Neil Young's fortune

Short introduction

Neil Young is a singer, songwriter and filmmaker. He is married in third marriage to actress Daryl Hannah and has three children. Young is an exception, because he is one of the most successful and influential rock musicians of our time.

Early life

The Canadian musician and filmmaker was born on November 12, 1945 as Neil Percival Kenneth Robert Ragland Young in Toronto. He grew up in the province of Ontario.

At the age of 13 he discovered rock music and in 1958 his parents gave him an “Arthur Godfrey” plastic ukulele – his first string instrument. This was followed, among other things, by a baritone ukulele, which accompanied him in his first band experiences with schoolmates until he moved to Winnipeg in 1960. In Winnipeg he switched to guitar and took lessons for the first time. In just two hours he learned the basic concepts. Young taught himself handles and playing techniques and initially played current songs.

In the early 1960s he played in local bands and also recorded songs for the first time. Until 1966 he developed into a folk artist and moved to Los Angeles in the USA.

Career

With Stephen Stills and Richard Furay, Neil Young founded the band “Buffalo Springfield”, for which he wrote well-known songs. After three successful albums, the band, which was one of the leading folk music scene in California, dissolved again in 1968. Young preferred to pursue a career on his own and recorded his first solo album “Neil Young”. Shortly thereafter, however, he founded a band again, “Neil Young & Crazy Horse”. Their first album landed in the US Billboard 200 charts.

This was followed by appearances with Crosby, Stills and Nash, including in Woodstock at the legendary festival in 1969.

Around the same time he founded the film production company “Shakey Pictures”, with which he still makes films.

In 1986 Young and his wife founded the “Bridge School” foundation, which gave disabled children the opportunity to get an education. Until 2016, the foundation held a concert of several hours with well-known artists every year.

In the course of his career, he sold over 25 million records. He has published 38 studio albums, 18 live albums and 58 singles.

Career highlights

His only number 1 hit, “Heart Of Gold”, was written by Neil Young in 1971. It was released on his best-selling album “Harvest” in 1972.

In 1988 he won the MTV Award and has been nominated for the Grammy Award six times since 1996.

In 1995 Neil Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, again in 1997 with Buffalo Springfield.

In 2006 he was awarded the highest award in the Canadian province of Manitoba, the “Order of Manitoba”.

In 2012 he founded PonoMusic with Silicon Valley entrepreneur John Hamm. In 2013, he introduced a high-end digital player to the public: Pono.

Young also supports projects to improve the situation and living conditions of Native Americans and is considered a political artist.

For over half a century his singing and the technique and range of his guitar playing have shaped rock music with brute guitar solos, catchy riffs and melodies. His songs were and are therefore unique and unmistakable. Nevertheless, he is not a celebrated rock star and has repeatedly turned to other music styles throughout his career. He was rarely in the top ten on the charts, but this did not detract from his incredible repertoire. He wrote songs you will never forget.

As a director, author, actor, producer or cameraman he has been involved in 26 films to date.

In 2009, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Neil Young 79th out of the “100 People Who Changed America”. The same magazine ranked him 34th in the 100 Greatest Musicians, 37th in the 100 Best Singers and 17th in the 100 Best Songwriters and 100 Best Guitarists of All Time. He is therefore one of only eight artists who are represented in all of these four lists.

Famous quotes

“It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” – “It’s better to burn out than to fade away slowly.” Text passage from the acoustic song “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)”

Amazing facts

Neil Young owes his fortune to clever investment strategies. So he invests in shares, can refer to a considerable number of properties and lucrative sponsorship contracts (CoverGirl cosmetics). He owns several restaurants – the “Fat Young Burger” chain in Ottawa – and a football team (Toronto Angels). His own vodka is also on the market; Pure Wonderyoung – Canada. He is currently trying to appeal to younger people with a perfume line (“From Neil with love”) and a fashion line (“Seduction by Neil Young).

On January 3, 2024, People With Money magazine reported that Neil Young was the highest paid musician in the world. His earnings between December 2018 and December 2019 were estimated at $ 96 million, his assets at $ 275 million.