Robert Allen Zimmerman was born on 24 May 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota USA, of Russian- and Lithuanian-Jewish ancestry. As Bob Dylan – a name adopted in tribute to Welsh poet Dylan Thomas – he is a singer and songwriter, artist and writer, an iconic and highly influential figure in the music industry over the past 50 years.
So just how rich is Bob Dylan? Sources have estimated that Dylan’s current net worth is over $180 million, accumulated from his album sales, concert performances and song-writing over the last five decades.
Bob Dylan Net Worth $180 Million
During his years in high school, Bob Dylan was a member of several bands, such as ‘The Shadow Blasters’ and ‘The Golden Chords’. In 1959, Dylan moved to study at the University of Minnesota, during which period his initial interest in rock’n’roll gave way to American folk music. At that time he began to use his adopted name, but also other pseudonyms such as Elston Gunn, Blind Boy Grunt, Bob Landy, Robert Milkwood Thomas, Tedham Porterhouse, Lucky/Boo Wilbury, Jack Frost and Sergei Petrov, and collaborated with several bands. In 1962, Bob Dylan released his first self-titled album, which featured folk standards and two original compositions, ‘Talkin’ New York’ and ‘Song to Woody’. The album was not very popular and only 5,000 were sold. However, by the time his second album ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ was released, Bob had begun to make his name and net worth accumulation as both a singer and a songwriter. A lot of songs on the second album were labeled as protest songs. In 1964, his third album, ‘The Times They are a-Changin’’, was released, consisting mostly of blunt, scarcely arranged songs, discussing the problems of racism, poverty and social change. Continuing at this pace of song-writing and album releases, Bob Dylan accumulated his net worth at a steady rate.
During his career Bob Dylan has released 64 albums, of which ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ and ‘Nashville Skyline’ are probably the most iconic; 200 singles and EPs, many having been covered by a multitude of artists and including ‘The Times They Are A’Changin”, ‘Blowin; in the Wind’, ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, ‘All Along the Watchtower’ and ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ as the most iconic; and 99 compilations.
During his long lasting career Bob has won many awards including 11 Grammy Awards, one Academy Award and one Golden Globe Award. Dylan’s net worth increased after every single award. Bob Dylan has been enrolled into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2000, Dylan was awarded the Polar Music Prize and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. Most recently, in 2015 Dylan accepted the MusiCares Person of the Year Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, in recognition of his philanthropic and artistic contributions to society.
All these awards and demonstrable means of recognition have increased Dylan’s net worth significantly. Overall, Bob Dylan has been characterized as one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century, musically and culturally. He appeared in the ‘Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century’, in which he was described as ‘master poet, caustic social critic and intrepid, guiding spirit of the counterculture generation’.
In his personal life, Bob Dylan has had two marriages. Firstly, Dylan married Sara Lownds in 1965, and they had four children, but divorced in 1977. Then Dylan married Carolyn Dennis in 1986. Prior to this, their daughter Desiree Gabrielle Dennis-Dylan was born. The couple divorced in 1992.
