Kendu Isaacs is a manager and record producer. He has managed several high-profile faces through Matriarch Entertainment and KI Management, including R&B artist Mary J Blige whom he later married.
He worked as a producer for Betty and Coretta, and Isaacs has a net worth of approximately $3 million.
| Name | Martin Kendu Isaacs (Kendu Isaacs) |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth: | August 14th, 1968 (54 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Manhattan, New York |
| Height: | 5 feet 8 inches (1.72 meters) |
| Profession: | Manager, record producer |
| Marital Status: | Divorced |
| Children: | 3 |
| Parents: | Martin Isaacs (father), Barbara Isaacs (mother) |
| Net Worth Estimate: | $3 million |
Net Worth
It is unclear what Isaac’s exact net worth is. However, it is speculated to be around $3 million.
Most of Isaac’s net worth came from his time as manager for his wife, Mary J Blige. Isaacs received approximately “10% of all gross income from Ms Blige during this time,” indicating a high net worth (1).
Isaac’s net worth comes from his work as a manager for K. I. Management and the Chief Operating Officer of Matriarch Entertainment.
Company
Isaacs currently works as a manager for K. I. Management, which he appears to have found himself. There are no publicly available details regarding his earnings from this or the company’s annual revenue.
Additionally, Isaacs was the president and Chief Operating Officer for Matriarch Entertainment. Similarly, it is unclear how much he received from the company or how much stake he might have in it (2). However, the company was dissolved in 2020 (3).
Earnings
Most of Isaac’s earnings come from being a manager with his most high-profile client Mary J Blige.
Court documents from Isaac’s divorce indicate that he received 10% of Blige’s earnings while working as her manager. As such, his earnings fluctuated as her manager, and an exact earnings figure is unknown (4).
However, court documents from the divorce also indicated that Isaacs earned at least $420,000 from Blige. It is unclear if this was an annual salary or over a different period (5).
Blige released seven albums during Isaac’s time as her manager. The first of these, Love & Life from 2003, was certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as platinum for selling over a million copies (6).
Similarly, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the album as gold for selling over 100,000 copies (7). The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) certified the album as gold for selling over 100,000 copies (8).
Blige’s 2005 album The Breakthrough was also certified by the BPI as Gold (9).
The RIAA certified the album as three platinum for selling over three million copies (10). In contrast, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry certified the album as platinum in Sweden for selling 40,000 copies (11).
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified the record as gold for selling over 35,000 copies (12), and the RIAJ gave it the same certification for selling 100,000 (13)
Blige’s next album, Growing Pains, was less successful than the previous album. However, RIAA still certified it as platinum for selling over 1.6 million copies (14). The BPI gave it a silver certification for selling more than 60,000 copies (15).
The following album, Stronger with Each Tear, was also not as successful, with only the RIAA certifying it as gold for selling 500,000 copies (16). Blige’s next album, My life II… The Journey Continues (Act 1) received the same certification (17), as well as A Mary Christmas (18).
As Blige’s following two albums received no certifications, it is unclear how much Isaacs would have earned from these albums. However, in 2022, sources reported that Blige’s net worth was $22 million (19).
As such, a portion of these earnings would have gone to Isaacs before their divorce.
Blige also went on six headlining concert tours under Isaac’s management, although the revenue from each of these is unclear.
However, the estimated revenue from five Music Saved My Life Tour dates was $2,719,159 (20). As Blige’s manager, he would have earned a portion of this revenue.
Upon their divorce and Blige firing him, Isaac’s lawyers claimed that he had “no source of income,” indicating that being Blige’s manager was his only source of earnings (21).
As part of the divorce proceedings, Isaacs temporarily received $30,000 monthly from Blige as temporary spousal support. It is unclear how much this payment lasted (22).
Additionally, Blige gave Isaacs more than $170,000 throughout the divorce proceedings and $55,000 to pay for his legal counsel (23).
Outside of being a manager, Isaacs also worked as a producer. He worked on the TV movie Betty and Coretta as an executive producer (24). It is unclear how much Isaacs earned from this and the film’s revenue.
Real Estate
It is unclear where Isaacs is currently living. However, at the time of his divorce, Isaacs reportedly lived in an apartment in Los Angeles. He claimed that his home was approximately 1400 square feet (25).
