David Bowie Net Worth

David Bowie's Quotes

• [on whether he thinks he is a good actor] I took you in, didn't I? I rest my make-up case.
• [during an interview about his new album in 1999] I have nothing to say about the new album. Can I go now?
• Talking about art is like dancing about architecture.
• I rate Morrissey as one of the best lyricists in Britain. For me, he's up there with Bryan Ferry.
• [on receiving an honorary degree from Boston's Berklee College of Music] Any list of advice I have to offer to a musician always ends with, "If it itches, go and see a doctor.".

Interesting Facts about David Bowie

1. His eyes were both blue. However, one pupil was permanently dilated due to an incident when he was punched by a school friend, George Underwood, when he was 15, and as a result, one eye looked darker than the other. Underwood became a successful artist and remained a friend of Bowie's for the rest of his life, including designing artwork for him.
2. In 1968 while he was still a struggling artist, Bowie wrote some English lyrics to a French song titled "Comme d'Habitude" ("As Usual"). His version, "Even a Fool Learns to Love", never did get recorded, but when the French melody caught the attention of Paul Anka, he reworked the lyrics and the song became "My Way". Of course, when Frank Sinatra recorded "My Way" his way, it turned to gold.
3. Bowie had one son in 1971 with his then-wife Angie Bowie, originally named Zowie - who later changed it to Joe and who is now known as Duncan Jones. Duncan was Bowie's best man at his 1992 wedding to Iman. He studied at a film school in London and became a successful writer and director.
4. (August 15, 2000) His daughter, with Iman, Alexandria Zahra Jones, was born.
5. Bowie was the first sexually ambiguous British pop star, declaring himself "gay" in 1972 (before contemporaries such as Freddie Mercury and Elton John made declarations that they were bisexual) and only five years since male homosexuality had been decriminalized in the UK. In a magazine interview, he stated that he met his first wife when they were in a relationship with the same man. Whether this was true or a joke has been the subject of much speculation. His appearance on Top of the Pops (1964) in 1972 with "Starman", when he put his arm around guitarist Mick Ronson, has been cited by many as a key moment for gay liberation in Britain and described by journalist Caitlin Moran as "the gay moon landing". In a 1983 interview with Rolling Stone, he stated that his bisexuality was really a sham. He claimed he made the story up to create more mystery about himself and defined himself as a "closet heterosexual". In later years he would neither confirm nor deny he had engaged in gay relationships, merely admitting (in a 2002 interview by Jonathan Ross) that he'd been "incredibly promiscuous". Dancer Lindsay Kemp has often claimed in interviews that he slept with Bowie.
6. Bowie was born and raised in London. His father, Haywood Stenton Jones, was originally from Yorkshire but of Welsh descent. His mother, Margaret Mary Jones, was from Kent and of Irish ancestry. Haywood Stenton Jones was from an affluent family who were partners in the Public Benefit Boot Company. Bowie resided in New York City from 1992 until his death.
7. In his composition "Slip Away", on his album "Heathen", he makes cryptic references to The Uncle Floyd Show (1974), a program popular in the late 1970s and 1980s in the New York City area. Broadcast on a local television station, it featured two puppets, "Oogie" and "Bones Boy", mentioned in the song, as well as the host, "Uncle" Floyd Vivino.
8. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 (by Madonna) and the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.
9. He contributed the song "Everyone Says Hi" to the all-star War Child album "Hope", which assisted child victims of the war in Iraq, in 2003.
10. His 1972 album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" came 8th in Classic Rock Magazine's list of the 30 greatest concept albums of all time. [March 2003]
11. He performed with (on separate occasions) Queen, Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, Al B. Sure!, Tina Turner, Annie Lennox, 'Nine Inch Nails' and Bing Crosby.
12. He played the part of John Merrick on the American stage between July 1980 and January 1981 which John Hurt played in the film of the same time, The Elephant Man (1980).
13. Bowie was consistently listed in later life as one of the wealthiest British music stars in the world. In November 1997, Business Age magazine inaccurately reported his net worth as being over $900 million, surpassing even that of fellow British musician Paul McCartney, making him Britain's richest rock star. In 1999, Reuters mistakenly approximated Bowie's net worth at roughly $917 million. In 2003, the Sunday Express also mistakenly cited Bowie's net worth as in the $900 million (£510 million) range but that this placed him second to Paul McCartney. However, in 2005, the Sunday Times Rich List re-estimated his fortune at $185 million (£100 million). Following Bowie's death in 2016 at age 69, his estate, which was mainly bequeathed to his widow and two children, was valued at "a mere" $100 million (£70 million).
14. His song "Five Years" was covered by former Marillion singer Fish on his 1993 album "Songs from the Mirror", a collection of songs which reflected his musical influences. His song "Life on Mars" was covered by Marillion frontman Steve Hogarth and the H Band on the album "Live Spirit: Live Body" (released 2002).
15. Bowie cited Little Richard as his first musical influence, hearing him at the age of eight, and, according to producer Nile Rodgers, he was a key influence on his most commercially successful album, "Let's Dance". Bowie drew from a wide range of musical influences from his earliest days. In 2015, British music publication Mojo released a compilation album of 15 tracks by his earliest influences. It comprised of tracks by Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bobby Bland, Ronnie Ross, Frank Sinatra, Jacques Brel, Lotte Lenya, Nina Simone, Nat 'King' Cole, Billy Fury, Anthony Newley, The Flares, Vince Taylor, The Yardbirds and The Pretty Things.
16. He declined the royal honor of Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000, and turned down a knighthood in 2003.
17. He took the pseudonym "David Bowie" to keep himself from being confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees.
18. (June 25, 2004) He had an emergency angioplasty in Germany while on his current tour. The remainder of the tour was obviously cancelled.
19. Bowie was a big fan of The Velvet Underground. He later recorded with and produced the band's songwriter Lou Reed. He also frequently collaborated as a songwriter with Iggy Pop from The Stooges. Bowie, Reed and Pop are all considered to be among the most influential rock musicians of all time. Bowie included a version of "China Girl", which he had written with Pop in the 1970s (and had been recorded by Pop on his 1977 album "The Idiot"), on his 1983 album "Let's Dance" in order to help Pop financially. The song became one of Bowie's biggest international hits. Following Bowie's death, Pop described Bowie's friendship as "the light of my life".
20. He played 14 different instruments. The first instrument he learned was the saxophone at the age of 12 and performed it on several of his own songs. Although a talented rhythm guitarist (which included playing the famous riff of "Rebel Rebel"), Bowie found himself lacking in ability as a lead guitarist.