Born Kirk Dwayne Franklin on 26 January 1970, in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, he is a gospel musician, choir director and author, probably best known for fronting urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God’s Property and One Nation Crew beginning in the early ’90s.
So just how rich is Kirk Franklin? Sources have estimated that Franklin‘s net worth is $10 million. There are no doubts that his career in music is the origin of Kirk Franklin’s modest fortune.
Kirk Franklin Net Worth $10 Million
Kirk Franklin was abandoned by his mom, and raised with some difficulty by an aunt, who encouraged Kirk to take piano lessons when Frankin was only four years old. However, he showed that he had an ear for music by playing songs by ear, and actually being offered a contract at the age of seven, which was disallowed by his aunt. Instead, Kirk started singing in a church choir, and at the age of 12 he was made director, although he was working with adults.
Perhaps because of a strict religious childhood, Kirk Franklin was still a bit of a problem child in his teens, so his grandmother enrolled him in a music conservatory associated with a local university. This was partly successful, however, Kirk’s girlfriend became pregnant, and he was forced to leave the conservatory apparently because of ill-discipline, so then persevered with music with the church choir.
In 1992, Kirk Franklin founded The Family, a choir comprising friends and associates. Vicki Mack-Lataillade, the co-founder of record label GospoCentric, heard one of their demo tapes and immediately signed Kirk & The Family to a recording contract. In 1993, the group became Kirk Franklin & The Family, and released their self-titled debut album, which spent almost 100 weeks on the Gospel music charts, including 42 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart, being the first gospel album to sell over a million copies. It also made it onto the R&B charts, eventually earning platinum sales status.
Several releases of albums followed, including a 1995 Christmas album, and “Watcha Lookin’ 4” in 1996, which was certified double platinum and earned Kirk Franklin the first of seven Grammy Awards. A collaboration album with the vocal ensemble God’s Property followed in 1997, the lead single, “Stomp”, featuring Cheryl ‘Salt’ James (of Salt-N-Pepa), being a big hit, and certified platinum three times, bringing Franklin another Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.
In 1996, Kirk Franklin’s song “Joy” was recorded by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass Choir, and was included on the best-selling soundtrack to the movie “The Preacher’s Wife”.
Regretfully, legal arguments saw the The Family break-up in 2000, although they re-united for a concert in 2010. However, Kirk Franklin added considerably to his net worth from the sales of his subsequent solo albums: “The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin”, “A Season of Remixes”, “Hero”, “Songs for the Storm”, “The Fight of My Life”, “Hello Fear”, and “The Essential Kirk Franklin”. He has now sold over 20 million copies internationally, and apart from Grammys has won 15 Stellar Awards and 13 GMA Dove Awards. Kirk has also toured extensively over the years, often in collaboration with other sol artists, including Donnie McClurkin, Yolanda Adams and Steve Harvey, which also added to his net worth..
In his personal life, Kirk Franklin married long-time friend Tammy Collins in 1996. When they wed, each had a child from previous relationships, and the couple subsequently has two more children together.
Interestingly, in 2005 Franklin appeared with his wife on TVs “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, specifically to discuss how he ended his addiction to pornography.
