Vanilla Ice, the one-hit wonder rapper from the 1990s, might have faded from the limelightโbut heโs quietly become a multi-hit real estate phenom.
When his rapping career ended, the performer, whose real name isย Robert Matthew Van Winkle, turned to buying and fixing up properties to flip.
It wouldnโt have been so much of a shocker if the one-time rapper, who met with early success, had ended up a career failure after his music moment died. Instead, he changed his tune.According to Van Winkle, it all started in 1992, when Hurricane Andrew destroyed his Florida home. He decided to fix it up himself and sold it. He was on his way to a new money-making plan; and to hone his skills, he even went to design school.
He toldย Steve-Oย on hisย podcast, Steve-Oโs Wild Ride, that he started โbuying homes all over the country.โ He never lived in them but โmade millionsโ when he decided to sell them off. โI bought a bunch, and I never used them,โ Van Winkle revealed to Steve-O. โI thought Iโd use them while I was there. I donโt want to stay in hotels, it gets crazy. So, I bought all these homes, and then I said, โSโ.โ I went on three years. I never saw them. I thought Iโd lost money on them. I thought, โFโ, I just blew a lot of money,โ and I go, โLetโs just sell them. Sell them all.โ And I sold them all.โ
Turns out, the homes sold quickly, and Van Winkle โmade millions for doing nothing,โ he told Steve-O. โI didnโt even change the carpet or doโthere were probably cobwebs in there. Nobody rented them out. They just sat there, and I go, โHoly sโ, letโs go buy a bunch more of them.โ I was buying homes all over the place and still am.โ
The 56-year-oldโs talents as a real estate investor and contractor were showcased on his reality TV show, โThe Vanilla Ice Project,โ which has 180 episodes and 13 seasons. He explained to Steve-O that he buys โdistressed housesโ that are off-market listings, picking them up for โpennies on the dollar.โ
Van Winkleโs home-flipping work must be paying off, because according toย Celebrity Net Worth, heโs worth about $20 million.
Here are just some of Vanilla Iceโs properties: Read Moreย
Pic source : New York timesย