Cardi B is back at the Chanel boutique.
The Grammy-winning rapper, whose net worth is estimated at $100 million, gave fans a look at her latest luxury purchase on June 22. In a TikTok video, she unveiled four Chanel handbags with a combined value of approximately $52,000.
Each bag came from the Métiers d’Art 2026 collection. Artistic director Matthieu Blazy debuted the collection last December during a runway show held inside an abandoned Manhattan subway station.
A $52,000 Haul, Broken Down
The centerpiece was the Chanel 25 mini in furry cheetah-effect lambskin, retailing at $8,400 and nearly impossible to source.
“This is the hardest bag to get at Chanel,” Cardi said. “I got so lucky getting her. I’m trying to get her sister.”
She had already debuted it at Game 3 of the Knicks’ NBA Finals run, carrying it courtside despite the publicized bag ban at Madison Square Garden.
Next came a kelly green Chanel 25 small in caviar leather, trading on resale at $10,500.
“I love a green bag — it goes with blue, reds, and it’s fun in the daytime with sporty looks,” she said. Rounding out the haul was a Superman-inspired vanity bag at $3,575 — a nod to the collection’s NYC superhero theme — paired with red knee-high boots.
“I think I’m gonna wear them when I try to save the world,” Cardi said. “Gotta wear something fly when I save New York City.”
The standout was a burgundy giraffe flap bag — a gilded giraffe figurine with a Chanel bag for a torso — commanding $30,000 on the secondary market.
“She is gorge. Isn’t she so cute?” Cardi said. She closed teasing a larger international haul: “Don’t get it twisted — I don’t have no money. This is all an illusion.”
The Birkin Portfolio
The Chanel drop is one data point in a much larger story.
Over the past decade, Cardi has assembled one of the most valuable celebrity luxury collections in the country, anchored by Hermès Birkins and Kellys in rare colorways and exotic skins.
She has confirmed at least 26 Birkins — a figure fans consider conservative, Luxury Launches reported in 2021. The inventory spans croc, python, camo print, red bandana paisley, multicolored stripes, and a custom fuchsia paisley design made exclusively for her. Fifteen were gifts from ex-husband Offset.
The rest she sourced herself, often at steep premium. When a camel-colored style sold out nationally, Cardi paid triple retail to track it down.
“I called every f—king Hermès store,” she told followers, according to Elle. “Cost me triple but I love it.” With Birkins ranging from $10,000 to well over $100,000 for exotic skins, the total portfolio runs deep into the millions.
The collection moves, too.
After “WAP” dropped with Megan Thee Stallion, Vanity Fair reported, Cardi gifted her a Hermès orange Birkin hand-painted with a snow tiger and Megan’s portrait.
“Thank you, Meg, really appreciate you,” she signed the back. These are not display pieces. They are assets — and Cardi treats them that way.
She is not just giving things away willy-nilly. She values her money. When someone stole her credit card and spent $60,000, she immediately called the authorities.
On Race, Wealth, and Who Gets to Own Nice Things
The cultural weight of Cardi’s collection extends beyond fashion. When a viral tweet suggested female rappers were devaluing the Hermès Birkin, she responded without hesitation.
“Why is it that y’all asking female rappers if they could get a bag from the Hermès store?” she said. “Y’all don’t do this to white celebrities. Why is it that y’all gotta be asking us? Hip-hop, we start trends. When y’all say that we devalue s—t, no, we actually add value.”
She pushed further: “Why when a Black girl, why when a Hispanic girl have a bag, y’all have to question it? There’s a lot of boss a— b—es out here — realtors, PRs, A&Rs, doctors, dentists. The list goes on.”
The market data backs her. “Bodak Yellow” and “I Like It” each triggered measurable sales spikes for Louboutin and Balenciaga — the latter signing Cardi as the face of its autumn/winter 2020 campaign. Her influence on luxury demand is not anecdotal. It is quantifiable. She is not a rapper who buys luxury goods. She is a collector — and the market knows it.
