Kandi Burruss also expanded her acting roles to sitcoms and films. She appeared in “Are We There Yet” in 2011, “Single Ladies”, as well as in The Chi’s third season as Roselyn Perry.
Her movie appearances include:
- “Make It Rain” in 2008
- “Second Chance Christmas” in 2014
- “Where’s the Love?” in 2014
- “Never Heard” in 2018
- “Same Difference” in 2019
- “Seven Deadly Sins: Envy” in 2021
Finally, Kandi Burruss has appeared in “Chicago”, the longest-running Broadway musical in history. She played Matron Mama Morton for a total of eight weeks back in 2019. Following this Broadway appearance, she produced “Thoughts of a Colored Man”, the first all-black male cast show.
Kandi Burruss on Social Media
Kandi Burruss is very active – and popular on social media. According to Pilot Fish Media, she earns $27,000 for a sponsored post on Instagram. As of November 2023, she has over 10.7 million social media followers, which makes her the most followed actress from the Real Housewives franchise.
Kandi Burruss as an Entrepreneur and Investor
Kandi Burruss has dabbled in many ventures, and these expand beyond her TV appearances and songwriting career. She has invested in quite a few businesses, as well as real estate.
Burruss’ Successful Ventures and Businesses
Kandi Burruss has her record label, an adult toy company called Bedroom Kandi, a popular line of cosmetics called Kandi Koated, and a web series called Kandi Koated Nights. Kandi Koated also hires freelancers to sell its products for it and recruit other freelancers, similar to an MLM scheme.
Burruss jumped into the business world with a record label named Kandi Koated Entertainment which produced her second studio album. She’s currently the CEO of the popular record label.
Bedroom Kandi, her adult toy company, produces high-end sex toys that offer privacy by looking like cosmetic products. The company is a growing success, employing 2,500 consultants today, and accompanying the web show. Kandi Burruss created the web series “Kandi Koated Nights” with friends on Ustream in 2018.
Her children’s line, Raising Ace, has enjoyed quite the popularity too, and so has her luxury shop named TAGS. TAGS Boutique was a chain of clothing stores that now operate online, after an unsuccessful work on the physical store market.
Kandi Burruss and her husband, Todd Tucker, own two restaurants in Atlanta. They initially founded Old Lady Gang, a Southern eatery with her mom’s and aunt’s recipes. Old Lady Gang is now available in three locations in Atlanta. The other restaurant is Blaze Steak and Seafood.
While the restaurants have been struggling in the past, their estimated annual profits exceed $2 million.
Real Estate
In 2002, Kandi Burruss purchased her first home in Georgia for $250,000. In 2017, she sold this property for around the same price.
In 2012, she bought an Atlanta mansion for $512.000. The mansion has seven bedrooms, is spread across 7,000 square feet, and is worth over a million dollars today.
Car Collection
Even though we don’t know the exact number and worth of her car collection, it’s definitely impressive. Some of the cars she owned over the years include:
- Bentley SUV worth about $180,000
- Lexus Convertible worth between $40,000 and $92,000
- Mercedes CL63 AMG worth between $100,000 and $160,000
What Can We Learn From Kandi Burruss’ Success?
Kandi Burrus has had an amazing journey. From a member of the award-winning Xscape to her highly successful role on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”, as well as her combined entrepreneurial ventures, she has a lot to teach us.
Firstly, she practices diversification in her life. She’s dabbled in the music industry, appeared on reality TV and movies, and has a diverse portfolio of business investments, real estate, and more. Her success shows how important it is to diversify not only our income but also our activities for a more fulfilled and profitable life.
Beyond her music career, Burruss has delved into various business ventures, showing us the importance of identifying market needs and not being afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Instead of staying in the same lane for all of her life, she decided to go out and try everything she wanted to try and reached incredible success.