Bruce Springsteen is now officially a billionaire, Forbes reports

NZ Herald

21 Jul, 2024 02:15 AM3 mins to read

Bruce Springsteen has officially become a billionaire, according to Forbes magazine. Photo / Getty Images

The Boss is reportedly now part of the billionaire’s club, joining the ranks of celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Jay-Z.

Bruce Springsteen has officially become a billionaire after a 50-year career, according to the most recent estimate by Forbes.

Springsteen - whose songs like Dancing In the Dark, I’m On Fire, and Born In The USA have made him one of the best-selling music acts of all time - was estimated to be worth US$1.1 billion ($1.8b) by the business magazine.

Forbes added that their estimate was “conservative”.

Springsteen has become one of the few celebrities to have grown their net worth to over US$1b, joining the likes of Oprah Winfrey, New Zealand film director Peter Jackson, and fellow singers such as Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Jay-Z.

Springsteen, 74, made the majority of his impressive fortune in recent years. In 2021, the rock star landed a deal to sell his music catalogue to Sony Music, where he was paid between an estimated US$500 million to $550m ($831m to $914m) for his records.

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The Sony-Springsteen deal was the largest payment ever made for an artist’s music collection. The largest made before that was in 2020 when Universal Music bought Bob Dylan’s music catalogue for over US$300m ($499m), the Guardian reported.

Then, in 2023, Pollstar reported that over 1.6 million tickets to Springsteen’s world tour were bought by fans, generating an extra US$380m ($632m) for the Born to Run singer.

Furthermore, Springsteen had two Broadway residencies at New York City’s Walter Kerr Theatre and St James Theatre called Springsteen on Broadway between 2017 and 2021. The show generated US$113m ($188m) in box office sales.

Bruce Springsteen performs in Auckland in 2014. Photo / Chris Loufte

Springsteen has sold over 140 million albums worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians in history. He has been awarded 20 Grammys, an Oscar, and a Tony Award for his Broadway show, as well as countless other accolades.

The rocker has visited New Zealand three times on tour. He first performed a single show at Auckland’s Western Springs Stadium in 2003, before returning for two concerts at Mount Smart Stadium in March 2014.

The Boss last graced Aotearoa’s shores in 2017, when he returned to Mount Smart Stadium for a concert while performing in the South Island for the first time at Christchurch’s Apollo Projects Stadium.

Springsteen was forced to postpone several shows left on his tour in September last year after the singer had to be treated for peptic ulcer disease.

He is now back on tour and travelling through Europe, where he will perform in Bergen, Norway, on July 21 before performing two shows in London, England.