What was Harry Belafonte's Net Worth?
Harry Belafonte was an American singer, actor and social activist who had a net worth of $30 million at the time of his death. Harry Belafonte died on April 25, 2023 at the age of 96. Belafonte was best known for popularizing calypso music with his hit recordings of "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)" and "Matilda," among other tunes. His 1956 album "Calypso" (which included "Day-O" and "Jamaica Farewell") topped the Billboard album chart for 31 weeks and became the first album by a single artist to sell more than 1 million copies. This album propelled Belafonte to touring superstardom and made him the highest paid black performer in history up to that point in the late 50s and early 60s. As an actor, he starred in such films as "Carmen Jones" and "Odds Against Tomorrow," and made a memorable late-career appearance in Spike Lee's 2018 film "BlacKkKlansman." As an activist, Belafonte was a major leader in the American civil rights movement and the South African anti-Apartheid movement. He was a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, using his own funds to bail out civil rights protestors and to support Dr. King's family after his assassination.
Early Life
Harry Belafonte was born as Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. on March 1, 1927 in New York City to Harold Sr. and Melvine, both of whom came from Jamaica. As a youth, Belafonte lived with his grandmother in Jamaica; there, he went to Wolmer's Schools for his primary education. After coming back to New York, he attended George Washington High School. Belafonte went on to enlist in the US Navy during World War II. He later developed a love for the performing arts when he went to see the American Negro Theater and met actor Sidney Poitier. Toward the end of the 40s, Belafonte took acting classes at the New School's Dramatic Workshop and performed with the American Negro Theater.
Music Career in the 50s and 60s
To pay for his acting classes, Belafonte became a club singer. Eventually, in 1949, he signed with the Roost record label to begin his career as a recording artist. With his friend Millard Thomas, he made his debut at the Greenwich Village jazz club the Village Vanguard. In 1953, Belafonte signed with RCA Victor, the label with which he would remain for the next two decades. He went on to have his mainstream breakthrough in 1956 with his studio album "Calypso," which became the first album in the world to sell more than a million copies within a single year. Moreover, the album launched the song that would become Belafonte's signature: "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)." The other hit single from "Calypso" was "Jamaica Farewell."
Beyond the calypso genre, Belafonte recorded blues, folk, and gospel songs, as well as show tunes and standards. In 1959 and 1960, he released a pair of live albums recorded at Carnegie Hall; the 1959 album included his popular cover of the Jewish folk song "Hava Nagila." Belafonte subsequently released such albums as "Jump Up Calypso," "Midnight Special," "Streets I Have Walked," and "Ballads, Blues and Boasters." He also had a notable professional partnership with South Africans singer-songwriter and activist Miriam Makeba, with whom he recorded the Grammy Award-winning 1965 album "An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba."
Further Music Career and Retirement
In 1971, Belafonte released his final calypso album, "Calypso Carnival." His recording career subsequently slowed down throughout the decade, during which time he embarked on tours around the world. Belafonte returned to musical success in the mid-80s when he became involved with the charity supergroup USA for Africa. He also scored the musical film "Beat Street." After signing a record deal with EMI, Belafonte released his first album of original material in more than a decade: "Paradise in Gazankulu." The album, which would be Belafonte's last, features protest songs criticizing Apartheid in South Africa. Belafonte continued to perform throughout the 90s and early 00s, with his final concert being an Atlanta Opera benefit concert in late 2003. He retired from professional singing not long after that.
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Film Career
Belafonte made his acting debut in the 1953 film "Bright Road," costarring Dorothy Dandridge. The pair reunited the following year to star in Otto Preminger's hit musical film "Carmen Jones"; they appeared together again in the 1957 ensemble film "Island in the Sun." Two years after that, Belafonte starred in and produced Robert Wise's film noir "Odds Against Tomorrow." He also starred in the science-fiction film "The World, the Flesh and the Devil." After taking a break from the big screen in the 60s, Belafonte returned in the 70s to star alongside Sidney Poitier in the Western "Buck and the Preacher" and the action crime comedy "Uptown Saturday Night."
