With more than two decades of successful showbiz and a growing net worth, Jung Ji-hoon, aka Rain, continues to be one of the most popular celebrities in the Korean entertainment industry. Here’s taking a sneak peek inside his astronomical fortune.
From struggling to make it big in K-pop as a 15-year-old to carving a remarkable career and working towards Korean cultural representation, Rain’s legacy is a testament to his extraordinary talent and unwavering zeal. One of the best-selling solo artists in the K-pop industry, Rain has been part of multiple successful studio albums. These include Raining (2004), Eternal Rain (2006), Rain’s World (2006), Rainism (2008) and Rain Effect (2014).
The singer-actor, who has been on TIME magazine’s 2006 list of 100 Most Influential People in the World, has also delivered some of the highest-rated K-dramas and movies in the last few years. Standouts from his acting portfolio include titles like Full House (2004), I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006), My Lovely Girl (2014), Sketch (2018) and Ghost Doctor (2022).
All about South Korean singer-actor Jung Ji-hoon, aka Rain: Net worth, career, brand deals and more
Rain’s net worth
According to multiple K-media outlets and the South China Morning Post, Rain, aka Jung Ji-hoon, has an estimated net worth of USD 49 million, as of 2022.
While quoting an exact figure in 2024 seems challenging, it is safe to say that Rain, who is one of the richest Korean stars, earns quite handsomely from his musical and cinematic ventures.
A substantial portion of Rain’s earnings also comes from commercials, luxury brand endorsem*nts and social media earnings. Additionally, the South Korean sensation has strategically diversified his financial portfolio by delving into multiple other sectors. These include his flourishing management agencies, real estate investments and other businesses.
Career and filmography
Early years
Rain, aka Jung Ji-hoon, was just 16 years old when he began performing as a rapper in the short-lived K-pop group Fanclub. Following this, he became a backup dancer for singer Park Ji-yoon. Rain made his official debut as a solo singer with his first solo album Bad Guy on 13 May 2002.
The instant success of his two singles “Bad Guy” and “Handshake” from the album led him to release his second album, How to Avoid the Sun, on 16 October 2003. Alternately titled Rain 2, the album was a commercial hit and peaked at #6 on the monthly album charts in South Korea. Additionally, it went on to become the 19th best-selling album of 2003, with over 166,000 copies sold by the end of the following year.
Rain’s acting career went hand-in-hand with his musical one. After releasing the hit album Rain 2 in 2003, the singer ventured into K-dramas and made his television debut with the romantic KBS show, Sang Doo! Let’s Go To School. The drama not only achieved good ratings but also earned him the Most Popular TV Actor award at the 2004 Baeksang Arts Awards. The year proved further successful for him when he landed a role opposite one of the highest-paid Korean actresses, Rain’s Song Hye-kyo, in the hit romantic comedy Full House. The series enjoyed a nationwide finale viewership rating of 42.7 per cent and established Rain as a popular face of the Hallyu wave.
Concerts and tours
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Over the years, Rain also released multiple hit K-pop albums. These include It’s Raining (2004), Eternal Rain (2006), Rain’s World (2006), Rainism (2008) and Rain Effect (2014).
As a part of his musical career, Rain also has to his credit sold-out concerts. Among his hit tours are Rainy Day Tour (2005–2006), Rain’s Coming World Tour (2006–2007) and the popular Legend of Rainism Tour (2009–2010). Among his other Asia tours are Rain Loves Japan Zepp Tour (2010), The Best Show Tour (2011), Story of Rain: 2013 Rain Zepp Tour (2013), Rain Effect China Concert Series (2014) and The Squall World Tour (2015–2016).
After releasing his third album, It’s Raining, in 2004, the K-pop star embarked on his first world tour. Rainy Day Tour spanned across 14 concerts in 8 countries, with the album selling over a million copies in Asia alone. According to JYP Entertainment, Rain earned over USD 35 million in revenue from his tours and promotional activities throughout 2005.
Big screen debut and other projects
Rain made his big-screen debut in 2006 with the Korean romantic film I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK. A Park Chan-wook directorial, it was the opening film for the Hong Kong International Film Festival and later won the Alfred Bauer Award at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival. It was also a commercial hit and recorded over USD 4,642,401 against a budget of USD 3 million. Additionally, for his performance, Rain won the Best New Actor award at the 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards.
