Who is Carlos Alman? Everything To Know About Cardi B’s Father (2026) 

Carlos Alman is Cardi B’s father, a retired New York City taxi driver whose life has stayed almost entirely out of the public eye.

While his daughter built a global music career in the spotlight, Carlos Alman chose a different path, one built on steady work and quiet privacy.

That contrast is exactly why people search his name. This guide covers everything confirmed about his age, career, family, and relationship with Cardi B, sourced and updated for 2026.

Quick Facts Table

Here’s everything confirmed about Carlos Alman at a glance, verified against public records and reporting as of 2026.

Detail	Information
Full Name	Carlos Alberto Almánzar Marsan
Also Known As	Carlos Alman, Carlos Almánzar
Date of Birth	March 19, 1958 (widely reported, not independently confirmed)
Age (2026)	68
Birthplace	Dominican Republic
Nationality	Dominican-American
Moved to the U.S.	1990 (settled in the Bronx, New York)
Profession	Retired NYC taxi driver (~9 years)
Spouse	Clara Almanzar (divorced in 2005)
Children	8 reported; only Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina are publicly confirmed
Known For	Father of Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina
Social Media	No public or verified accounts
Net Worth	Not publicly disclosed
Last Updated	[insert live publish date]

A few of these numbers, his exact birth date and the total count of his children come from repeated reporting rather than an official record. 

We’ll flag that distinction again later in the “Confirmed vs. Reported” section, so you always know what’s solid and what isn’t.

Who Is Carlos Alman?

Carlos Alman is Cardi B’s father, a retired taxi driver who spent decades working the streets of New York City while staying almost entirely out of public view. Born in the Dominican Republic, he built a quiet, working class life in the Bronx after immigrating to the United States in 1990.

He’s not a public figure by choice. You won’t find him on social media, doing interviews, or showing up at award shows. His connection to fame runs entirely through his daughter, a Grammy winning rapper whose career he watched from the sidelines, not the stage.

That gap between a famous daughter and an anonymous father is the reason people keep searching his name. He raised a global star while choosing to stay a private man himself, and that contrast is really his whole story.

Timeline of His Life

A quick note on this timeline. His marriage date and the birth years of his daughters are approximate and pulled from secondary reporting, not an official record, so treat the early 1990s dates as best estimates rather than confirmed fact. 

Full Name & Naming Origin

Carlos Alman’s real name is Carlos Alberto Almánzar Marsan. “Alman” is a shortened, media friendly version of Almánzar, and it’s simply the name that stuck once outlets and fans started using it online.

This kind of shortening isn’t unusual in Dominican culture. Full names there often carry both a paternal and a maternal surname, which in his case gives you Almánzar from his father’s side and Marsan from his mother’s. Over time, headlines trimmed that down, and “Carlos Alman” became the version most people search for and recognize.

You’ll also come across “Carlos Almánzar” in various articles and interviews. All three names, Carlos Alman, Carlos Almánzar, and Carlos Alberto Almánzar Marsan, point to the same person: Cardi B’s father.

Early Life in the Dominican Republic

Carlos Alman grew up in the Dominican Republic, in a culture built around close family ties and community. He’s never given an interview or shared his own account of his childhood, so most of what’s public comes from secondhand family references rather than his own words.

His mother, Esperanza Almanzar, is the one family member from that side who’s been named publicly. Beyond her name, there isn’t much verified detail about her life or the role she played in raising him, which fits the pattern of a family that has always kept its personal history close.

What you can reasonably piece together is the cultural backdrop. Growing up Dominican meant growing up around a strong work ethic and deep respect for family values Cardi B has repeatedly credited to her own upbringing. 

That thread connects his early years abroad to the household he eventually built in New York, and it’s a big part of where his daughter’s cultural pride comes from.

Immigration to New York (1990)

Carlos Alman left the Dominican Republic for the United States in 1990, settling in the Bronx, a borough with a large Caribbean and Latino population. 

For someone arriving from the Dominican Republic, that mattered. A neighborhood already full of Dominican families made the move a little less jarring, even with a new language and a completely different pace of life to adjust to.

He wasn’t chasing fame or a big break. He was doing what a lot of immigrants do: building something stable, one paycheck at a time, so the next generation would have more room to grow than he did. 

That decision in 1990 turned out to be the foundation everything else in his story sits on, including the household his daughters would later grow up in.

Career: Life as a NYC Taxi Driver

Carlos Alman worked as a taxi driver in New York City for roughly nine years, stepping away from the job around the time Cardi B’s music career started taking off. 

It wasn’t glamorous work. Long shifts, unpredictable traffic, and constant contact with strangers, day after day, for nearly a decade.

He eventually retired from driving in 2019, but he didn’t stop caring about the job. Cardi B has said publicly that her father kept speaking up for cab drivers even after he left the profession, pointing out the difficult working conditions and high costs drivers deal with, and asking people to treat them with more respect. 

That’s a detail worth sitting with. It’s one of the few times Carlos Alman’s private world and his daughter’s public platform have overlapped on record.

