List of the richest musicians in Cameroon. For an immense time, music has remained one of the reasonable sources of wealth for the richest Cameroonian musicians. Like many other sub-Saharan African countries, Cameroon embraces music and it is fascinating that some of its artists have long succeeded in blending traditional Cameroonian music with popular music genres like jazz, Afrobeat, and hip-hop.

There are a great deal of wealthy Cameroonian musicians and some of these successful characters have been in the music scene for many years. This very article features the Top 10 Richest Musicians in Cameroon and the net worth each of them has acquired.

Top 10 Richest Cameroonian Musicians

  • 1. Yannick Noah

Yannick Noah is a French musician of Cameroonian descent. His music career began in 1991 only a few years before his retirement from professional tennis. In 1983, he emerged winner of the French Open. His professional tennis career lasted nearly 20 years during which the France-born Cameroonian bagged the overall of 16 doubles titles and 23 singles titles. His son, Joakim Noah, is a basketball player for the New York Knicks.

Yannick Noah has contributed to charitable causes. He once joined hands with his mother and founded a charity scheme for less-privileged children. Born in Sedan, France in 1960, Yannick Noah is a product of mixed parentage comprising a French mother Marie-Claire and a Cameroonian father Zacharie Noah. He began his professional tennis career in 1977 and ultimately retired from the game in 1996.

Yannick Noah

Noah marked the beginning of his music career with an album titled “Black or What’’. Released in 1991, the album is mostly recognized for a popular track known as “Saga Africa’’. Following the success of his first album, Yannick Noah came up with his second album “Urban Tribu’’. Released in 1993, the album is best recognized for the single “Get on Back’’. In 1998, the artist launched his third album titled “Zam Zam’’.

In honour of himself, Yannick Noah entitled his fourth music album “Yannick Noah’’. Precisely, the album came after Noah’s music career blossomed massively in 2000. Meanwhile, the duo of Robert Goldman and Erick Benzi partnered with him in writing the album. Noah’s songs have received massive airplay in France. About 1.3 million copies of his song titled “Pokhara’’ were sold in France.

“Charango’’ is Yannick Noah’s fifth album. Following its release in 2006, the album became a massive hit, recording over 1 million copy sales in France.

Noah’s first marriage to Cecilla Rodhe yielded two children. His second marriage to Heather Stewart-Whyte yielded two daughters and his current marriage to Isabelle Camus is blessed with a male child known as Joalukas. Currently, Yannick Noah has the net worth of $13.8 million, making him the richest musician of Cameroonian descent.

 

  • 2. Manu Dibango

Born Emmanuel N’Djoke Dibango, Manu Dibango is one of the most popular Cameroonian musicians. He is a skilled player of vibraphone and saxophone and his long-standing successful music career has made him one of Cameroon’s legendary artistes. Popularly recognized for “Soul Makossa’’ [his hit single released in 1972], Manu Dibango is a product of an inter-ethnic marriage between a Duala mother and a Yabassi father. Meanwhile, he is greatly admired for having pioneered a music style that blends conventional Cameroonian music with funk and jazz. By and large, his music genres encompass makossa, African Rumba, jazz, afrobeat, and Afro-funk.

Manu Dibango – Second Richest Cameroonian Musician

Veteran singer Manu Dibango was born in 1933 in Douala, Cameroon. He has remained an active musician since 1968. With music being his major source of wealth, Manu Dibango holds the net worth of $9.9 million.

  • 3. Richard Bona

Richard Bona is a prolific singer and winner of the American Grammy Award. Born in the Cameroonian area of Minta in 1967, Bona is admired for his diverse music genres which encompass etno jazz, jazz fusion, Funk, and world fusion. He is very skilled at playing both bass and guitar and his music career has earned him fame within and beyond Cameroon. So far, he has produced music under various labels including Sony, GRP, Verve, Columbia, and Universal.

Richard Bona – Top 10 Richest Cameroonian Musicians

Richard Bona –who goes by the birth name Bona Pinder Yayumayalolo –was raised in a family full of musicians. While he was young, he earned music inspiration by virtue of his music-oriented background comprising his mother (a singer) and his grandfather who was a percussionist cum West African praise singer. During his time in France, Richard Bona sang songs at jazz clubs with prominent artists including Didier Lockwood, Salif Keita, Manu Dibango and Jacques Higelin. With the net worth of $9.7 million, he is deemed Cameroon’s third richest musician.

