What is Alex Lifeson's Net Worth?
Alex Lifeson is a Canadian musician who has a net worth of $40 million. Alex Lifeson is best known as the co-founder and guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. He was the only continuous member of the band during its existence from 1968 to 2018, and along with bass guitarist and vocalist Geddy Lee was the only one to appear on all of the band's albums. Lifeson has also had some musical side projects over the years, including the rock supergroup Envy of None, which he formed in 2021.
Early Life
Alex Lifeson was born as Aleksandar Živojinović on August 27, 1953 in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada to Serbian immigrant parents. He was raised in Toronto, Ontario. Lifeson began his formal musical education playing the viola, but he soon switched over to the guitar. Growing up, he was influenced by such guitarists as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Pete Townshend.
Rush
In the early 1960s, Lifeson met John Rutsey, his neighbor and schoolmate. They began playing music together on a rented drum kit, and later in the decade, formed a short-lived band called the Projection. In the summer of 1968, Lifeson and Rutsey recruited bassist and vocalist Jeff Jones and founded the rock band Rush. After Jones left, Lifeson's high school friend Geddy Lee took over his position. With the band, Lifeson played guitar, as well as a variety of other string instruments including the mandolin and bouzouki. He became known for his signature riffing, electronic effects, and unusual chord structures.
Rush released its self-titled debut studio album in 1974. The band had its breakthrough the next year with the release of "Fly by Night," the first album to feature lyricist and drummer Neil Peart; it reached number nine on the Canadian Albums Chart. That was followed in 1975 by "Caress of Steel," and then by 1976's "2112," which made it to number five on the Canadian Albums Chart. Rush's final studio albums of the decade were "A Farewell to Kings" and "Hemispheres."
Rush began the 1980s with the release of its most commercially successful album yet, "Permanent Waves," which reached number three in Canada and number four on the US Billboard 200. The group had an ever bigger hit the following year with "Moving Pictures," which topped the chart in Canada and reached number three in the US. That album contains some of Rush's most famous singles, including "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight." Rush continued to have success throughout the decade with the albums "Signals," "Grace Under Pressure," "Power Windows," "Hold Your Fire," and "Presto." The band remained popular into the 1990s, releasing such albums as "Roll the Bones," "Counterparts," and "Test for Echo." However, in 1997, Rush went on hiatus for many years due to personal tragedies in Neil Peart's life. The group eventually got back together to record "Vapor Trails," which was released in 2002; notably, it was the first Rush album since the 1970s to lack keyboards, allowing Lifeson to fill in by using over 50 different guitars. Rush released two more studio albums before disbanding in 2018: "Snakes & Arrows" and "Clockwork Angels."
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Other Musical Projects
Lifeson's first major musical project outside of Rush was his solo album "Victor," released in early 1996 under the titular pseudonym. The album made it to number 99 on the Billboard 200. A decade later, Lifeson founded the Big Dirty Band, a one-off supergroup consisting of Geddy Lee, Ian Thornley, Adam Gontier, Care Failure, and Jeff Burrows. The group was created specifically to record soundtrack material for the comedy film "Trailer Park Boys: The Movie." Lifeson's other major musical project is the rock supergroup Envy of None, which he formed in 2021 along with Andy Curran, Alfio Annibalini, and Maiah Wynne. The group released its self-titled debut studio album in the spring of 2022.
Guest Appearances
Lifeson has made many guest appearances on albums by other artists, including Platinum Blonde's "Alien Shores," Lawrence Gowan's "Lost Brotherhood," Tom Cochrane's "Ragged Ass Road," and I Mother Earth's "Scenery and Fish." He was also featured on Marco Minnemann's 2017 album "Borrego," for which he cowrote the track "On That Note." The year after that, Lifeson played lead guitar on Fu Manchu's 18-minute song "Il Mostro Atomico."
(Photo by Tommaso Boddi/WireImage)
Television and Film
As an actor, Lifeson appeared in several episodes of the Canadian mockumentary television series "Trailer Park Boys." He also acted in the film adaptation and its sequel, and lent his voice to the first season of the "Trailer Park Boys" animated series. In 2009, Lifeson appeared in the film "Suck," and with his fellow Rush bandmates appeared in the film "I Love You, Man." He and bandmate Geddy Lee later appeared together in an episode of the television series "Chicago Fire."
Personal Life
In 1975, Lifeson married his longtime girlfriend Charlene McNicol. The pair previously had a son named Justin in 1970, and in 1977 had another son named Adrian. When he's not playing music, Lifeson paints and flies aircraft as a licensed pilot.
On New Year's Eve in 2003, Lifeson, his son, and his daughter-in-law were arrested at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida after getting involved in a brawl that included altercations with police. Lifeson's nose was broken by the officers, and he was tased six times. In the spring of 2005, he and his son agreed to a plea deal entailing 12 months of probation.
Real Estate
In 2003, Alex paid $2 million for a condo in Naples, Florida. The condo is located steps from the Ritz Carlton where he was arrested later in the year of his purchase. In April 2008 Alex listed his Toronto home for $5.6 million. He continues to own an 8-acre country home outside of Toronto.