Although the exact price of his house is unknown, some of the properties of a similar size in Los Angeles start from $995 per month for a studio apartment. A 4-bedroom apartment has a premium of $9000 per month (26).
Before this, Isaacs lived in a home in New Jersey which he bought with Blige for $12.3 million. Blige sold the home after their divorce for $6.8 million in 2020.
The house was approximately 18,250 and featured eight bedrooms, thirteen bathrooms, an arcade room, an indoor basketball court, a gym, a wine cellar, a sauna, and an elevator.
The property was three stories high and had a swimming pool, pool house, and garage for six cars (27).
Other Assets
Isaacs owned three luxury vehicles, which Blige paid for. These were a Mercedes-Benz C300 and SL550, along with an unknown model of Range Rover. The exact model of each vehicle is unclear, as well as if Isaacs currently still owns them (28).
However, one 2020 model of the C300 begins at $44,600 (29), while a 2020 model of the SL550 has an average price of approximately $80,320 (30). Both cars were purchased long before 2020, so their worth will be significantly lower than these prices.
Early Life
Isaacs was born on August 14th, 1968, in Manhattan, New York. What his parents, Barbara and Martin, did for work is unknown. However, Isaac’s father was 93 as of 2020, whilst his mother was also alive in the same year.
Additionally, relatively little is known about Isaac’s early life. It is presumed that he went to high school and graduated, but this is uncertain. Similarly, it is unclear if he studied at university as well.
Career
At some point, Isaacs met his future wife, Mary J Blige, and began working as a manager for her. In 2001, Isaacs became a manager for K. I. Management.
As part of this job, Isaacs claims to have managed the careers of several singers, writers, and actors. However, the only publicly available evidence indicates that he was the manager for Mary J Blige.
As Blige’s manager, Isaacs was involved in all business deals and played a key part in her success. According to Isaacs, he helped Blige become sober and received 10% of all her gross income.
In 2008, Isaacs became the president of the record label Matriarch Entertainment. As part of this position, Isaacs was involved in managing artists and helping artists to record music. He also assisted with booking tours and A&R for music artists, though this appears to have been solely for Blige. He stayed in this position until 2016 when he divorced Blige.
Whilst Isaacs managed Blige, she released seven albums, several of which the RIAA certified as platinum. Blige also went on six concert tours as a headliner, from which Isaacs received a portion of her earnings.
These were the No More Drama Tour in 2002, the Love & Life Tour in 2004, the Breakthrough Experience Tour in 2006, the Growing Pains Tour and Love Soul Tours in 2008, and the Music Saved My Life tour in 2010.
After the pair divorced, Isaacs does not appear to have managed any further artists. It is unclear what he currently does for work
Career Highlights
- He began working as Mary J Blige’s manager and received 10% of her gross income
- In 2001, he became a manager for K. I. Management
- In 2008, he became the president of Matriarch Entertainment until 2016
- Whilst Isaac was her manager, Blige released several multi-platinum albums and went on many headlining concert tours
- His current employment status is unknown
Personal Life
Isaacs married his first ex-wife, Maurine, in 1991, and the pair had two children together, named Jordan and Nas. However, by 1999, the pair had divorced. Before this, Isaacs had another child, Briana Latrise, as a teenager.
In 2000, news emerged that Isaacs had begun dating R&B singer Mary J Blige, later leading to the pair marrying in 2003. Isaacs claimed that Blige had a good relationship with all three of his children.
However, in 2016, Blige filed for divorce, claiming “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the breakup. Blige claimed that Isaacs committed adultery by sleeping with a new singer, Starshell. The breakup became the subject of numerous tabloid articles before the couple settled the divorce for an unknown amount of money in 2018.
Previously, Isaacs had been connected to various other women, including Lauryn Hill, Nina Long, and Queen Latifah.
Interesting Facts
- Isaacs is a fan of American footballer Tom Brady (31).
- Isaacs’s cousin is actor Jordan Johnson Hinds, best known for appearing in the TV series Suits (32).
- Isaacs is a Christian (33).
- According to Blige, she was forced to go on tour to pay Isaacs his alimony after the pair divorced (34).
Summary
Kendu Isaacs is a manager and producer known for being R&B artist Mary J Blige’s manager. He also worked as a manager for K. I. Entertainment and president and COO of Matriarch Entertainment.
His current employment status is unknown, and his net worth is approximately $3 million.