Many musicians have reached billionaire status over the years. Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, and Paul McCartney are just a few names that come to mind. Now, it looks like heartland rock star Bruce Springsteen has made it to the coveted billionaire status after decades in the business
The “Badlands” singer was once a working class hero who wrote working class anthems still beloved to this day. After decades of touring and producing music, Springsteen is officially considered a billionaire with a current net worth of $1.1 billion, according to Forbes. Springsteen grew up in a working class family in New Jersey, making his billionaire status a notable part of his rags-to-riches story.
The Boss’s worth boosted quite a bit in the last few years, specifically. Back in 2021, he sold most of his catalog of music to Sony for approximately $550 million. It was a record-breaking transaction—and a truly “boss” move—that is considered the most expensive transaction between a company and an individual artist for their body of work in history. Just as well, Springsteen sold a whopping $1.6 million in concert tickets in 2023. That alone generated approximately $380 million in total revenue.
We can’t forget about his record sales, too. Springsteen has sold about 140 million albums across the globe. With dozens of Grammy awards under his belt, it’s not surprising that Bruce Springsteen is now a successful billionaire. If anything, it’s surprising that it took this long.
Springsteen started out in rock bands throughout high school. His debut album was the 1973 record Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. That was the start of a significant journey to fame with chart-topping hits like “Born To Run”, “I’m On Fire”, “Dancing In The Dark”, and more.
Most of Springsteen’s music has been immortalized in working class culture. Much of his appeal has come from the fact that he sings about normal, everyday life that most Americans experience.
We can’t forget about his record sales, too. Springsteen has sold about 140 million albums across the globe. With dozens of Grammy awards under his belt, it’s not surprising that Bruce Springsteen is now a successful billionaire. If anything, it’s surprising that it took this long.
Springsteen started out in rock bands throughout high school. His debut album was the 1973 record Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. That was the start of a significant journey to fame with chart-topping hits like “Born To Run”, “I’m On Fire”, “Dancing In The Dark”, and more.
Most of Springsteen’s music has been immortalized in working class culture. Much of his appeal has come from the fact that he sings about normal, everyday life that most Americans experience.
Even with his newfound billionaire status, we can expect Springsteen to keep going for quite a while. The 74-year-old is currently still traveling around the globe for his Springsteen And E Street Band 2023-2025 Tour. His most recent record release was the 2022 album Only The Strong Survive. He’s given no indication that he’s ready to retire, even though he’d be more than financially secure if he stopped now.
Bruce Springsteen isn’t “affected” by his new billionaire status, according to his E Street bandmate Steven Van Zandt.
Forbes magazine recently revealed The Boss has an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion thanks to the lucrative sale of his music back catalogue in 2021 and his extensive touring but his longtime pal Steven is adamant the musician continues to work because he loves performing and “the money has absolutely no factor” in his career decisions.
Steven told The Independent newspaper: “I’m not sure how accurate that [Forbes report] is, first of all. But I don’t think it matters, honestly …
“When you have enough money to live, that’s the point where it matters. Do you continue to work? Or do you retire on a yacht and drink mojitos off the coast of Portugal? The fact is: this is what we do. And so the money has absolutely no factor. It hasn’t affected [him] for many, many years. Ever since, really, [1984 album] ‘Born in the USA’. What’s that, 40 years?
“So no matter how many zeros is on the bank account, it doesn’t make any difference!”
Steven also joked: “It’s great for me because I’m gonna definitely borrow some money, I tell you that. I’m joking, of course … My bookie’s gonna love him. I’m joking again!”
Springsteen previously recalled that the felt uncomfortable when he first started making good money from his music because it set him apart from everyone he grew up with in his home town in New Jersey.
In Warren Zanes’ 2023 book ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’, the musician explained: “I was solvent, which would make me unique in my little neighbourhood. So I was dealing with that, with all my very conflicted feelings about being so separate from the people that I’d grown up around and that I wrote about.”