There’s a reason this detail carries weight beyond a job title. Cardi B’s own work ethic, the hustle she’s referenced since before she was famous, traces back to watching a parent grind through a demanding, unglamorous job without complaint.He wasn’t building a brand behind the wheel of that cab. He was building a family’s foundation.

One honest note on sourcing here. I found this taxi driver advocacy detail repeated across several entertainment outlets, but I wasn’t able to confirm the exact date or original platform (interview, Instagram post, etc.) where Cardi B first said it. 

I’d recommend verifying the primary source before publishing so you can add a proper date and link, since that’s exactly the kind of attribution gap competitors leave open.

Net Worth (What’s Actually Known)

There’s no verified, official net worth figure attached to Carlos Alman. Any specific dollar amount you come across online should be treated as a guess, not a fact.

Here’s what can be said with reasonable confidence instead. As a retired NYC taxi driver, his income over the years would have reflected that profession: a modest, working class salary rather than significant wealth. 

Taxi driving in New York typically covers a steady living, not the kind of income that builds a large personal fortune.

That distinction matters because it’s easy to assume family members of celebrities share in that wealth. Carlos never entered the entertainment or business world himself, so his financial picture has stayed separate from his daughter’s. 

He’s kept his finances as private as the rest of his life, and nothing about that has changed in 2026.

If you’re looking for a specific number, the honest answer is that one doesn’t publicly exist. What is confirmed is simpler: decades of steady, working class labor that supported a large family, not a personal fortune built alongside his daughter’s fame.

Marriage to Clara Almanzar & 2005 Divorce

Carlos Alman married Clara Almanzar in the early 1990s. She’s of Trinidadian descent, and their household blended two Caribbean cultures under one roof, Dominican on his side, Trinidadian on hers, with Spanish spoken regularly at home.

Together they had two daughters who would go on to become widely known: Cardi B, born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar in 1992, and her younger sister, Hennessy Carolina.

The marriage ended in divorce in 2005, when Cardi B was still a child. Even after separating, both parents stayed involved in raising their daughters. 

Reports suggest they prioritized co-parenting over ongoing conflict, which lines up with how both Cardi B and Hennessy have spoken about their upbringing since.

Clara is generally described as the more visible presence during their daughters’ early years, while Carlos played a steadier, background role, one that’s stayed consistent with his private nature ever since.

Relationship with Cardi B 

Cardi B has spoken about her father publicly enough times that you don’t need to guess at the tone of their relationship. It’s warm, direct, and clearly rooted in real closeness, not a polished celebrity talking point.

The clearest example is a post she made on X around Father’s Day in June 2018. She described her father and herself as “personality twins,” both loud, both quick to joke, and said she couldn’t live without him. 

She’s also stepped in to defend him directly. On January 5, 2026, false claims began circulating online that her father had a criminal conviction from decades earlier. Cardi B addressed it head on, stating that her father had never been arrested in the United States. 

There’s a smaller, quieter moment too. After her daughter Kulture was born in July 2018, Cardi B posted a video on Instagram thanking her parents and her sister for their support, saying it made her emotional to think about how much they loved her.

That’s not a red carpet quote. That’s someone talking about family when the cameras weren’t the point.

He’s also made rare public appearances at her side, including her Gold Album release celebration in New York in April 2018, one of the few times father and daughter have been photographed together at an industry event.

None of these moments are staged. They’re glimpses she’s chosen to share, on her own terms, which tells you as much about the relationship as the words themselves.

Hennessy Carolina — Sister Profile

Hennessy Carolina is Carlos Alman’s younger daughter, born to him and Clara Almanzar in December 1995. She’s built a public presence as a social media personality and has been open about how close she and Cardi B are.

In an interview with Paper Magazine, Hennessy described growing up protecting each other as simply natural, since the two sisters mainly had each other growing up. That protectiveness runs in both directions. 

Hennessy is more visible online than her father ever has been, but she still keeps most of her personal life away from heavy scrutiny, a middle ground between Cardi B’s full public life and Carlos Alman’s near total privacy.

How His Life Shaped Cardi B

Cardi B didn’t grow up watching her father chase fame or look for shortcuts. She grew up watching him work long shifts behind the wheel of a cab, day after day, with no guarantee of anything beyond a steady paycheck.

That kind of consistency leaves a mark. Long before she was writing lyrics about hustle and resilience, she was living it at home, watching a parent show up for a demanding, often thankless job without complaint. That’s not a metaphor she picked up later. It’s something she watched happen in real time.

His influence shows up indirectly rather than in a single defining story. It’s in her work ethic, in the discipline behind her career choices, and in the pride she takes in her Dominican roots, roots that trace straight back to him. 

Success stories like hers rarely appear out of nowhere. Often they come from a household where someone quietly modeled what showing up every day actually looks like, without ever asking for credit.

Why He Avoids the Spotlight

Carlos Alman has never sought public attention, and that reads like a deliberate choice rather than circumstance. He doesn’t use social media, doesn’t give interviews, and avoids events tied to his daughter’s career whenever he can.

Part of that likely comes from his generation and background. Many immigrant parents who built their lives through steady, unglamorous work simply aren’t drawn to public life. 

