What Is Ezra Koenig's Net Worth?
Ezra Koenig is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and internet radio personality who has a net worth of $10 million. Ezra Koenig is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of indie rock band Vampire Weekend. Koenig has received many awards and accolades over the course of his career, including five Grammy Award nominations for his work with Vampire Weekend. Koenig is the creator of the animated comedy series "Neo Yokio" and hosts the radio talk show "Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig."
Early Life
Ezra Koenig was born on April 8, 1984, in New York City. He is the son of Bobby Bass and Robin Koenig. His father worked as a psychotherapist, while his mother was a set dresser on film and television productions. His family is Jewish and emigrated to the United States from Romania and Hungary. Shortly after Koenig was born, his parents moved out of Manhattan and to Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He grew up with his younger sister, Emma, who went on to become a writer. Ezra attended Glen Ridge High School. By that time, he was already writing his own songs and was involved in a variety of different bands and musical projects with his childhood friend, Wes Miles, who went on to front the band Ra Ra Riot. Koenig has stated that growing up, he was musically inspired by the Ramones, Run DMC, and Blondie, among other artists that his dad often listened to. His music tastes evolved into liking more hip-hop artists like De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest. He also has stated that he is a fan of the Grateful Dead and Sublime.
After high school, Koenig attended Columbia University. While a student there, he ran a blog called "Internet Vibes" about fashion, existentialism, personal identity, and modern culture. After finishing his degree, Ezra worked with Teach for America as a teacher at a junior high school in Brooklyn. He had plans to continue teaching, but his teaching career was cut short after he signed a record deal.
Career
In 2005, Ezra formed the indie rock band Vampire Weekend. The name of the group was in reference to an unreleased indie film of the same name that Koenig and his friends had made during a vacation. Ezra had met his bandmates while a student at Columbia University. The band's first show was in 2006 at a battle of the bands in a campus basement. Later that year, they put some of their demos online. Music websites like Stereogum and Pitchfork raved over the demos. The positive critical reviews helped Vampire Weekend amass a faithful following of fans and they were quickly selling out their shows. They also landed the cover of "Spin" magazine without ever having released an album.
In 2008, the band released their eponymous debut album. The band had self-produced their first album while all working full-time jobs. By the end of the year, the band had performed on "Saturday Night Live," played at England's Glastonbury festival, and sold nearly half a million albums. In 2010, they released their second album, "Contra." That album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the Grammy Awards. Their 2013 album, "Modern Vampires of the City," was nominated in the same category at the 2014 Grammy Awards, and this time, Vampire Weekend won the award. In 2019, they released the album "Father of the Bride." That album won the band a second Best Alternative Music Album Grammy Award at the 2020 Grammy Awards and was nominated in the Album of the Year category.
(Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
In addition to his work with Vampire Weekend, Koenig began hosting his own internet radio show on Apple Music in 2015 called "Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig." The show features Ezra with co-host Jake Longstreth, who is a painter and musician. They discuss a wide variety of topics, like music, snack foods, history, and a variety of other issues while often also interviewing guests.
While on a hiatus from Vampire Weekend in 2015, Koenig wrote and produced an animated comedy-adventure series about a depressive demon-slaying playboy who was voiced by Jaden Smith. The series, called "Neo Yokio," debuted on Netflix in September 2017. The show is presented in the style of anime but Ezra has referred to it as anime-inspired. The show's first season received mixed reviews from critics. After one season and a Christmas special, Netflix canceled the show.
Additionally, Koenig has worked as a producer or was featured on tracks by other bands and artists like Discovery, the Very Best, Theophilus London, Abd al Malik, Paul Simon, Major Lazer, and Chromeo. In 2016, Ezra was credited as a writer and producer on the song "Hold Up" by Beyoncé. Due to his contributions, Koenig was nominated for a Grammy Award for the album "Lemonade." In 2022, Ezra was credited as a co-writer and producer of Liam Gallagher's song "Moscow Rules" from his album "C'mon You Know." He also played multiple instruments across the album.
Personal Life
In 2015, Koenig began dating actress Rashida Jones. That means his father-in-law is the late Quincy Jones. In September 2018, Ezra and Rashida welcomed a son together.
