Ben Baller is a Korean-American, best known as a music producer and jewellery designer.
He is the founder of IF & CO., a company known for their speciality diamond encrusted jewellery.
But how did Ben Baller go from working as a music producer for Dr. Dre to one of the biggest names in jewellery business. Read on to find out more.
In this Ben Baller guide…
Ben Baller Quick Facts
| Name: | Ben “Baller” Yang |
| Age (DoB): | 49 (27 January 1973) |
| Birthplace: | Los Angeles, California |
| Height: | 6 feet / 183cm |
| Weight: | 13 st 4 lbs / 85 kg |
| Occupation: | Music Producer, DJ, Jewellery Designer, Actor, Entrepreneur |
| Net Worth: | $100 million (estimate) |
Who is Ben Baller?
Ben Baller is a Korean-American music producer, DJ, actor, jewellery designer and entrepreneur.
He began his career as a music producer for Dr. Dre before venturing into the jewellery business. He supplies some of the biggest names in hip-hop with their jewellery, including Drake, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West.
Ben Baller’s early life
Ben Baller attended Beverly hills High and the University of California, Berkely. He eventually graduated from San Francisco State University with a BFA in cinematography.
He also had a talent for both American football and basketball; he was one of the first Asians to play both sports at the NCAA level. This is the origin of the “Baller” nickname.
Ben Baller’s music career
On The Limits with Jay Williams podcast, Ben Baller revealed that he got his start as a DJ by approaching Denzel Washington and asking his for a job at his restaurant.
In 1993, while working there, he met Dr. Dre who helped him get a job working at Priority Records record label.
He worked his way up to become Vice President of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) at the label. He was one of the individuals involved in signing Jay-Z to the label.
Baller later signed with Dr. Dre’s record label Black Market Records and later at Aftermath Entertainment. He has reportedly produced over 20 platinum albums throughout his career.
He was fired from the label after butting heads with Dr. Dre over the acts’ publishing deals.
Baller claimed that the acts on the label were given poor deals which “put such a bad taste in [his] mouth that [he] didn’t want to be in music anymore.”
Ben Baller’s shoe and car collection
Whilst working as a music producer, Ben Baller amassed a high-end huge shoe collection of over 2000 shoes.
In 2004, he sold the collection on eBay for $2.9 million. This made Baller a millionaire for the first time.
After selling his shoe collection, the first thing Baller did was to go out and buy a Ferrari. He has since formed a large collection of cars including a Ferrari 477 GTB and 50th anniversary Lamborghini Aventador, among others.
Ben Baller’s jewellery career
Using the money from his sold shoe collection, Ben Baller decided to become as jeweller. His cousin and uncle were already in the jewellery business.
He ended up taking night classes in how to make jewellery to help him start his profession. With his uncle and cousin, he founded his flagship business IF & Co.
In 2006, Baller made his first major jewellery piece for American Singer Mariah Carey for $40,000.
Since then, he has made jewellery for big names such as Kanye West, Drake, Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian to name a few.
He has also expanded his business, starting a clothing line, Superism, and a cannabis pen, VVS pens.
Ben Baller’s acting career
Ben Baller has also featured in a number of motion picture films, including The Clinic (2010) and Jin (2011).
He appeared in multiple music videos over the years, most recently in BTS and Steve Aoki’s song “Waste it on Me”.
A documentary Ice Cold: The Untold Story of Hip Hop Jewelry featuring Baller was made in 2020.
What is Ben Baller’s net worth?
Ben Baller’s jewellery empire, combined with his music and acting credits, have earned him an estimated net worth of $100 million as of 2022. A good chunk of his net worth has also come from the sale of various companies, including VVS Pens, which he reportedly sold for $45 million.
Ben Baller’s Personal Life
After several failed relationships, Ben Baller starting dating Filipino-American Model and swimwear designer, Nicolette “Nicc” Lacson.
After one year, Baller prosed to her in Santa Monica’s Casa Del Mar with a ring that he designed.
The couple have two boys, London and Ryder and a girl, who they named Kaia.
Ben Baller’s Tattoos
Ben Baller has a huge number of tattoos all over his body. These include a Buddha symbol on the front of his chest, the names of his wife and children and the Playboy bunny logo.
Inked up and blinged up!
Ben as a Jeweller
He proceeded to announce that he was going to make a custom piece of jewelry for Takashi’s official album in 2021. Ben made a custom-made piece for award-winning producer Tainy, titled “Data 2023.” He also jeweled an astronaut piece for Kaws gallery. The successful jeweler also made a limited edition of a golf putter with the help of @taylormade, a brand invested in custom-made pieces. This piece has his initials, BB, inscribed on it.
His brand, IF & Co, collaborated with PAMP to create 500 pieces of 1 oz gold bars. There are only 500 in circulation in the world.
Ben and Golf
He also invested in golf, practicing 4-6 times a week and improving his shots by 27 shots. In essence, practice definitely makes him better. His third tournament, Malbongolf, was a hit. He bagged an ambassadorial deal with TaylorMade. He stated that he was cooking up something with LFG Lakers in terms of production of hats and caps. Ben then started a golf tournament named “Washed Lord” with jeweled pieces as prizes for the winners. It is currently on its second edition.
Ben as a Father
Ben is a very active father in the lives of his children. With his children, he has visited places such as Tokyo & Houston, to mention a few. He has had two father-daughter dances with his first daughter, Kaia, from 2021-2024. He spends his breaks with his family as well.
The father of three stated that 2023 was the toughest year. Winning the Farmers Pro AM golf tournament, bonding with his children, and making the championship rings for Liv are a few out of the many things he is grateful for.
In 2024, Ben celebrated 400 episodes of his podcast, Behind the Baller, and proceeded to take on major feats without much media presence.