What Is Rod Stewart's Net Worth?
Sir Rod Stewart CBE is a British singer-songwriter who has a net worth of $300 million. That number includes the value of his real estate and his February 2024 $100 million catalog sale. During his career to date, Rod Stewart has sold more than 250 million albums worldwide. That makes him one of the best-selling musicians in world history. Ten of his albums have reached #1, and he has earned a chart-topping single in six consecutive decades.
After being drawn to folk and R&B as a young musical artist, Stewart was eventually "discovered" while playing harmonica on a London train platform by Long John Baldry. This led to a gig with the Hoochie Coochie Men and his eventual signing to the Decca Records label in 1964. After bouncing around from group to group throughout the late '60s, he was invited to join the Jeff Beck Group as a vocalist. The Jeff Beck Group was a success with their blues and funk-influenced early heavy metal sound, and they toured successfully for a few years.
Parallel to his group engagements, he pursued a solo career, releasing his debut solo album "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down" in 1969. It was the beginning of a series of albums that would solidify his reputation as a leading figure in music.
The 1970s proved pivotal for Stewart. Hits like "Maggie May" from the album "Every Picture Tells a Story" became anthems of the era. He skillfully combined rock with a touch of folk and soul, creating a unique sound that resonated with a broad audience.
As he transitioned into the 1980s and 1990s, Stewart continued to evolve, delving into new wave and pop. His song "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" is a testament to his adaptability, capturing the disco-infused spirit of the time.
In the 2000s, Rod took an unexpected turn, releasing the "Great American Songbook" series, where he interpreted classic songs from the early 20th century. These albums showcased his versatility as an artist and introduced classics to a new generation of listeners.
Throughout his career, Stewart has been recognized with numerous awards, including two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – once as a solo artist and once as a member of Faces.
Catalog Sale
In February 2024, Rod Stewart sold his song catalog for $100 million. The sale included his interests in both his publishing catalog, recorded music, and some name and likeness rights. The sale included his solo work and his work as a member of the bands Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. The buyer was Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group.
(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Early Life
Rod Stewart was born Roderick David Stewart on January 10, 1945, in London, England. The son of Robert Joseph Stewart and Elsie Rebecca Gilbart, Rod is of British and Scottish descent and the youngest of five children. His childhood was preoccupied mainly with hobbies like building model railways and playing soccer. He was the captain of the school soccer team and played for Middlesex Schoolboys. Stewart did not begin to take an interest in music until well into the early 1960s when he started to learn the harmonica and later piano. His early influences include singer Al Jolson and Little Richard. Stewart left school at age 15 with the ambition of becoming a professional soccer player. He joined the workforce with odd jobs, including a brief gig as a gravedigger at Highgate Cemetary.
Early Career
Stewart began to busk around Leicester Square with folk singer Wizz Jones in 1962, playing the harmonica. For the next year and a half, they took their act on the road, traveling to places like Brighton, Paris, and Barcelona. Gaining a strong interest and liking for American rhythm and blues acts like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, Rod got his first professional job as a musician when he joined an R&B group in London called The Dimensions in October 1963 as a harmonica player and vocalist. Over the next few years, he was part of several different musical acts. He joined Jeff Beck Group in 1966 and experienced his first bit of success, releasing two albums with the band and touring the UK and the U.S. Both albums made it to #15 on the U.S. charts. At this time, Stewart earned the nickname "Rod The Mod" due to his punk-rock alternative style and look.
Solo Career Beginnings and Faces
Stewart joined the band that would be known as Faces as their lead singer in October 1969. Other members included Ron Wood, Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, and Kenney Jones. Simultaneously, Stewart was signed as a solo artist by Mercury Records and began making music independently as well. "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down" was Stewart's first solo album, released in 1969. Faces released their first album, "First Step," in early 1970. They were heavily influenced by the Rolling Stones, and the album did well in the UK and quickly earned them a strong live following. "Gasoline Alley," Stewart's sophomore album, was released in June 1970. Faces launched a U.S. tour that year.
Stewart was catapulted into stardom with his 1971 solo album "Every Picture Tells a Story," which contained instant radio-friendly and much-beloved hits like "Reason to Believe" and "Maggie May." The album and singles held the #1 spot in both the U.S. and the UK simultaneously. "Maggie May" was part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, along with two of Stewart's other hits.
