Net worth & personal profile
LL Cool JNet Worth
LL Cool J’s $120M estimate checked against SEC financing, Rock The Bells trademarks, NCIS: New York, music rights, wife Simone and four children.
Source: Celebrity Net Worth estimate. Not an independently verified personal balance sheet.
Source · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Displayed crop
The essentials
The $120 million headline is a third-party estimate. Its own page gives conflicting NCIS episode rates, so those salary claims cannot validate the total. [1]
The SEC records $14,571,693 sold by Rock The Bells to 28 investors. That is company financing and implies dilution, not a personal payday. [2]
He obtained and registered Rock The Bells rights through trademark proceedings. No documented purchase price establishes what the brand is worth. [3]
The early years · The career · The money · Current work · Personal life
LL Cool J’s public business record is richer than a single net-worth headline. Celebrity Net Worth estimates $120 million, while the SEC documents money raised by Rock The Bells and CBS documents his next television role. Each source measures something different. Celebrity Net Worth — LL Cool J · SEC — Rock The Bells Form D · Paramount — NCIS: New York · Net Worth VIP — methodology
The old page rejected the $120 million estimate because one salary multiplication reached a similar number. That is not a valid contradiction: career gross and current wealth can coincide by chance after taxes, spending, investing and other income. The real problem is that the quoted episode rates are unsupported and internally inconsistent. Celebrity Net Worth — LL Cool J · Net Worth VIP — methodology
01 / Hollis, Def Jam and a hip-hop first
Radio built the original platform
James Todd Smith grew up in Hollis, Queens and signed with the young Def Jam label as a teenager. Radio arrived in 1985 and helped establish the commercial template for a solo hip-hop star. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — LL Cool J
The catalog grew through Bigger and Deffer, Mama Said Knock You Out and later releases. His official discography now places 2024’s The FORCE alongside that long run. LL Cool J official — music
Music income can include artist royalties, publishing, neighboring rights, touring and licensing. Public credits do not reveal his precise ownership or after-tax receipts across four decades. Net Worth VIP — methodology
02 / Television became a second long career
NCIS salary claims remain unverified
LL Cool J played Sam Hanna across 13 seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles after entering the franchise in 2009. Paramount confirms the run but does not publish his compensation. Paramount — LL Cool J biography
Celebrity Net Worth headlines $350,000 per episode while its own career table shows $150,000. Neither entry links to a contract, and applying one flat rate across the entire series would ignore renegotiations and episode-count changes. Celebrity Net Worth — LL Cool J
The arithmetic from a claimed episode rate produces hypothetical gross pay, not proof of salary or net worth. Agent fees, management, tax, time, investments and other income remain outside the multiplication. Net Worth VIP — methodology
03 / Company capital is not founder cash
The SEC figure belongs to Rock The Bells
Rock The Bells filed an offering of $16,505,264 and reported $14,571,693 sold to 28 investors. LL Cool J signed as chief executive, but the issuer received the capital and no company valuation or personal ownership percentage was disclosed. SEC — Rock The Bells Form D
Selling securities raises cash for a company while giving investors economic rights. Without the cap table, preference terms, debt and valuation, the financing cannot price LL Cool J’s stake. SEC — Rock The Bells Form D · Net Worth VIP — methodology
The $120 million estimate may be plausible after music, television and business activity, but it remains unreproducible. Public filings do not itemize his property, investments, taxes, debts or liquid assets. Celebrity Net Worth — LL Cool J
The evidence, with its limits
| Source / measure | Public figure | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Celebrity Net Worth — LL Cool J | $120M | Third-party net-worth estimate; no public personal balance sheet. |
| SEC — Rock The Bells Form D | $14,571,693 | Rock The Bells securities sold to 28 investors; company capital. |
| SEC — Rock The Bells Form D | $16,505,264 | Total offering size, not company valuation or founder wealth. |
| Celebrity Net Worth — LL Cool J | $350K / $150K | Conflicting per-episode claims on one source page; neither is contract evidence. |
| USPTO — ROCK THE BELLS RADIO | Reg. 5,650,027 | Active ROCK THE BELLS RADIO service-mark registration. |
| Reservoir — Marley Marl catalog deal | price undisclosed | Marley Marl producer-rights deal, not LL Cool J’s catalog sale. |
04 / Rock The Bells and NCIS: New York
Two active businesses define 2026
CBS says NCIS: New York premieres October 6, 2026 with LL Cool J starring as Sam Hanna and serving as an executive producer. The announcement verifies work and control, not his fee or backend. Paramount — NCIS: New York
His official site lists a Rock The Bells festival date at Prudential Center on November 29, 2026. Ticket sales would be event revenue before promoter, venue, production, artist and company costs. LL Cool J official — home
The Rock The Bells brand grew from his 1985 song into radio, media and live events. The USPTO registration is active, but a trademark registration carries no declared market value. USPTO — ROCK THE BELLS RADIO · LL Cool J official — home
05 / Simone, four children and ownership limits
A long marriage anchors the personal profile
LL Cool J and Simone I. Smith have been married since 1995 and have four children: Najee, Italia, Samaria and Nina-Symone. The relationship remains his current publicly documented partnership. LL Cool J official — home
Rock The Bells’ financing brought outside investors into the company. Public records name LL Cool J as CEO and director but do not disclose his fully diluted percentage or whether trademarks are licensed from him personally. SEC — Rock The Bells Form D · USPTO — ROCK THE BELLS RADIO
A 2022 Reservoir deal involving Mama Said Knock You Out concerned producer Marley Marl’s share. A famous song in a transaction does not mean the performing artist sold his own masters or publishing. Reservoir — Marley Marl catalog deal · Net Worth VIP — methodology
Financial record
The money timeline
Rock The Bells Festival 2026CurrentNot disclosedDetails & source
Amount and context
Not disclosed · USD
His official site lists the Newark festival appearance; ticket revenue is not personal income.