On 25 May 2007, Rain became the first Korean artist to hold a concert at Japan’s Tokyo Dome, which was attended by over 40,000 fans. In January 2008, Rain created history by singing the theme song of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, “Hand in Hand”. In August of the same year, he also performed at the Beijing Olympic closing ceremony with the closing theme song “Beijing, Beijing, I Love Beijing”.
Other popular songs that add to Rain’s success are “30 Sexy” (2013), “La Song” (2013), “The Best Present” (2017), “Gang” (2017), “Beach Again” (2020), “Switch To Me” (2021) and “Why Don’t We (2021).
Besides his global success in his musical career, Rain also grabbed the international limelight for his acting stints. In 2008, he landed his first English-language film Speed Racer. A Wachowskis directorial, it was an instant hit and grossed over USD 120 million at the worldwide box office. The South Korean actor played the role of Racer Taejo Togokahn in the action flick.
In December 2020, South Korean entertainment division CJ E&M deemed Jung Ji-hoon one of the ten “2020 Visionary” figures to inspire the global public with their pioneering work in K-pop.
Meanwhile, Rain’s versatility as an actor continued to soar with hits like the 2017 true-story-based film Uhm Bok-dong, JTBC’s 2018 action drama Sketch, MBC’s 2019 family drama Welcome 2 Life and the 2022 romantic tvN drama Ghost Doctor.
The Korean star essays the role of bodyguard in his latest Disney Plus revenge romance K-drama Red Swan. Directed by A Korean Odyssey fame Park Hong-kyun, the 2024 series focuses on the love story of a successful businesswoman and her bodyguard, and their fight against a powerful conglomerate in South Korea.
Luxury brand endorsem*nts
Besides Korean movies and dramas, Rain, aka Jung Ji-hoon also has massive luxury brand endorsem*nt earnings adding up to his net worth. One of the highest-paid Korean actors, he has an asking price of USD 1 million to USD 1.5 million per endorsem*nt.
Over the years, the superstar has endorsed brands and commercials such as Givenchy, Hyundai, Lotte, Hublot watches, Pizza Hut, Thailand dairy company Dutch Mill, Pepsi, Chinese pastry Fu Mu Cakes, Pantech, LG Electronics and SK Telecom.
Moreover, Rain also has released songs as a part of his endorsem*nt deals. The track “Still Believe” was used as both an ad and a music video for BMW Korea’s “Meet the Truth” campaign. In China, “Memory in My Hand” and “Any Dream” were used in campaigns for Pantech and Samsung, respectively.
Most expensive things owned by Rain that add to his net worth
The Korean star is known for spending most of his wealth on prime real estate investments. According to K-media outlet Koreaboo, Rain shared USD 43 million worth of properties with his wife Kim in 2018.
He owns a USD 11.1 million worth villa and a USD 22.2 million worth building along with his wife in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. Additionally, according to a 2020 report by the Singapore newspaper Today, Rain also shares a USD 2 million residence in California with his wife. This brings the celebrity couple’s combined property ownership to nearly USD 73.4 million.
Rain has also made investments in various entrepreneurial ventures. In November 2007, Rain left JYP Entertainment to start his own company, J. Tune Entertainment. The label was a collaborative effort between him and his long-time mentor Park Jin-young. Rain then launched his own clothing line Six to Five in December 2008. In 2010, J. Tune Entertainment was merged with JYP Entertainment, as a strategic alliance between the two companies. In September 2015, Rain eventually created his own one-man agency R.A.I.N Company.
Personal life
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Jung Ji-hoon, popularly known as Rain, was born on 25 June 1982, in Seoul, South Korea. As a teenager, he was driven by his passion for music and dance. Rain was recruited as a trainee for the South Korean label JYP Entertainment in 2000. He eventually ended up pursuing a career in the Korean entertainment industry.
Rain enlisted for his mandatory military service in October 2011 and was discharged in July 2013.
In the same year, Rain also made his relationship with actress Kim Tae-hee public. After five years of dating, the celebrity couple exchanged vows on 19 January 2017 and are currently parents of two beautiful children.
(Hero and Featured image: Courtesy Rain/Instagram)
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
