How Dillon Francis Achieved a Net Worth of $9 Million

Dillon Francis was passionate about electronic music ever since he discovered it after a friend played some Metallica. However, coming from a family that discouraged such music, Dillon had to keep his love for electronic music a secret for years. When he finally dared to pursue it as his chosen career, he did not know that it would make him one of the most popular DJs. Dillon Francis’ net worth has grown to $9 million, and it will increase now that he is also into television production. Here is the story of a rich man who does not consider the wealth of money as important as that of friends.

Growing Up Sheltered

Growing up, Dillon described is childhood as “sheltered.” He came from a lower-middle-class family, and his parents were determined not to let his education be interrupted by entertainment. Therefore, he was not allowed to watch television unless it was educational- he got to watch “Sesame Street” two hours every day after which he would go back to studying. The emphasis on schoolwork was so much that Dillon’s parents had him on “Hooks on Phonics,” a commercial brand for educational material. That way, Dillon always read ahead.

In high school, Dillon was in the visual arts department where he would do graffiti as he listened to electronic music. Tagging walls while listening to the drums and bass, gave him an adrenaline rush. It became addictive despite knowing that it was wrong since his parents preferred that he listened to gentler music. Consequently, as he told Variance Magazine, the moment he discovered Metallica and Anti-Flag, he played them in secret.

Becoming a DJ

Since Dillon went to art school, by 14, he was doing photography, printmaking and graphic design and he continued with the three artistic talents for the four years of high school. Unfortunately, things did not work out as he had hoped. First of all, Dillon hated the guy he interned for which in turn made Dillon hate photography. Secondly, he wanted to be a well-rounded photographer, so he learned film photography; however, once digital photography came, Dillon’s skills were redundant, and he felt like he had wasted four years learning them. Still, after graduating from high school, he pressed on with photography for six months trying to figure out what to do with his life. The field became saturated, and Dillon settled on becoming a DJ.

Dillon Francis told Complex that although he had come to love electronic music, he still had to hide it because his brother taunted him about it, saying he was gay. Upon moving to Atlanta, he found a producer, Cory Enemy, and Dillon became his apprentice. Within two months, Dillon felt he was ready to pursue electronic music. Of course, with parents who were determined to see their son in school and “make something of himself,” convincing them to allow him to be a DJ was a hard tackle. So when he returned home he told them that all he needed was a year to get his footing and if by then nothing panned out, he would go back to school. Luckily his parents agreed, and Dillon kept his promise of paying $500 a month for rent, thanks to the shows he was able to get.

Making Money from Music

A year and a half later after making his first rent payment to his parents, Dillon was earning enough money to move out and be on his own finally. He went on to collaborate with renowned DJs such as Skrillex who was one of his inspirations to venture into electronic music. The best decision he could have made was aligning himself with Diplo after he was encouraged by his manager at the time, Stretch. Stretch sent Diplo some of Dillon’s work, and it was not long before they were working on music together. In 2019, as Dillon told Hollywood Life hearing Diplo scream to the fans that Dillon is the future of music was quite an unforgettable experience.

Dillon has been performing at Coachella festival for the last four years, and his parents have shown their support through their attendance. DJs when headlining such festivals can make $100,000 in a night. With Dillon being quite a popular DJ, he can easily make the six-figure sum. However, usually, the amount depends on the type of event being hosted, the time slot and one’s negotiation skills. With more collaboration on the way and with role models like Calvin Harris, Dillon is on the right path. After all, they say you can’t expect to fly if you hang out with the ducks and Calvin has been ranked as the highest-paid DJ worldwide for the last seven years.

Videos on Social Media and Television Deal

While in high school, one of the classes in his art program was “New Genres” which encouraged students to be creative and show off their artistic talents. Dillon remade “Laguna beach” episodes featuring himself and his friends as characters from the show. His love for the videos did not die upon graduation, and to date, he continues flaunting his goofy side. Although he said the videos are for himself, and he does not care who likes them or not, his fans are also eager to watch them, which makes them worth his while. Usually, accounts with a million followers make $670 per post, and with Dillon having 2.4 million followers, it is not wrong to conclude that his videos and posts are lining his pockets with lots of money.

Dillon’s comedic nature has helped him land a deal with 20th Century Fox TV. The agreement is to develop an animated series, “Gerard’s World” which is based on Dillon’s fan-favorite character, Gerard. Details of the worth of the contract were undisclosed but 20th Century Fox TV has been known to offer lucrative deals to producers. For instance, Ryan Murphy can’t complain; he inked a $24 million deal for “Glee” in 2010 while Dan Fogelman got a nine-figure agreement in 2019.

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