Who is Rich Lux?
Born on 3rd August 1993 in Houston, Texas, USA, Rich Lux is a flamboyant YouTuber and drag queen, with thousands of followers. The prolific content creator has uploaded over 200 videos to date, and updates his channel on a daily basis to entertain his loyal fanbase. Rich is 5ft 6ins (1.67m) tall, and weighs approximately 170lbs (78kgs).
Channel Beginnings
Rich’s first YouTube video, “Working at Apple Computer”, was uploaded in 2013. Shortly afterwards, the social media star began churning out content related to beauty, fashion, and designer goods, providing netizens with information about everything from men’s luxury wallets to top-of-the-range convertibles, it’s little surprise that Rich’s online community began growing at a dizzying rate.
Coming out as a drag queen in 2014, the YouTuber accomplished his ambitious goal of releasing an hour-long documentary about the scene. “Drag Houston Documentary by Rich Lux” has since been seen over 150,000 times, and shows viewers the daily lives of drag queens, including their lengthy backstage process before a show. Soon immersing himself in the drag community, Rich uploaded male make-up tutorials touching on every product, from contour to eyeshadow. As his wealth multiplied, the American also took to unboxing Louis Vuitton bags, iPads, and travelling to other countries such as France. With that said, most of the Texan’s first videos have only been seen a couple of hundred times.
Some detractors have speculated that Rich bought views and followers to get a jump-start on the platform, due to the staggering difference in views between “Apple Pencil Review” (350 at time of writing) and “kate spade case iPhone 6s plus review” (17,458 views and counting), despite the videos being uploaded within days of each other. Although we don’t know the truth, it must be said that Rich’s videos became enormously popular in 2016. From Michael Kors store tours to Christian Louboutin collection displays, there was something on Rich’s channel for every shopping addict.
2017 Onwards
To avoid running out of juicy content, in 2017 Rich began uploading clickbait videos with titles designed to capture the viewers’ attention, such as “Banned From Louis Vuitton?”, “Kicked out of the Mall VLOG”, and “Eyebrow Threading Drama!”.
Later on, the beauty expert shared his coming-out story with fans in an emotional nine-minute video that has been seen over 30,000 times to date. In mid-2017, Rich began targeting members of the YouTube community such as Amy Slaton, Trisha Paytas and Jeffree Star. Despite the content creator making a few enemies along the way, these controversial uploads gained Rich thousands of views if not followers. The social media sensation’s “expose” videos – “JACLYN HILL SCANDAL”, “KAT VON D EXPOSED!!!”, and “JEFFREE STAR DRAMA”, to name a few – were also moderately successful, accurate or not. Capitalizing on his burgeoning online fame, Rich released his beauty line Rich Lux Cosmetics.
According to the online personality, his collection was heavily inspired by the drag queens, transgenders, and creatives he grew up around in his formative years. Gerard Cosmetics was one of the first brands to give Rich’s products a chance, and start a lucrative collaboration. According to the YouTuber, he struck up a close friendship with Jen, the CEO of Gerard Cosmetics, due to their similar personalities as “business minded and success driven” people. However, the brand is no longer selling Rich’s line.
Controversies
Given the nature of Rich’s channel, it’s no surprise that the Houston native has been enmeshed in various scandals over the years.
He was heavily criticized for calling the beauty content creator James Charles transgender for painting his nails, and claiming that Jeffree Star was a transphobe, with detractors claiming that Rich was simply jealous of the other online celebrities’ success. It was also pointed out that by Rich’s logic, Jeffree would also be transgender. In a 19-minute video entitled “Rich Lux Racism Exposed”, Rich’s former best friend claimed that the make-up artist was racist. The backlash led to Rich losing followers, and being vilified by thousands of netizens; in his defense, the YouTuber said that he couldn’t be racist because he had black employees, a comment that didn’t sit well with too many people.
There are dozens of videos floating around YouTube with titles such as “Rich Lux Is Gross”, “Lushious Massacr Exposes Rich Lux With Receipts”, and “The TRUTH about RICH LUX COSMETICS.”. Social media users have been quick to point out that, just as Rich made a name for himself on the video-sharing platform by “exposing” members of the beauty community, he began receiving the same treatment years later. Nowadays, Rich revels in his reputation for being problematic, controversial and doesn’t shy away from the odd internet controversy.
Having bounced back from the racism allegations without serious consequences to his channel or endorsements, the content creator has made no attempts to patch things up with his foes and remains his typical unapologetic self; well, isn’t ‘any publicity good publicity’? Rich is also in the process of exploring a music career, with upbeat music videos and lighthearted lyrics. So far, his discography boasts the singles “Clock It The House”, “Gurl”, “Sugar Daddy”, and “Honey Honey Honey”. Despite being accused of copying the drag queen Patrick Starrr, Rich clearly takes his music seriously – he finished shooting his latest music video in January 2022.
Personal Life & Net Worth
Rich tends to be elusive regarding his love life, although in some old YouTube videos the make-up fanatic speaks of having flings with straight men – is that a contradiction in terms? However, we can confirm that the drag queen is currently single, as on Valentine’s Day he posted a humorous TikTok in which he asked a stranger at the mall to be his date. As of early 2022, Rich’s net worth is estimated at over $300,000, thanks largely to his YouTube channel, paid social media sponsorships, and commercial sales. It’s speculated that Rich spends the majority of his money on expensive designer goods and exotic vacations, but leads an otherwise frugal lifestyle. In the past, the famous internet star has spoken about his rough upbringing, and cites it as the reason for his extravagant spending habits.
