More than half a century into his career, Bruce Springsteen is one of the biggest rock stars on the planet. But is he a billionaire? After Forbes magazine reported in July that the blue collar hero had an estimated fortune that it pegged as conservatively north of $1.1 billion, the New Jersey icon set the record straight this week in an interview with the U.K.’s Telegraph (paywalled).
“I’m not a billionaire. I wish I was, but they got that real wrong,” Springsteen, 75, told the paper without offering up a more accurate net worth. He did, however, note that the figure was even less likely because, he’s spent “too much money on superfluous things,” again without specifically describing what those things are.
Springsteen did, however, hint at where some of that money might have gone last week when he spoke to Business Insider in London last week to promote the new Hulu doc, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. “I pay them a tremendous amount of money. That greases the wheels pretty good,” he said of his trusty E Street brethren, which include the band’s six longest-tenured core members, as well eight additional live performers and a four-man horn section. “And then, I’m a pretty nice boss. The truth is, you need to cast your band well.”
Back in July, Forbes cited Springsteen selling his music catalog to Sony in 2021 for an estimated $500-$550 million as one of the main drivers of his wealth; it was the the largest deal ever for an individual body of work. Other revenue streams that the financial magazine said contributed to the Boss’ coffers: a 2023 tour that sold more than 1.6 million tickets and generated $380 million, following on the heels of the 267-show sold-out run of his 2017-2018/2021 Springsteen on Broadway show, as well as career sales of more than 140 million albums globally and his band’s current tour, which is slated to run through mid-2025.