Meanwhile, Faces released a second album, which saw moderately more success than the first one, and the band toured extensively in 1972. There was growing tension over Stewart's success as a solo artist. Stewart's second album was also well-received and reached #2 on the U.S. charts and #1 in the UK.
"Ooh La La," Faces' final album, reached #1 in the UK in 1973. Notably, Stewart did not even contribute the vocals for the album's most famous track of the same title. The tension between the band members and Stewart had deepened, and the band parted ways in 1975.
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Career Post-Faces
Stewart moved to Los Angeles in 1975 and continued to enjoy success, topping the U.S. charts yet again in 1976 for eight weeks with the ballad "Tonight's the Night." The 1978 smash hit single "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" scored him another #1 spot in both the U.S. and UK. The '80s saw Rod's career slow down somewhat. The 1981 album "Tonight I'm Yours" went platinum, but albums released after that didn't fare as well. Stewart has continued a full career of performing, songwriting, and singing throughout the decades. During his career, he has released 12 #1 albums and 11 #1 singles in the U.S. and UK. Rod has sold over 130 million records worldwide and was ranked #33 in "Q" magazine's "Top 100 Singers Of All Time" list. On the "Sunday Times" Rich List of 2019, Stewart was featured with an estimated fortune of £190 million, which makes him one of the ten wealthiest people in the British music industry.
Accolades
Stewart won a Brit Award in 1993 for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2004, he won his first Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album with "Stardust: The Great American Songbook Volume III," on which he took on classic songs and made them his own. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1994. Rod received the first-ever Diamond Award from the World Music Awards for over 100 million records sold worldwide in 2001 as well as a Legend Award from the WMA.
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Personal Life
Stewart has had a notoriously active love life, and he is the father of eight children with five different women. His first child, Sarah Streeter, was born when Stewart was 18 years old, and the couple decided to put the baby up for adoption. She was raised by adoptive parents, and Stewart finally met Streeter in 2008.
Rod has a daughter, Kimberly Stewart, and a son, Sean Stewart, with his first wife Alana Stewart. He has a daughter named Ruby with his former girlfriend Kelly Emberg.
From 1990 to 2006, Rod was married to model/actress Rachel Hunter. They had two children (Renee and Liam).
Rod became a father for the seventh time in 2005 at age 60 to son Alastair Wallace with his then-fiance Penny Lancaster. They married in 2007 and had a second son, Aiden, in 2011.
Stewart was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2000 but was treated successfully via surgery. The surgery affected his voice, and he essentially had to re-learn how to sing.
Rachel Hunter Divorce Settlement
At the time he filed for divorce in 2005, Rod Stewart's net worth was $120 – $150 million. Most importantly, he had earned the vast majority of that net worth during their marriage, having already previously paid a large fortune in a divorce settlement to Alana Stewart several years prior to meeting Hunter. Rachel reportedly initially sought half of his net worth as a divorce settlement. That would have been $50 – $75 million.
In the end, the two settled on undisclosed terms, with Rod providing funds for Rachel to purchase several homes, plus a large settlement likely in the tens of millions of dollars and an agreement to provide financial support to their two children. At the time the settlement was finalized in 2007, their children were 14 and 12 years old.
Real Estate
Over the years, Stewart has owned a number of extremely impressive estates. In 1986, he bought a country estate in England for a little over $1 million. He sold this property in March 2019 for $6.15 million. In 2013, he bought an 18th-century castle called Darrington House for $6.2 million. The estate has ten bedrooms and five bathrooms and sits ten miles outside of London. In addition to the large number of bedrooms, Darrington House also features four external cottages, a carriage house with its own clock tower (built in the 18th century), a greenhouse, a wine cellar, and an orchard. The home also features floor-to-ceiling windows, three fireplaces, four rooms for receiving guests, outdoor dining spaces, a tennis court, a croquet lawn, and a rose garden.
In 1995, he bought an oceanfront house in Palm Beach, Florida, for $7.2 million. This house today is worth at least $20 million if it ever came to market.
In 1991, he spent $12.1 million – nearly $22 million in today's dollars – for a 20,000-square-foot mansion in a gated community on top of Beverly Hills called Beverly Park. In June 2023, Rod listed this home for sale for $70 million. He briefly removed the house from the market, then re-listed it in December 2023 for $80 million, $10 million MORE than his previous price. In February 2024, he lowered the price back down to $74 million.
