What Was Tony Bennett's Net Worth?
Tony Bennett was an American singer, performer, and international icon who had a net worth of $200 million at the time of his death. Tony Bennett died on July 21, 2023, at the age of 96.
Bennett began his career in the early 1950s following his service in World War II. He quickly became one of the most popular singers in the world. He had a string of hits in the 1950s and 1960s, including "Because of You," "Rags to Riches," and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." He also collaborated with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Bill Evans.
In the 1970s, Bennett's popularity declined, but he made a comeback in the 1980s with the album "The Art of Excellence." He continued to record and tour throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and he collaborated with a new generation of artists, including Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, and Ed Sheeran.
During his career, Tony Bennett won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
Early Life
Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born on August 3, 1926, in Queens, New York. His parents were Anna and John Benedetto, a seamstress and a grocer, respectively. Tony grew up in poverty during the Great Depression alongside his two older siblings, Mary and John Jr. Their father died when Bennett was ten years old.
Tony began listening to artists like Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Jack Teagarden, and by age 13, he worked as a singing waiter in Italian restaurants around Queens. As well as a singer, Bennett was a talented caricaturist and attended New York's School of Industrial Art to study painting and music. However, he dropped out at 16 to support his family. He worked several low-paying jobs while singing at amateur nights around the city.
In November 1944, Tony joined the United States Army, and by March 1945, he was on the front line as an infantry rifleman. As the Allies pushed the Germans back, Bennett saw bitter fighting in frigid winter conditions, narrowly escaping death on numerous occasions. Tony was eventually part of the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp near Landsberg.
Upon discharge, Bennett returned to the US in 1946 and studied at the American Theatre Wing, where he learned the bel canto singing discipline and developed a style that imitated the phrasing of instruments like the saxophone and piano. In 1949, Pearl Bailey discovered Tony and invited him to open for her at a Greenwich Village gig. Bob Hope was at the show, and he eventually brought Bennett on the road with him. A year later, Tony was signed to the major label Columbia Records.
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Career
Bennett began his career singing orchestral, pop, and jazz tunes. His first big hit was "Because of You." The song reached #1 on the pop charts in 1951, where it remained for ten weeks. Later that year, he recorded a rendition of "Cold, Cold, Heart," a country song, which introduced him to a broader, more national audience.
With the beginning of the rock and roll era in 1955, it became more difficult for existing pop singers to do well commercially; however, Tony remained successful, placing eight songs in the "Billboard" Top 40 during the latter half of 1950. Bennett released his first full-length album in 1955, "Cloud 7," which received positive reviews, and in 1957 he released the popular and critically praised album "The Beat of My Heart."
Tony retained the reputation of his nightclub act and, in June 1962, staged a massively promoted concert at Carnegie Hall, which showcased an all-star lineup of musicians. The concert featured 44 songs and was a huge success, cementing Bennett's reputation as a show star.
That year, Tony released an album and single of the same name, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Both the single and album achieved gold status and earned him Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance. "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" has become Bennett's signature song, and in 2001, it was ranked 23rd on an RIAA list of the most historically significant songs of the 20th century. In 1964, the Beatles and the British Invasion arrived in the US, which removed the public's attention from jazz, and for the remainder of the decade, Tony put out several albums and singles with minor hits.
During the 1970s, Bennett developed a drug addiction, and by 1979, he had no recording contract, no manager, and was hardly performing. After a near-fatal overdose, Tony called his son Danny for help. His son was a musician himself with a mind for business, and he decided to become his father's manager. He booked several tours for his father, and by 1986, Bennett signed with Columbia Records and released "The Art of Excellence," his first album to reach the charts since 1972.
Tony began appearing on "Late Night with David Letterman," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "The Simpsons," "Muppets Tonight," and numerous MTV programs. Bennett was connecting with a younger audience and was reborn. Throughout the '90s and early 2000s, Tony continued touring and recording, releasing albums that earned him Platinum status and won Grammy Awards for Album of The Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.
In 2011, at the age of 85, Bennett released "Duets II," a collection of jazz standards sung with singers such as Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Amy Winehouse, and Lady Gaga. The album debuted at #1 on the "Billboard" 200, making Tony the oldest living artist to reach that spot. In the subsequent years, Bennett won eleven more Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In February 2021, Tony's family revealed he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016, although he had continued to perform and record diligently until the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Painting
Bennett is also a recognized painter whose works have been featured in numerous galleries worldwide. Some of his pieces have sold for as much as $80,000.
Relationships
In 1952, Bennett married Patricia Beech, whom he met at a nightclub performance in Cleveland. They had two sons together, Danny and Dae, and their marriage lasted until 1965.
Tony then married actress Sandra Grant in 1971, and they had two daughters together, Joanna and Antonia. The marriage fell apart during Bennett's drug addiction, and the couple separated in 1979.
In the 1980s, Tony began a relationship with Susan Crow, who was 40 years his junior. The couple wed in 2007, and they remained together until Bennett's death on July 21, 2023.
Real Estate
For many years, Tony lived in an incredible mansion in Marin County, California. The 8,600-square-foot, 7-bedroom mansion has picture-perfect views of San Francisco from almost every room (appropriately). Here's a video tour of the mansion, which is located in the town of Belvedere:
Tony listed the home for sale in 2010 for $27.5 million. It took five years and a handful of price cuts, but in September 2015, he finally sold the home for $15.5 million.
Tony also owned an apartment in New York City overlooking Central Park.
