What is Meg White's Net Worth?
Meg White is an American musician who has a net worth of $5 million. Meg White is best known for being the drummer for the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes. Her former husband, Jack White, played guitar, wrote the songs, and performed vocals for the group. Although Jack was the primary vocalist for The White Stripes, Meg sang the lead on several tracks, including:
- "In the Cold, Cold Night"
- "Passive Manipulation"
- "Get Behind Me Satan"
- "Who's a Big Baby"
- "St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air)"
The White Stripes released six studio albums between 1999 and 2007. While the exact number of albums sold worldwide by the White Stripes is not known, they were known for their commercial success and critical acclaim. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the band's album "Elephant" has been certified platinum (1 million copies sold) in the United States. Additionally, their albums "Get Behind Me Satan" and "Icky Thump" have been certified gold (500,000 copies sold) in the United States. The group also embarked on a number of highly successful tours before officially announcing their retirement from the music industry in February 2011.
Meg White was a bartender in the early 1990s at a downtown Royal Oak bar called Memphis Smoke. That is where she met Jack White, who was then named Jack Gillis. They married on September 21, 1996 and Jack chose to take Meg's last name. The couple divorced on March 24, 2000. During the height of their success, Jack and Meg told the world that they were siblings. In May 2009, Meg married Jackson Smith. Jackson is the son of musicians Patti Smith and Fred "Sonic" Smith. Jackson and Meg divorced in 2013.
Early Life
White was born on December 10, 1074, in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. She is the daughter of Catherine and Walter Hackett White Jr. and grew up with her older sister, Heather. She was very private in high school and was described as being quiet and artistic by fellow students. She decided she was not interested in pursuing college but instead wanted to try to become a chef. She began working at a downtown restaurant, Memphis Smoke. It was there that she met aspiring musician Jack Gillis, who was also a senior in high school. They became good friends and eventually married.
The White Stripes
White's interest in music began when she one day tried playing Jack's drumkit on a whim. Something immediately clicked, and the duo formed the band The White Stripes. They played their first gig at the Gold Dollar in Detroit. Jack primarily played the guitar and sang, while White played drums. The two kept to a chromatic theme, dressing only in red, white, and black. They started opening for more established bands in Michigan's underground garage rock music scene. Some of the bands they opened for or played with include Bantam Rooster, the Dirtbombs, Two Star Tabernacle, Rocket 455, and the Hentchmen, among others.
In 1998, the band signed with Italy Records, an independent Detroit-based label. The White Stripes released their self-titled debut album in 1999. They followed the release up with their second album, "De Stijl." The album later became a cult classic after peaking at number 38 on the "Billboard" Independent Albums chart. During this time, as The White Stripes were developing a following, White and Jack's personal relationship was suffering, leading to their divorce in 2000.
In the following few years, the band's popularity grew far beyond Detroit. They released their third album, "White Blood Cells," in 2001 and then their fourth, "Elephant," in 2003. The band received some mixed reviews, especially considering their unconventional makeup of just a drummer and guitarist/vocalist. White's drumming style specifically received a lot of attention, with many critics delighting in the fact that she reduced drumming to its most basic and raw components, while others found her playing to be that of a novice. White has cited Bob Dylan as being her favorite musical artist and describes her drumming style as primal.
While Jack was typically responsible for lead vocals, White can also be heard occasionally singing as well. She sang lead on four songs – "In the Cold, Cold Night," "Passive Manipulation," "Who's a Big Baby," and "St. Andrew." She also has shared vocal duties with Jack on a number of other tracks.
Evan Agostini / Getty Images
During the early to mid-2000s, White worked on a number of other projects as well. She appeared in a Detroit Cobras music video for the song "Cha Cha Twist." She also appeared with Jack in a segment of the Jim Jarmusch film, "Coffee and Cigarettes." She did a bit of modeling for Marc Jacobs' 2006 spring line, and two of her photos appeared in the March 2006 issue of "Elle" magazine.
In the fall of 2007, The White Stripes announced they would be canceling 18 tour dates due to White's acute anxiety. White remained largely out of the public eye over the following year, appearing once in June of 2008 during an encore set with the Raconteurs, one of Jack's other bands. The White Stripes did not make another live appearance together until February of 2009, when they made an appearance on the final episode of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and performed one of their most popular tracks, "We're Going to Be Friends." In September of that year, a documentary about their Canadian tour, "The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights," premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It documented the band's summer 2007 tour. In February 2011, the band reported on their official website that they were disbanding in order to preserve the beauty of what the band had created during their time together.
Over the course of her career, White has been honored as part of The White Stripes with multiple awards and nominations. The band received four Grammy Awards for their albums and songs, along with three additional nominations. They also won in the best International Group category at the Brit Awards in 2004, in addition to being nominated five additional times. The White Stripes also received nominations at the NME Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and Kerrang! Awards, and the American Music Awards.
(Photo by Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage)
Personal Life
In September 1996, White married Jack Gillis, who then took her last name to become Jack White. The two remained married until March of 2000, when they divorced before The White Stripes became popular. In the public following their marriage, White and Jack White portrayed themselves as siblings until the public record revealed their former marriage.
She later began dating guitarist Jackson Smith. They married in May 2009 in a small ceremony held in Jack White's backyard in Nashville, Tennessee, as the former couple had remained close. White and Smith divorced in July 2013. White has always been quite private and gives very few interviews. She resides in Detroit.
Real Estate
In 2004, Meg paid $507,000 for a 5,000-square-foot home in Detroit. This has remained her primary residence ever since and today the property is likely worth around $1 million.
