Christopher John Boyle was born on 20th July 20 1964, in Seattle, Washington USA, of English, Scottish, and Irish descent. As Chris Cornell, he was known as a musician, singer and songwriter, who became famous performing with rock bands including Soundgarden and Audioslave. Cornell was one of the representatives of the grunge movement back in the ‘90s. He passed away in 2017.
So just how rich was Chris Cornell? Sources estimate Cornell’s net worth at $60 million, being ranked number 40 in the list of the richest rock stars in the world. The musician made most of his money in the music industry, from album sales, ticket sales, touring, and royalties. Besides performing in rock bands, Chris Cornell had a solo career, which also added important income to his total net worth.
Chris Cornell Net Worth $60 Million
Chris Cornell suffered from depression when he was young and, as an adolescent, he was involved in drugs and stealing issues. The artist has declared that it was music that saved his life from addictions. He studied piano as a child, and later on he started playing drums, which brought him closer to rock ‘n’ roll. The musician quit school when he was 15, because he had to work to maintain his family.
In the ‘80s, he formed the rock band Soundgarden, together with Hiro Yamamoto, Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil, and they were signed in 1990 by the major label A&M Records. The band recorded five EPs, six albums, and two greatest hits compilations, including “Louder than Love”, “Badmotorfinger”, “Superunknown”, and “Down on the Upside”. Soundgarden had numerous hits, some of the best known being “Jesus Christ Pose”, “Spoonman”, “Black Hole Sun”, “Pretty Noose”, and “Blow Up the Outside World”. Soundgarden won two Grammy awards and many of their albums achieved platinum status in several countries worldwide. All these activities increased his net worth.
Chris Cornell started his solo career after 1997, when Soundgarden disbanded. His first solo album was called “Euphoria Morning” and brought Cornell a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Performance. At the end of the ‘90s, the rock star had to face depression again, and only after several years of fighting drugs and alcohol problems did he manage to rebuild his life and career. Regardless, he maintained his net worth.
Between 2001and 2007, the musician performed with Audioslave, a rock supergroup. Together with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, Cornell released three albums: “Audioslave”, in 2002, “Out of Exile”, in 2005, and “Revelations”, in 2006. After the Audioslave project was over, in 2006 Cornell won a Satellite Award for the song “You Know My Name”, featured on the soundtrack of the film “Casino Royale”. The song also brought him a World Soundtrack Award, in 2007; his net worth increased considerably
During his solo career, Chris Cornell recorded five solo albums, the last being “Higher Truth”, released in 2015. The artists toured all over the world, having concerts in the US, Europe and Australia. Rolling Stone ranked him number nine in the list of “Best Lead Singers of All Time”, while MTV placed Cornell in 12th position in the top “22 Greatest Voices in Music”. All helped his net worth to climb.
In his personal life, Chris Cornell was first married to Susan Silver(1990-2004) with whom he has a daughter. He then married Vicky Karayiannis in 2004, and they have a daughter and a son.
Chris Cornell was found hanged on 18 May 2017, identified by authorities as by his own hand. Perhaps his depression had not been cured, as was thought by family and friends.
