Dee Snider Net Worth

What Is Dee Snider's Net Worth?

Dee Snider is an American singer-songwriter, actor, radio personality, and screenwriter who has a net worth of $10 million.

Dee Snider is best known as the flamboyant frontman of heavy metal band Twisted Sister. Rising from the New York club scene in the 1970s, Snider became the defining voice and face of the band when they achieved mainstream success in the 1980s with anthems "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock." His distinctive appearance—featuring wild blonde curls, garish makeup, and outlandish outfits—made him an MTV icon during the hair metal era.

Snider gained unexpected political relevance in 1985 when he delivered an articulate testimony before Congress against music censorship during the PMRC hearings. Following Twisted Sister's initial breakup, he pursued diverse entertainment ventures, including radio hosting, voice acting, film directing, and reality television appearances on shows like "Celebrity Apprentice."

As a solo artist, Snider has released several albums spanning various genres from metal to Broadway. He's authored books, including his autobiography and has maintained cultural relevance through his radio show "House of Hair" and continued touring. Throughout his career evolution from metal provocateur to multimedia personality, Snider has remained true to his outspoken nature while demonstrating remarkable versatility as an entertainer beyond his initial music fame.

Catalog Sale and End of an Era

In September 2024, Twisted Sister sold their remaining recording copyrights, trademarks, and name, image, and likeness rights to Warner Music Group. Dee Snider, long recognized as the band's outspoken frontman and creative force, played a symbolic role in closing this chapter of the group's legacy. The deal marked the official end of Twisted Sister's business operations after more than 50 years. Fans can still hear the band's music in films, television, and commercials, with licensing deals continuing to introduce Twisted Sister's rebellious anthems to new generations. Notably, their heavy metal rendition of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" from A Twisted Christmas was featured in the 2024 action film The Gorge—a full-circle moment for a band that once shocked parents and thrilled teenagers with the melodic defiance of "We're Not Gonna Take It."

While Jay Jay French led the strategic and legal preparations for the sale, Snider remains the face and voice most associated with the band's cultural impact. His role in shaping Twisted Sister's image, message, and enduring popularity helped make the catalog a valuable intellectual property, and the sale underscored the band's rare transformation from MTV-era icons into long-term licensing powerhouses.

Early Life and Education

Daniel Snider was born on March 15, 1955, in Astoria, Queens, New York. He was raised nearby in Baldwin, Long Island. His mother, Marguerite, is a retired art teacher of Swiss descent, while his father, Bob, is a retired New York State Trooper from a Jewish family. However, Snider and his siblings were raised as Episcopalians. He attended Baldwin Senior High School, where he was part of the concert choir. Due to his vocal talents, which he also honed in a church choir, Dee was selected for the All-State Chorus.

Twisted Sister

In 1976, Snider joined the heavy metal band Twisted Sister, which was originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey; afterward, he became the band's sole songwriter. In 1982, the group released its debut studio album, "Under the Blade," and subsequently grew a following in the United Kingdom. The album was followed by "You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll," which spawned the singles "The Kids Are Back" and "I Am (I'm Me)." Twisted Sister released its third and most successful album, "Stay Hungry," in 1984. This record featured the band's two biggest hits, "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock," and eventually went multi-platinum, with sales in the United States surpassing 3,000,000 copies. Around this time, Snider established his signature persona of long curly blonde hair and metal-inspired makeup, including an abundance of eye shadow, rouge, and red lipstick.

In the mid-1980s, MTV launched "Heavy Metal Mania," the first program on the network to entirely comprise heavy metal videos. Snider hosted the very first episode in June 1985. That year, Twisted Sister came out with its fourth studio album, "Come Out and Play." Although less successful than "Stay Hungry," it still reached gold status after selling over 500,000 copies. Next, in 1987 came "Love Is for Suckers," which had originally been conceived as a solo project for Snider. The album was to become the band's final album before their breakup, and also their last to feature entirely new material.

After Twisted Sister

Following a truncated tour in 1987, Snider officially announced his departure from Twisted Sister. He ended up forming the band Desperado, which featured former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr, bassist Marc Russel, and former Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme. The group recorded only one album, "Ace," but it was never officially released.

In 1991, after the demise of Desperado, Snider formed the band Widowmaker with Marc Russel, friend and drummer Joe Franco, and guitarist Al Pitrelli. Together, they recorded the albums "Stand By for Pain" and "Blood and Bullets," neither of which found great success in underground circles. Later on, in the latter half of the decade, Dee went on tour with a self-tribute band called Dee Snider's SMFs, with a lineup including Derek Tailer, Keith Alexander, Charlie Mills, and, on occasion, former Twisted Sister drummer A.J. Pero.

On the Radio

Snider took to the radio in 1997 when he became the host of "The House of Hair," a syndicated heavy metal radio show that broadcast on more than 200 stations throughout North America. From 1999 to 2003, Dee served as the host of Dee Snider Radio, a morning radio show on Hartford, Connecticut's Clear Channel station. Fellow members of the program included Sean Robbins, Beth Lockwood, and Nick Lentino, while guests included Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne.

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Other Media Projects

Outside of music, Snider has been involved with video games, television, and movies. In 2001, he lent his voice to the PlayStation 2 game "Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy," portraying the main villain. He has also voiced characters in episodes of the Nickelodeon cartoon "SpongeBob SquarePants" and the Cartoon Network show "Secret Mountain Fort Awesome." Also on television, Dee has hosted a number of shows and specials on VH1 and was a contestant on CMT's "Gone Country" in 2008. He hosts "Dead Art" on Gallery HD, and narrates a live show called "Van Helsing's Curse" that tours the United States around Halloween. Other appearances from Snider have been on reality shows such as "Growing Up Twisted," "Celebrity Wife Swap," and "The Celebrity Apprentice."

In movies, Dee had cameo appearances in "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" and "Private Parts." In 1998, he wrote the slasher film "Strangeland." Subsequent film credits have included documentaries such as "Warning: Parental Advisory," "Kiss Loves You," and "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey."

Congressional Testimony

In 1985, when the Parents Music Resource Center launched a Senate hearing to propose the introduction of a parental warning system for albums with offensive content, Snider, along with Frank Zappa and John Denver, showed up to testify against the measures. They were successful, as the system was never implemented; instead, a generic "Parental Advisory" label was used for albums deemed objectionable.

Personal Life

Dee and his wife Suzette have been married since 1981. They have four children, Jesse, Shane, Cody, and Cheyenne. Their eldest son, Jesse, hosted "MTV2 Rock" and came in second place on the reality competition show "Rock the Cradle," on which Snider appeared as his mentor.

Real Estate

The Sniders formerly lived in East Setauket, New York. He showed off this home on a 2005 episode of "MTV Cribs.". Later, he purchased a two-bedroom condo on the 36th floor of Turnberry Towers, a luxury complex near the Las Vegas Strip. During his stay, he added marble floors, accent walls, and designer tile. In 2020, he sold the place for $583,000.

In September 2020, Dee paid $2.1 million for a townhome in Redondo Beach, California. They sold this home in July 2024 for $2.9 million and subsequently moved to North Carolina.

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