What Is George Strait's Net Worth?
George Strait is an American country music singer, music producer, and actor who has a net worth of $300 million. Celebrated as the "King of Country," George Strait is considered one of the most popular recording artists of all time. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Strait made sure to stick to the traditional elements of country music and inspired others to move away from the pop-infused sounds that became popular during the '80s.
Strait is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 120 million records worldwide. Of all his albums, 13 have reached multi-platinum status (including the eight-time platinum "Pure Country"), while 33 have achieved platinum status. Overall, Strait is the 12th-best-selling artist in US history. In the 2000s, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Early Life
George Harvey Strait was born on May 18, 1952, in Poteet, Texas. Raised alongside two siblings on a 2,000-acre cattle ranch owned by his father in Pearsall, George was working with animals and doing farmhand work from a very early age. When he was in grade four, his parents divorced. Strait first became interested in music during his high school days and joined a rock 'n roll band with other students. Although he was initially drawn in by bands like the Beatles, he quickly fell in love with country artists such as Hank Thompson, Lefty Frizzell, and Merle Haggard. He regularly attended live performances by country artists across Texas.
After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Hawaii. Once there, he joined an Army-sanctioned country band and welcomed his first child into the world with his wife, Norma. He spent a total of four years in the Army and reached the rank of Corporal. After his honorable discharge, he pursued post-secondary education at Southwest Texas State University, eventually graduating with a degree in Agriculture.
Career
While in college, Strait joined a band called Stoney Ridge, eventually becoming the lead and renaming the group The Ace in the Hole Band. They quickly gained a following in Texas and began opening for high-profile artists such as the Texas Playboys during live performances. Eventually, they were given the opportunity to record several singles. However, the group never really took off, and George earned a living by working on his family's ranch.
He was very close to quitting after being rejected by every major record label he approached, but his wife convinced him to stick with it. In 1981, he was finally offered a recording contract by MCA. That year, he released his first single, "Unwound." It proved to be a massive hit, climbing to number six on the country charts and prompting George to release a debut album called "Strait Country." The album was impactful for many reasons, primarily because it proved that traditional country sounds could still be popular in a modern era. Previously, the genre was shifting heavily towards pop music.
In 1982, George followed up with a second album called "Strait From the Heart," which featured his first #1 single, "Fool Hearted Memory." During this period, he started to perform at live shows for the first time. Following the tragic death of his 13-year-old daughter, Strait severed ties with the media and stopped doing interviews, although he continued to crank out numerous hits.
(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
He finished the '80s with a number of well-received albums before branching out with different sounds in the critically acclaimed 1990 album "Livin' It Up." After releasing the album "Holding My Own," he starred in the box office bomb "Pure Country." While the film was a failure, the soundtrack (which Strait released) proved to be his most commercially successful album of all time.
After releasing many more high-performing albums, Strait founded the George Strait Country Music Festival in 1997. The festival would repeat for the next four years, and George performed alongside some of the biggest names in country music. During this period, he released the album "Always Never the Same" in 1999. The year 2000 marked a bit of a decline for Strait, as his self-titled album did not reach platinum status. Over the next few years, George would continue to release fairly successful albums with his tried-and-true country music formula.
By 2009, Strait broke Conway Twitty's record (40) for most #1 hits on the "Billboard" Hot Country Songs chart. Today, George has amassed 60 #1 hits, the most on all charts by an artist in any genre of music. In 2010, "Billboard" ranked Straight the top country artist of the past 25 years. In 2013, "Billboard" presented George with its Legend of Live honor for the concert industry's top artist based on their Boxscore chart and box-office performance. In 2012, Straight announced his final tour, "The Cowboy Rides Away Tour." The final show at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, drew 104,793 people, setting a new record for the largest indoor concert in North America.
Personal Life
Strait married his high school sweetheart Norma in 1971. Together, they had two children. Their daughter was killed in a car accident in 1986, prompting George to start the Jenifer Lynn Strait Foundation, a children's charity. George became a grandfather in February 2012 when George Strait Jr. and his wife, Tamara, had a son.
In 2018, George listed his hilltop Texas estate for $10 million before reducing it to $8.9 million in 2019. He slashed the asking price again in January 2021 to $7.5 million and then to $6.9 million that October. It was reported as being sold in December 2021. He owns several other properties in the Lone Star state, including a ranch in Pearsall, Texas, that has been in the family for more than 100 years.
Brand Endorsements
George is a spokesperson for Wrangler Jeans, partnering with them to raise awareness for their National Patriot program. The initiative aims to raise money for American veterans and their families, focusing on the fallen or those who have been wounded in action. Strait has also partnered with Justin Boots, Resistol (a brand that makes cowboy hats), Garia (a Danish manufacturer of luxury golf cars), and Codigo Tequila.
Touring
George was quite innovative when it came to his tours. He created a 360-degree "theater in the round" approach to concerts that allowed more viewers to attend. This "festival approach" was also commercially successful, and he raked in $99 million in just three years during the Strait Tours. George often earns significant amounts of money despite relatively few tour dates. For example, he earned $15 million in 2005 with a tour that had only 18 shows.
In 2012, he announced that his "Cowboy Rides Away" tour would be his last. The tour was extremely successful, and he set a new record for the highest-grossing single-show concert with earnings of over $18 million after a single performance in Arlington. It was also George's last concert for a decade, and it drew in more than 100,000 fans. This broke the previous record held by the Rolling Stones for the highest attendance for an indoor concert. On March 20, 2022, George played RodeoHouston to a crowd of nearly 80,000.