Open source for Rock The Bells Festival 2026 ↗NCIS: New York premieresCurrentNot disclosedDetails & source
Amount and context
Not disclosed · USD
CBS lists LL Cool J as star and executive producer; no compensation is public.
Open source for NCIS: New York premieres ↗Rock The Bells files Form DCompany financing sold$14.57MDetails & source
Amount and context
$14,571,693 · USD
The filing reports $14,571,693 sold to 28 investors from a $16,505,264 offering.
Open source for Rock The Bells files Form D ↗Marley Marl rights deal announcedRightsNot disclosedDetails & source
Amount and context
Not disclosed · USD
Reservoir acquired producer rights involving Mama Said Knock You Out; price undisclosed and seller was not LL Cool J.
Open source for Marley Marl rights deal announced ↗ROCK THE BELLS RADIO registeredRightsNot disclosedDetails & source
Amount and context
Not disclosed · USD
The USPTO registered the active service mark to James Todd Smith.
Open source for ROCK THE BELLS RADIO registered ↗Amounts describe different financial measures and retain their original currencies. They must not be added together as personal wealth. Our methodology.
Common questions
Questions, answered
What is LL Cool J’s net worth in 2026?
Celebrity Net Worth estimates $120 million. No public personal balance sheet verifies the exact figure.
How much did LL Cool J make per episode of NCIS: Los Angeles?
No verified contract figure is public. Celebrity Net Worth displays conflicting claims of $350,000 and $150,000 per episode.
How much money did Rock The Bells raise?
An SEC filing reports $14,571,693 sold in a $16,505,264 offering to 28 investors. The money went to the company, not directly to LL Cool J.
Who is LL Cool J married to?
He has been married to Simone I. Smith since 1995. They have four children.
What is LL Cool J doing now?
He stars as Sam Hanna and serves as an executive producer on NCIS: New York, scheduled to premiere October 6, 2026, and remains active with Rock The Bells.
Follow the evidenceSources & reading13 links
- Celebrity Net Worth — LL Cool J ↗
Displays a $120 million estimate and an internally inconsistent salary table without a personal balance sheet.
- SEC — Rock The Bells Form D ↗
Records a $16,505,264 offering and $14,571,693 sold to 28 investors; the issuer is the company.
- USPTO — ROCK THE BELLS RADIO ↗
Shows the active federal service-mark registration filed by James Todd Smith.
- USPTO TTAB — Rock the Bells cancellation ↗
Official cancellation proceeding involving the earlier festival registration.
- CourtListener — James Todd Smith v. Guerilla Union ↗
Federal docket records the trademark case and default judgment; it is not a purchase agreement.
- Reservoir — Marley Marl catalog deal ↗
Confirms a producer-rights deal containing Mama Said Knock You Out, not a sale by LL Cool J.
- Paramount — NCIS: New York ↗
Confirms LL Cool J as star and executive producer of the October 2026 series.
- Paramount — LL Cool J biography ↗
Official August 2026 biography covers NCIS: Los Angeles, Rock The Bells and current return as Sam Hanna.
- LL Cool J official — home ↗
Official site confirms Rock The Bells, philanthropy, music and the November 2026 festival appearance.
- LL Cool J official — music ↗
Official discography lists The FORCE and earlier albums.
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — LL Cool J ↗
Official 2021 induction profile and career history.
- Wikimedia Commons — LLCoolJ by Philip Romano ↗
2026 photograph by Philip Romano, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Net Worth VIP — methodology ↗
Explains why company financing, gross salary arithmetic, trademarks and catalog transactions are not personal net worth.