Belafonte had his next major starring role in the 1995 racism drama "White Man's Burden," costarring John Travolta. The year after that, he had a juicy role in Robert Altman's jazz-age crime film "Kansas City." Belafonte's other film credits include Emilio Estevez's "Bobby" and Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," in which he plays an elderly civil rights leader.
Activism and Charity
As an activist for political and humanitarian causes, Belafonte was hugely inspired by actor, singer, and civil rights activist Paul Robeson, who served as his mentor. In the 50s and 60s, Belafonte was among the most high-profile leaders of the civil rights movement, and served as one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants. Among his other contributions, he financed the 1961 Freedom Rides and helped organize the March on Washington in 1963. Belafonte was also highly active in the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa.
In 1985, Belafonte helped put together the Grammy Award-winning charity song "We Are the World," and also performed in the Live Aid concert. Two years later, he was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Belafonte went on to support humanitarian causes around the world, particularly in Africa, where he worked with various campaigns to raise awareness of such issues as child poverty and HIV/AIDS.
Personal Life
Belafonte was married multiple times. He wed his first wife, Marguerite Byrd, in 1948. They had two daughters, Adrienne and Shari Belafonte, before divorcing in 1957. Belafonte subsequently married dancer Julie Robinson, with whom he had two children named David and Gina. Following 47 years of marriage, the couple got divorced in 2004. Belafonte wed his third wife, photographer Pamela Frank, in 2008.
In the 60s, Belafonte and Maurice Neme formed a joint venture to construct a lavish private community on the Caribbean island of Bonaire. The community, named Belnem, is home to over 700 people.
Death
Harry Belafonte died on April 25, 2023 at the age of 96 at his New York City apartment.
Manhattan Building
In 1958 Harry was struggling to find a place for his family to live in New York City that would accept black residents. He applied to rent an apartment at 300 West End Avenue at the corner of West 74th Street. Despite the fact that Harry was one of the highest paid and most famous celebrities in the world, the landlord turned down his application because he didn't want black tenants. The landlord at first was intending to accept the application because he thought Harry was white. When he learned otherwise, he changed his mind. The landlord was a man named Ramfis Trujillo. Ramfis' father Rafael was the President of the Dominican Republic at the time, a position he held until his assassination a few years later.
Upon learning of his plight, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt even penned an op-ed in which she complained:
"I am sure that every New Yorker was shocked the other day to read that Harry Belafonte and his charming wife and baby were finding it practically impossible to get an apartment in New York City except in what might be considered segregated areas or in a hotel. I have long been saying that in the North we have only one step to take to meet the Supreme Court order of non-segregation in schools, and that is non-segregation in housing. In New York State we have the laws necessary to achieve non-segregated housing if we saw that they were diligently respected."
Harry was not deterred. In fact, he found a creative way to not only get a place for his family to live, but to simultaneously get revenue on the landlord who rejected their application.
What did Harry do?
Harry and some partners set up an inconspicuous corporate entity and bought the entire building.
Harry proceeded to convert the building into a co-op that was open to all applicants. Singer Lena Horne soon became a resident. Belafonte gave himself the building's entire fifth floor, a 7,000 square-foot, 21-room layout that features eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a library, a pool room, sauna and more. His walls were decorated with works by Marc Chagall, Deigo Rivera and others.
Harry made the apartment a NYC home base for the civil rights movement, hosting frequent gatherings with people like Dr. Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy.
Harry lived in the building for the next 50-ish years, selling units off one by one including to celebrities like Tina Fey.
Harry listed his unit for sale in 2005 for $15 million. He ultimately sold it in 2009 to Abigail Disney for $10.75 million.
St. Martin Property
In 1982 Harry bought a 3.3 acre property on the Caribbean island of St. Martin. He sold this home in September 2005 for $2.2 million.
