Jimi Hendrix Net Worth

What Was Jimi Hendrix's Net Worth?

Jimi Hendrix was an American musician and songwriter who had a net worth of just $20,000 at the time of his death in 1970. That's the same as around $150,000 today after adjusting for inflation. Jimi Hendrix is internationally recognized as being among the best and most influential electric guitarists in the history of music. He achieved major success playing with the band the Jimi Hendrix Experience and earned widespread attention for his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. In 1970, following headlining gigs at the Woodstock and Isle of Wight Festivals, he passed away from accidental drug-induced asphyxia at the age of 27.

Estate

Jimi Hendrix famously died without a will, so his entire estate was inherited by his father, Al Hendrix. The estate provided a modest income for Al from 1970 to 1974 until a formerly trusted family lawyer convinced him to sell everything connected to Jimi for a relatively small (undisclosed) amount. Al would later sue the lawyer to retain control of the estate, citing conflicts of interest because the lawyer also owned an interest in the company Al was convinced to sell to back in 1974. By 1994, Jimi Hendrix's estate was worth $80 million. Today his estate is worth $175 million.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Jimi Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington. He was the first of five children of Lucille and Al Hendrix. His mixed genealogy included Cherokee, African-American, and Irish ancestors. When Jimi was a very young child, his father was stationed in Alabama with the US Army and was placed in a stockade to prevent him from going AWOL to see his son. After returning from service, Al was unable to find steady work, leaving the family impoverished; moreover, both of his parents struggled with alcohol, which often led to violence. Jimi was in and out of foster care with his brother Leon, while his three other siblings, Joseph, Kathy, and Pamela, were all given up to foster care and adoption by their parents. After his parents divorced when he was nine, Hendrix was taken into custody by his father.

Jimi attended Washington Junior High School and then Garfield High School. In 1958, at the age of 15, he obtained his first acoustic guitar and began playing for hours every day. Subsequently, Hendrix formed his first band, the Velvetones, and later joined the Rocking Kings.

Military Service

Discovered riding in stolen cars on more than one occasion, Hendrix was given the choice to go to prison or join the US Army. He chose the latter, and when he enlisted in 1961, he was assigned to the 101^st Airborne Division. However, due to his poor personal conduct, which included neglecting his duties in favor of his guitar, Hendrix was discharged in 1962.

First Performances and Recordings

Following his discharge, Hendrix moved with fellow discharged serviceman Billy Cox to Clarksville, Tennessee, where they formed the band the King Kasuals. Playing low-paying gigs at first, they eventually moved up to Nashville's Jefferson Street, earning a brief residency at a popular local venue. Subsequently, Jimi made a living performing on the chitlin' circuit while serving as a backing musician to such major artists as Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and Ike & Tina Turner. Later, in 1964, he played the Harlem club circuit and sat in with numerous backing bands, including one for the Isley Brothers.

With the Isley Brothers, Hendrix recorded the two-part single "Testify." After leaving the band, he joined Little Richard's touring band, the Upsetters. In 1965, Jimi signed his first recording contract, and joined the R&B band Curtis Knight and the Squires, with which he recorded the single "How Would You Feel." However, feeling constrained as an R&B sideman, Hendrix moved to Greenwich Village in 1966. There, he formed the band Jimmy James and the Blue Flames.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

In September 1966, Hendrix was brought to London by former Animals musician Chas Chandler, who was interested in managing and producing artists. Chandler subsequently formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience, which included Jimi, guitarist Noel Redding, and drummer Mitch Mitchell. Within a matter of months, the band had three UK top 10 hits with the tracks "Hey Joe," "Purple Haze," and "The Wind Cries Mary." The Jimi Hendrix Experience then released the 1967 album "Are You Experienced," which spent 33 weeks on the UK charts and peaked at #5 on the "Billboard" 200.

Evening Standard/ Hulton Archive

Monterey Pop and US Fame

Although the Jimi Hendrix Experience was popular in Europe, the band had not yet reached the same level of fame in the United States. This changed in June 1967 when the group performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in California. Memorably, the Experience ended the set with Hendrix destroying his guitar and lighting it on fire, creating one of the most iconic images in rock history.

The Experience went on to release the album "Axis: Bold as Love," which made it to #5 in the UK and #3 in the US. This was followed by "Electric Ladyland," the band's final album; it was Hendrix's most commercially successful album, making it all the way to #1 in the US. Becoming the highest-paid rock musician in the world by 1969, Jimi headlined the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in New York. There, his guitar-driven rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" became one of rock's most famous performances.

Relationships

As a young adult, Jimi dated Betty Jean Morgan. Later, when he moved into Harlem's Hotel Theresa in 1964, he met his girlfriend Lithofayne Pridgon, who provided him with shelter and support. In the late '60s, he dated Kathy Etchingham and Carmen Borrero, the latter of whom he assaulted in a domestic violence incident. Hendrix's last girlfriend was Monika Dannemann, who was with him when he passed.

Substance Abuse and Death

Hendrix's fame in the late '60s was accompanied by excessive drug use. The artist was a regular user of marijuana, LSD, and amphetamines, especially when he was on tour. He also mixed the drugs with alcohol, frequently becoming aggressive and violent against people he was with.

On September 18, 1970, Monika Dannemann woke up to a breathing but unconscious Hendrix. After he was transported to St Mary Abbot's Hospital, Jimi was pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination revealed that he had died of accidental asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates and an overdose of sleeping pills.

Honors

Throughout both his career and after his death, Hendrix garnered numerous music accolades. In 1968, "Billboard" named him the Artist of the Year, while "Rolling Stone" called him the Performer of the Year. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and during the late 1990s and early 2000s, many posthumous Hall of Fame Grammy Awards were given to Hendrix's music. Additionally, "Rolling Stone" ranked Hendrix as the greatest guitarist and the sixth greatest artist of all time.

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