What is Al Jourgensen's Net Worth?
Al Jourgensen is a Cuban American singer, musician, and music producer who has a net worth of $4 million. Al Jourgensen is best known as the frontman and lyricist for the American industrial metal band Ministry. Famous for his long dreadlocks, skull and bone microphone stand, facial tattoos, and piercings, as well as his propensity to smoke and drink while on stage, Al has stated that he sees himself as more of a photographer than a musician – taking snapshots of society and putting them to music.
Early Years
Alejandro Ramirez Casas, professionally known as Al Jourgensen, was born on October 9, 1958, in Havana, Cuba, to 16-year-old Margarita Brouwer. When he was three years old, he relocated with his mother to the United States, where he spent his boyhood in Illinois and Colorado. In 1964, his mother married stock car driver Ed Jourgensen, and he took his stepfather's last name. Al attended Greely High School and Summit County High School in Colorado and later enrolled at the University of Illinois Chicago.
In 1979, Al joined the American new wave band Special Affect as their guitarist. The band broke up in 1980 after an onstage physical altercation between Al and drummer Harry Rushakoff.
Ministry
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded in Chicago, Illinois by Al Jourgensen in 1981. The members of the band and those who contributed to its sound have significantly shifted over the years, and Al remains the only original member. Sixteen studio albums released by the band include their 1983 debut album "With Sympathy" which only reached number 94 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. One of its tracks – "Effigy" – was used in the second season episode of the HBO teen drama television series "Euphoria."
The band's fourth album, "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste," was released in 1989 and focused on political corruption, nuclear war, and drug addiction. At the time the album was being recorded, Al was heavily addicted to drugs and engaging in violent confrontations against other band members.
"Dark Side of the Spoon," the band's seventh album, was released in 1999. Its track "Bad Blood" was nominated for a 2000 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. The album's title referred to the darkened side of a spoon used to heat heroin – a drug to which several of the band members were addicted. The album was pulled from the shelves of Kmart due to its graphic cover, which depicted an obese naked woman sitting in front of a chalkboard.
The band's eleventh studio album, "The Last Sucker," was the final part of their anti-George W. Bush trilogy. Released in 2007, it reached number 16 on the US Billboard Independent Albums chart.
"From Beer to Eternity" – Ministry's thirteenth studio album – was released in 2013 by Al's record label 13th Planet Records. Shortly after the recording sessions for the album had been completed, the band's 47-year-old guitarist and Al's best friend, Michael Scaccia, suffered a fatal heart attack while performing onstage with the thrash metal band Rigor Mortis. Al was so distraught over Michael's death that he decided at that time not to record any more albums with Ministry. He later changed his mind and released "AmeriKKKant" in 2018.
In 2021, the band released their fifteenth studio album, "Moral Hygiene," which online magazine Consequence ranked as one of the Top 30 Metal & Hard Rock Albums, while online media magazine Loudwire listed it as one of the 45 Best Metal & Hard Rock Albums of 2021.
The album "Hopiumforthemasses" was released in 2024 – the band's sixteenth studio album. Including a guest appearance by American singer Jello Biafra, the album featured Al on vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, and organ; Monte Pittman on guitars, bass, and backing vocals; Paul D'Amour on bass and guitars; John Bechdel on keyboards and backing vocals; and Roy Mayorga on drums. Al wrote all but one of the songs on the album.
Getty
Tours
The band Ministry has been on over two dozen tours, including Lollapalooza in 1992, Slayer's Final Campaign Tour in 2022, and the Freaks on Parade Tour in 2024.
Film
With his band Ministry, Al Jourgensen appeared in the 2001 American science fiction film "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," directed by award-winning American director Steven Spielberg.
Revolting Cocks & Other Side Projects
Revolting Cocks is an American-Belgian industrial rock band formed in 1984 by Al Jourgensen, Richard Jonckheere, and Luc Van Acker. The band released its debut album, "Big Sexy Land," in 1986. After Al and Richard clashed over material, Richard left the band, and three new members were added: Paul Barker, Chris Connelly, and Bill Rieflin. Two more albums followed before the band went on a hiatus. In 2004, Al put the band back together with new members and renamed it RevCo. RevCo toured in 2017, playing shows in Europe and the United States.
Al was also involved in several other bands, including Pailhead in 1987; Lard and 1000 Homo DJs in 1988; W.E.L.T. in 1989; and Surgical Meth Machine in 2016.
Addiction
Al Jourgensen claims that he had his first alcoholic drink at age eight, began using drugs at age 12, and became an intravenous heroin user at age 15. Al blames being a victim of racial bullying at school as the reason he began using drugs and alcohol, as the people he hung out with were much older than he was and took part in such activities.
In 1995, police raided Al Jourgensen's property and placed him under arrest for possession of heroin, for which he was sentenced to five years probation. Over the course of his addiction to heroin, methadone, crack, and prescription medications – which he alleges lasted for over two decades – there were three separate occasions when his heart stopped. The first time, he overdosed on heroin at a party and was clinically dead before being defibrillated. In 2010, he began vomiting blood after a stomach ulcer burst, and he was taken to the hospital, where his heartbeat ceased. He then flatlined a third time and went on to have a toe amputated after he stepped on a hypodermic needle and the wound became infected.
Al has said that, with the help of rehab, he began refraining from certain drugs in 2019 and, since that time, indulges specifically in alcohol, marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Personal Life
Al Jourgensen married Patty Marsh in 1984. They had one daughter, Adrienne, before divorcing in 1995. Al married Angelina Lukacin in 2002. They also later divorced.
Al's autobiography "Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen" was released in 2013.
In his early days as a musician, Al sang with a fake British accent to honor the British bands he had long admired.