  • 4. Stanley Enow

Born Stanley Ebai Enow, Stanley Enow is a Cameroonian professionally known as a voice actor, radio personality, TV presenter, and rapper. He has fortified his music career with wealth and several awards –the most notable being his award at the Best New Act category of 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards. Meanwhile, he emerged the first Cameroonian to be awarded in the aforementioned category.

Stanley Enow

Stanley Enow is one of the owners of Motherland Empire [a popular record label] and he is most acclaimed for his 2013 single entitled “Hein Pere’’. A native of Douala, Cameroon, Stanley Enow was born in Bamenda and he has remained an active musician since 2013. Currently, he holds the net worth of $9.1 million.

  • 5. Petit Pays

Petit Pays is a Douala-born Cameroonian with the birth name Adolphe Claude Ndalaah Moundi. He is considered a successful character that has been in the music industry for many years. Only within the period of one week, he recorded more than 50,000 cassette sales upon the launching of his Double Album Class F and Class M in 1996. Impressively, he has produced more songs than every other Cameroonian musician and his music career shows that he has more than 35 albums to his name.

Petit Pays

With the net worth of $3.8 million, Petit Pays deserves a place on this list not only as one of Cameroon’s richest musicians but also one of the country’s most acclaimed musicians. Meanwhile, his acclaim has soared from the late 1980s down to the late 2000s.

  • 6. Ben Decca

Ben Decca is a veteran musician born in the Cameroonian area of Douala in 1958. His fans have dubbed him the “Makossa man’’ in honour of the Makossa memories his songs rose in their minds. In 2015, he marked the 30th anniversary of his music career and so far so good, music has favoured him as a reasonable source of livelihood. His debut album entitled “Aphrodite’’ became a great hit upon its release and triggered massive airplay among music lovers across Cameroon. At the moment, Ben Decca claims the net worth of $2.9 million.

  • 7. Lady Ponce

Born Adele Ruffine Ngono, Lady Ponce is a prominent Bikutsi musician. Her birth came about in the Cameroonian area of Mbalmayo in 1983. A native of Cameroon’s Ewondo ethnic group, Lady Ponce is said to have received her musical inspiration from her mother who performed songs at parties. She lost her mother in 1998 at the time she was just a teenager. Upon the death of her mother, she decided to relocate to Yaounde –the capital of Cameroon. In Yaounde, Lady Ponce associated with several Congolese artists and performed at nightclubs. She is widely admired for her music genres which encompass Ndombolo, Bikutsi, Salsa, and Makossa. Currently, the net worth of $2.7 million makes her the 7th richest musician in Cameroon.

  • 8. Grace Decca

Born Ndom’a Deccah Grace, Grace Decca is a Douala-born Cameroonian singer. She is the sixth-born child in a family of 11 children. Her music career is said to have been influenced by Ben Decca –musician and Grace Decca’s elder brother. Meanwhile, Grace Decca started her music sojourn in 1984 as an accompanist under the leadership of Ben Decca. She came up with her debut solo album in 1989. Entitled `Besoin d’amour’, the album proved to be a massive success in Cameroon. Though `Besoin d’amour’ was a significant success, Grace Decca was not very popular until she launched her second album which eventually brought her to limelight in 2003. At the moment, Grace Decca boasts the net worth of $1.9m and her career details reveal that she is one of the most acclaimed female musicians in Cameroon.

  • 9. Pit Baccardi

Pit Baccardi (who goes by the birth name Guillaume N’Goumou) is a renowned singer born in the Cameroonian capital –Yaounde –in 1978. He is best known as a producer cum rapper and he has remained an active musician since 1995. With his fame still intact amongst popular Cameroonian artistes, Pit Baccardi claims the net worth of $1.4 million.

  • 10. Mani Bella

Mani Bella (who goes by the birth name Veronique Mani Bella) is a prominent female singer born in the Cameroonian capital –Yaounde –in 1987. In 2010, she came up with her debut album entitled “Pousse la vie’’. The album portrays her own style of Cameroonian music while in 2014, she launched her second album entitled “Pala-pala’’. Notably, the album “Pala-pala’’ portrays Bella’s elegance and multicultural inclination. Fortunately, the album contributed to her emergence as an award-winning musician. At the moment, she is reported with the net worth of $1.1 million which gives her the tenth position among Cameroon’s richest musicians.

That’s all about the Top 10 Richest Cameroonian Musicians.

Related: 

Tags: Top 10 Richest Cameroonian Musicians.

2 Replies to “Top 10 Richest Cameroonian Musicians”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *