What Is Samantha Ronson's Net Worth?
Samantha Ronson is an English singer, songwriter, and DJ who has a net worth of $8 million. Samantha Ronson has DJed at some of the most high-profile events around the world, such as the Superbowl, MTV's New Year's Eve Show, and the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals, and for parties hosted by a range of celebrities including Stevie Wonder, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jay-Z. Samantha was the first rock artist to sign with the hip-hop label Roc-A-Fella Records, but the album she wrote and recorded for the label was never released. In 2003, she released the mixtape "Challah" with DJ AM, and the following year, she released two mixtapes with her brother, Mark, "Get High" and "Get S R – The C Ronson Mixtape." Samantha produced and released the album "Chasing the Reds" independently in 2011. In 2016, she formed the pop band Ocean Park Standoff with Ethan Thompson and Pete Nappi, and they released a self-titled EP in 2017. Their single "Good News" reached #12 on the "Billboard" Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart and #13 on the "Billboard" Adult Top 40 chart.
Early Life
Samantha Ronson was born Samantha Judith Ronson on August 7, 1977, in Camden, London, England. She is the daughter of real estate entrepreneur/music executive Laurence Ronson and socialite/writer Ann Dexter-Jones. Laurence and Ann are both of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, and the Ronson family name was originally Aaronson. They divorced when Samantha was 6 years old, and Ronson moved to New York City with her mother, siblings, and Ann's boyfriend, Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Mick became Samantha's stepfather in 1982, and he had two children with Dexter-Jones. Ronson's older brother, Mark, is a musician and music producer who is married to actress Grace Gummer, the daughter of Meryl Streep, and has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and several Grammys. Samantha has a fraternal twin sister named Charlotte, who is a fashion designer. Ronson also has three half-siblings from her father's marriage to Michele First and two stepbrothers from Jones' previous relationships. She is the niece of Gerald Ronson, a property tycoon who was convicted of fraud, false accounting, and theft for his involvement in the Guinness share-trading fraud in 1990. Samantha attended Manhattan's Chapin School, then she enrolled at New York University, where she studied philosophy and creative writing.
Career
Ronson has said of her start as a DJ, "I got a call one night from a club that I used to hang out at and they were like, 'Do you want to DJ?' I was like, 'No way,' [but] my friends were like, 'Come on, just do it.' I was always in the club; [I figured I] might as well make money off it." She began to make a name for herself and eventually started DJing full-time. Samantha has DJed at events such as the Superbowl, the Sundance Film Festival, MTV's New Year's Eve show, the American Music Awards, and the Pan American Games. She was named Hennessy's official DJ in 2011, and she designed sneakers for Supra in 2009, 2010, and 2014. Ronson co-owned the NYC nightclub The Plumm alongside actors Chris Noth, Simon Rex, and Jesse Bradford, singer/actor Joey McIntyre, and record executive Damon Dash. Samantha was the first rock act to sign a deal with Roc-A-Fella Records, and she released the singles "Fool," "Built This Way," "Pull My Hair Out," and "If It's Gonna Rain" on the label. In 2004, "Built This Way" was featured in the teen comedy "Mean Girls," and "Pull My Hair Out" was on the 2004 soundtrack for "The Woodsman." Ronson also performed on the Rhymefest song "Wanted," which was in the 2006 drama "Half Nelson." She wrote and recorded the album "Red" for Roc-A-Fella, but it was never released.
Samantha released the 2011 album "Chasing the Reds" on Broken Toy Records, her own label, and it featured appearances by artists such as Slash and Phantom Planet's Alex Greenwald. Ronson co-produced the album with Jimmy Messer, the former guitarist of the glam rock band Goudie, and she co-wrote the track "Skyscrapers" with her brother, Mark. In 2016, Samantha formed the pop band Ocean Park Standoff with vocalist Ethan Thompson and drummer Pete Nappi, and they released a self-titled EP the following year. Their singles "Good News" and "If You Were Mine" (featuring Lil Yachty) reached #13 and #15, respectively, on the "Billboard" Adult Top 40 chart, and they performed "If You Were Mine" on the late night talk show "Conan" in April 2018.
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Personal Life
In 2007, it was rumored that Samantha was in a relationship with actress Lindsay Lohan. Lindsay didn't comment on the rumors, preferring to "keep her private life private," and in a 2010 interview with "The Times," Ronson stated that she still loved Lohan as a person but that the attention from the paparazzi was hard to deal with. She initially stated that she dated both men and women, referring to herself as "an equal-opportunity player," but during a 2022 appearance on the "Queery" podcast, she said that after years of struggling to accept her sexuality, she identifies as gay.
In 2017, Samantha began a relationship with Cassandra Grey, the widow of producer Brad Grey. Cassandra is the founder of the beauty company Violet Grey, which she sold to Farfetch in 2022.
In May 2007, a "small amount" of cocaine was found in Lohan's car after a crash, and blogger Perez Hilton claimed that the drugs were Ronson's and began selling t-shirts that said "Blame Samantha" as well as calling her a "lezbot dj." Ronson sued Hilton for defamation, but her lawyer, Martin Garbus, eventually withdrew from the case. A judge ruled in Perez's favor and ordered Samantha to pay his legal fees. A few weeks later, Garbus sued Ronson for more than $140,000 in services and fees, but he later dropped the lawsuit. Samantha then filed a lawsuit against him, alleging that she lost the case to Hilton as a result of Garbus' incompetence. She asked for over $300,000 in damages, and Garbus countersued her.
In August 2011, Ronson was stopped by police in Las Vegas for driving nearly 90 mph in a 70 mph speed zone. After performing a balance test, Samantha was arrested on two misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence.
Real Estate
In 2016, Samantha sold her 1,170 square foot home in Santa Monica, California, for $1.299 million. She paid $810,000 for the two-bedroom, two-bathroom home in 2012. In early 2023, Ronson and Grey listed their New York City home for $12 million. The 2,910 square foot condo features three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a powder room, and a chef's kitchen.
