Elton John Net Worth & Biography

Elton John is an English singer, pianist, and composer, with an estimated net worth of $500 Million. He is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 300 million records worldwide in a six decade career in music. John is acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his work during the 1970s and its lasting impact on the music industry. His music and showmanship have had a significant impact on popular music.

Bio Data

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Biography

Elton John was born as born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on the 25th of  March 1947 in the United States, He was the eldest child of Stanley Dwight and the only child of Sheila Eileen. John was educated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School, and Pinner County Grammar School until he was 17 when he left just prior to his A-Level examinations to pursue a career in music.

John started playing his grandmother’s piano as a young boy, and within a year his mother heard him picking out Waldteufel’s “The Skater’s Waltz” by ear. After performing at parties and family gatherings, at age seven he began formal piano lessons. He showed musical aptitude at school, including the ability to compose melodies, and gained some notoriety by playing like Jerry Lee Lewis at school functions. At age 11, he won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. According to one of his instructors, John promptly played back, like a “gramophone record”, a four-page piece by George Frideric Handel after hearing it for the first time.

The Dwights were keen record buyers, exposing John to the popular singers and musicians of the day, and he has said he remembers being immediately hooked on rock and roll when his mother brought home records by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets in 1956. Growing up he states, “I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and that was it. I didn’t ever want to be anything else. I’m more of a Little Richard stylist than a Jerry Lee Lewis, I think. Jerry Lee is a very intricate piano player and very skillful, but Little Richard is more of a pounder.”

Career

John began his professional music career in 1962, forming Bluesology, a blues band he was a member of until 1967. He met his longtime musical partner Taupin in 1967 after they both answered an advert for songwriters. For two years, they wrote songs for other artists, and John worked as a session musician for artists.

In 1969, John released his debut album Empty Sky. In 1970, he formed the Elton John Band and released his first hit single, “Your Song”, which became his first top ten in both the UK and the US. John’s critical success was at its peak in the 1970s, when he released a streak of chart-topping albums in the US and UK, which began with Honky Château (1972) and culminated with Rock of the Westies (1975).

John continued his success in the 1980s and 1990s, having several hit singles and albums in both decades, and has continued to record new music since then. He has also had success in musical films and theatre, composing music for The Lion King and its stage adaptation, Aida and Billy Elliot the Musical.

In 2017, John released the greatest hits album Diamonds, spanning his hits from 1970 to 2016. In 2018, John began his ongoing farewell tour Farewell Yellow Brick Road, which will conclude in 2023. John’s autobiography, Me, was published in 2019. That same year, his life and music career were dramatized in the biopic Rocketman. While he did not appear in his own biopic, John has made cameos in other films and television shows.

Honors and Accolades

Elton John is a recipient of numerous awards and Accolades. He has received five Grammy Awards, and five Brit Awards; including for Outstanding Contribution to Music; two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, a Disney Legends Award, and the Kennedy Center Honor.

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him 49th on its list of 100 influential musicians of the rock and roll era. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and is a fellow of The Ivors Academy. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music and charitable services in 1998. French President Emmanuel Macron presented John with France’s highest civilian award, the Legion d’honneur, in 2019.

John is also one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 300 million records worldwide in a six decade career in music. He has more than fifty Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Hot 100, including nine number ones in the UK and US, as well as seven consecutive number-one albums in the US.

His 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and his 1974 Greatest Hits compilation album are among the best-selling albums worldwide. His tribute single “Candle in the Wind 1997”, sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling chart single of all time.

Elton John’s Net Worth

Elton John is one of the richest musicians in the world, with an estimated net worth of $500 Million. In 2009, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated his wealth at £175 million, ranking him the 322nd wealthiest person in Britain. John was estimated to have a fortune of £320 million in the 2019 Sunday Times Rich List, making him one of the 10 wealthiest people in the British music industry.

In the early days of his career, he reportedly signed an $8 million contract with MCA.  When the contract was signed in 1974, MCA reportedly took out a $25 million insurance policy on John’s life. In 2992, John and his long-time music partner,  Taupin signed a music publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music for an estimated $39 million over 12 years, including the largest cash advance in music publishing history.

John is an art collector and is believed to have one of the largest private photography collections in the world. Aside from his main home, Woodside, in Old Windsor, Berkshire, he owns residences in Atlanta, London, Los Angeles, Nice, and Venice.