New Billionaire Bruce Springsteen: How New Jersey's Beloved Musician Amassed A Fortune

Forbes

Bruce Springsteen went from E Street to Easy Street by staying true to his humble roots—and rolling up his sleeves and going to work. Despite his discomfort with the trappings of wealth, the Garden State’s original guitar hero has amassed a substantial fortune over six decades—which Forbes conservatively estimates to be worth $1.1 billion—singing about his blue-collar roots. Even now, at 74, Springsteen's out there touring and doing three-hour shows. Always a workman’s workman, Bruce is still clocking in and rolling up his sleeves for fans around the world.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2024/07/19/bruce-springsteen-is-now-a-billionaire/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Legendary rock star Bruce Springsteen is now a billionaire.

00:06The boss went from E Street to Easy Street by staying true to his humble roots, rolling

00:11up his sleeves and going to work.

00:14Despite his discomfort with the trappings of wealth, the Garden State's original guitar

00:18hero has amassed a substantial fortune over six decades, which Forbes conservatively estimates

00:23to be worth $1.1 billion, singing about his blue-collar roots.

00:29From his first major label LP, 1973's Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey, Springsteen's

00:35brand of rock and roll spun tales of manual labor, finding love, and getting out of the

00:40town that, quote, rips the bones from your back.

00:43He would know, having been born in a Jersey shore town to working-class parents and living

00:48with his paternal grandparents in what he once described as their, quote, noticeably

00:52decrepit home.

00:54Getting out had taken him some time.

00:57Springsteen spent the 1960s playing in a variety of local bands, figuring out who he

01:01was as an artist before eventually signing with Columbia Records.

01:06For his debut album, Springsteen was backed by musicians who became the now-legendary

01:10E Street Band, guitarist Stevie Van Sant, drummer Max Weinberg, the late saxophonist

01:16Clarence Clemons, among others.

01:19They had all met playing local Jersey Shore clubs and, as a group, put the Stone Pony,

01:25also known as the house that Bruce built, on the map in the 1970s.

01:30Once Springsteen had the band, he turned to John Landau, a former rock journalist, to

01:34be his manager and record producer.

01:37When Bruce Springsteen returned to his native New Jersey in 1981, he finally had some financial

01:42security.

01:43Having just finished his first commercially successful tour supporting his fifth studio

01:48album, The River, he had significant money in his bank account.

01:52Still, the then-32-year-old boss chose to furnish his rented Colts Neck ranch house

01:58with cast-off furniture scavenged from the streets.

02:03Over the course of his career, Springsteen has dominated the charts, with 21 studio albums,

02:08seven live albums, and five EPs, selling over 140 million albums globally.

02:15He also told his stories in the No. 1 New York Times bestselling memoir in 236 sold-out

02:22Broadway performances.

02:24Along the way, he won 20 Grammys, an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a special Tony Award, and

02:31has earned a place in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

02:37The Man Who Sang About Finding the American Dream has also received the country's highest

02:42awards, accepting the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009 and a Presidential Medal of Freedom

02:47in 2016.

02:50In 2021, shortly after his second run of Springsteen on Broadway ended, he sold his music catalog

02:56to Sony, earning a lump sum of $500 million for his life's work.

03:02At the time, Landau said the deal was deserved for the half-century Springsteen spent making

03:08music.

03:09And the glory days keep coming.

03:11In 2023, Springsteen's world tour sold more than 1.6 million tickets, generating $380

03:18million in revenue per Pulse star.

03:22With concerts scheduled through mid-2025 and no apparent plans to slow down, the heart

03:27of Heartland Rock remains, in his words, a gun for hire.

03:32Even now, at 74, he's out there touring and doing three-hour shows.

03:36Always a workman's workman, Bruce is still clocking in and rolling up his sleeves for

03:41fans around the world.

03:48For more UN videos visit www.un.org

Category

Transcript

Recommended