Beeple: From Graphic Designer to $50M Net Worth NFT Artist
Bio Overview
Name: Mike Winklemann
Net worth: $50 million
Place of birth: Wisconsin, United States of America
Birthdate: Jun 20, 1981
Alma mater: Purdue University
Who is Beeple?
Beeple, real name Michael Joseph Winkelmann, is an influential American digital artist known for diverse creative works like illustrations, short films, VJ loops, virtual reality, and augmented reality pieces. Ranked 16th spot in Cointelegraph's top 100 in 2022, he achieved notable success in the nonfungible token (NFT) space, selling artworks for millions of dollars. He got a jumpstart into his NFT career with Nifty Gateway Studio in 2020 where his NFT collection was available. His NFTs were also later available on secondary marketplace Rarible. Much of his artwork has a surreal, dystopian look in a visually captivating and bizarre way.
Inspiration: The name "Beeple" came from a toy in the 1980s that looked like a yeti with a glowing nose. This reflects how creative and mysterious Beeple's early art was, which inspired Beeple’s artistic character.
Beeple is also recognized for creating concert visuals for popular artists like Justin Bieber, One Direction, Katy Perry, and Eminem. He has also served corporate giants like NBC, Apple, Samsung, Nike, Sony Pictures, Coca-Cola, and Space X.
How much is Beeple’s net worth?
Although multiple sources estimate Beeple’s net worth at $50 million, his actual net worth could be worth more, surpassing $90 million, which is often the case with high-profile artists of that status. Despite being over 40 years old, Beeple significantly impacts the digital art world.
What are Beeple’s career highlights?
After his graduation from Purdue, Beeple transitioned from corporate website design to freelance work in graphics and animations, eventually becoming prominent in the digital art world through collaborations with high-profile clients, as previously mentioned. In the beginning he was skeptical of NFTs and thought it was some weird crypto thing but later realized its potential to digitize the art scene and how NFTs opened up a new stream of revenue line for artists. Here are a few of the projects that got him as the art professional to limelight:
Everydays
Winkelmann started a project in 2007 where he would draw art every day. The project was therefore named “Everydays”. He got the inspiration from another artist who drew every day for a year. Winkelmann has since made over 5,000 pieces of digital art in a row. He focussed on different programs for each year, such as Adobe Illustrator in 2012 and Cinema 4D in 2015. His art seemed dystopian and was remarkably adopted by fashion pioneer Louis Vuitton. Minted in December 2022, the floor price was at ETH 25 for a supply that was limited to 721 1-of-1 NFTs.
The big sale: Everydays NFT
One of Beeple's NFT collages, "Everydays: the First 5000 Days," sold for a whopping US $69.3 million at an auction in 2021, making it one of the top-selling works by a living artist. Indian crypto investor Vignesh Sundaresan bought it at Christie’s London. This happened when NFTs were at a historic high and will go down as an unprecedented record for the blockchain industry known for years to come.
This event contributed to much of Beeple’s net worth, in addition to further achievements that stemmed from it in the following years since the big sale.
The project Everydays ran for 13 years from the year 2007 to 2021.
Crossroad
During the 2020 presidential elections Winkleman, created an NFT titled "Crossroad" that depicts former President Trump lying defeated after the 2020 election. The NFT sold for a record $6.6 million, making it one of the events in the NFT world at the time and also in his career. The "Crossroad" NFT was part of Beeple's first NFT sale on Nifty Gateway.
Ocean Front
He sold an artwork called "Ocean Front" for $6 million. The artwork, part of Beeple's "Everydays" series, was about solving climate change. The money from the sale went to a non-profit called The Open Earth Foundation. Even though Beeple skeptically believed the NFT prices were in a bubble at the time due to the market turmoil, but he was firm on the idea that the technology behind NFTs was robust and would last.
Human One
Another physical artwork "HUMAN ONE" sold for US $29 million at Christie's 21st Century Evening Sale. The sculpture was a kinetic video with a dynamic NFT continuously displaying evolving artwork. Beeple had remote access and creative control over the content forever. Inspired by TV screens on wheels, Beeple's creation features a lone astronaut in a world filled with oversized Pop icons, decay, and nods to Art History. The artwork was perceived as a follow-up to his previous work, "Everydays: The First 5000 Days," and represented a blend of polished, cartoon-dystopian hallucinations.