Fame was never the goal. Stability was. Attention was never something he needed in order to feel like he’d succeeded.

There’s a practical side to it too. Staying out of the spotlight protects his day to day life from the scrutiny that comes with being connected to a global celebrity. 

It lets him keep a normal routine, free from paparazzi or constant public commentary, something that’s clearly worked for him for decades now. Cardi B herself has reinforced that boundary at times, stepping in when reporters have tried to film him without asking first.

Carlos Alman vs. Other Celebrity Parents

Plenty of celebrity parents lean into their child’s fame. They show up on red carpets, join reality shows, or build a personal following off the family name. Carlos Alman has done the opposite at every turn.

Comparison Point	Typical Celebrity Parent	Carlos Alman
Media presence	Frequent interviews and appearances	Almost none on record
Social media	Active, often verified accounts	No public accounts
Public events	Regularly attends with their child	Rare, limited to select moments
Personal brand	Often builds one off the family name	None
Motivation	Attention, opportunity	Privacy, stability

That contrast is exactly why he stands out. His name is known purely because of who his daughter is, not because he’s tried to make it known himself. 

In a culture where relatives of celebrities often turn that connection into their own platform, choosing not to is unusual enough that people notice, and tend to respect it.

Lesser-Known / Fast Facts

• His full legal name, Carlos Alberto Almánzar Marsan, is rarely used publicly. Most people only know the shortened “Carlos Alman.”
• He’s reported to have eight children total, though only two, Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina, are consistently confirmed by name.
• He and Clara Almanzar came from different Caribbean backgrounds, Dominican and Trinidadian, giving their household a mixed cultural upbringing.
• He worked as a taxi driver for roughly nine years before retiring in 2019, a detail Cardi B has referenced when talking about her own work ethic.
• There’s no confirmed public record of him ever giving a full interview about his life or his daughter’s career.
• His mother, Esperanza Almanzar, is one of the only extended family members ever named publicly.
• Despite avoiding the spotlight, he’s attended select events tied to Cardi B, including her Gold Album celebration in April 2018.
• In January 2026, Cardi B had to publicly correct false rumors about a criminal record that never existed, showing how much misinformation can attach itself to someone who almost never speaks for himself.

FAQs

Who is Carlos Alman?

Carlos Alman is a retired New York City taxi driver best known as the father of Grammy winning rapper Cardi B and her sister, Hennessy Carolina.

How old is Carlos Alman in 2026?

He was born on March 19, 1958, making him 68 years old in 2026.

What is Carlos Alman’s real name?

His full legal name is Carlos Alberto Almánzar Marsan, commonly shortened to Carlos Alman or Carlos Almánzar.

What does Carlos Alman do for a living?

He worked as a taxi driver in New York City for roughly nine years and retired from driving in 2019.

How many children does Carlos Alman have?

He’s reported to have eight children total, though only Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina are consistently confirmed by name.

Who is Carlos Alman’s wife?

He was married to Clara Almanzar, who is of Trinidadian descent. They divorced in 2005.

Where is Carlos Alman from?

He was born in the Dominican Republic and later settled in the Bronx, New York, after immigrating in 1990.

What is Carlos Alman’s net worth?

No official net worth has ever been confirmed. His income came from years of steady work as a taxi driver, not from wealth tied to his daughter’s fame.

Is Carlos Alman close to Cardi B?

Yes. Cardi B has publicly called them “personality twins” and has stepped in to protect his privacy on multiple occasions.

Why does Carlos Alman avoid the spotlight?

He’s chosen privacy throughout his life, likely to protect his day to day routine from the scrutiny that comes with being connected to a global celebrity.

When did Carlos Alman move to the United States?

He moved from the Dominican Republic to the United States in 1990, settling in the Bronx, New York.

How long did Carlos Alman work as a taxi driver?

He worked as a New York City cab driver for approximately nine years before retiring in 2019.

Does Carlos Alman have Instagram or social media?

No. There’s no confirmed public account belonging to him on any major platform.

Has Carlos Alman ever given an interview?

No public record shows him giving a full interview about his life or his daughter’s career.

What is Carlos Alman’s zodiac sign?

Based on his commonly reported birth date of March 19, he would be a Pisces.

Is Carlos Alman still alive? How is his health in 2026?

Yes, he’s alive as of 2026. No health issues have been publicly reported, and he continues to live privately in New York.

Did Carlos Alman attend Cardi B’s wedding(s)?

There’s no confirmed public record or photo evidence of him attending her wedding to Offset, which the couple has described as a private ceremony.

Conclusion

Carlos Alman’s story isn’t loud, and that’s really the whole point. He built a quiet life around steady work, family responsibility, and staying out of the spotlight, even as his daughter became one of the most recognized names in music.

His journey from the Dominican Republic to the Bronx, and from years behind the wheel of a taxi to raising a large family, reflects something bigger than a celebrity footnote. It’s an immigrant story built on consistency rather than recognition.

Cardi B’s confidence, work ethic, and pride in her roots didn’t come from nowhere. A lot of it traces back to a father who showed up every day, without ever needing credit for it.

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