Michael Andrew McKagan was born on 5 February 1964, in Seattle, Washington USA, into a family of Irish descent, and is famous as a guitarist and songwriter. To the public Duff McKagan is perhaps best known as a member of a legendary rock band “Guns N’ Roses”. Formed in 1985, the band included a lead singer Axl Rose, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, lead guitarist Slash and a drummer Steven Adler. The band rose to prominence with their debut album “Appetite for Destruction”, which peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 28 million copies worldwide. “Appetite for Destruction” was considered to be the best-selling album in the history of music in the United States.
So how rich is Duff McKagan? According to sources, Duff’s net worth is estimated to be $20 million, undoubtedly the majority of his wealth has come from his musical career.
Duff McKagan Net Worth $20 Million
A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a bassist for “Guns N’ Roses”, Duff McKagan and even though he was a good student, he left Roosevelt High School and instead got his GED. Prior to joining a legendary rock band, McKagan had been a member of many local and party bands around Seattle, until he joined “Fastbacks”, a pop-punk band with which he recorded their debut song “It’s Your Birthday”.
However, McKagan soon left the band and moved out to Los Angeles, where he met his soon to be band members Steven Adler and Slash. The band formed in 1985 and after their debut album topped the charts, “Guns N’ Roses” became one of the most successful rock bands to date. Following the success of their debut album, Guns N’ Roses came out with “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II”, both of which topped the Billboard charts, and together sold more than 35 million copies. Throughout their career, “Guns N’ Roses” released a total of six studio albums, the last one being “Chinese Democracy”, the production cost of which amounted to $14 million. In 1997, after 12 years with the band, McKagan left “Guns N’ Roses” and focused on his solo career instead. McKagan formed a short-lived band called “10 Minute Warning” with whom he played their last show in 1998, and a year later came out with his second solo album “Beautiful Disease”.
Since “Guns N’ Roses” was still inactive at the time, McKagan went on to form a band called “Velvet Revolver” with Matt Sorum and Slash. Around the same time, Duff McKagan reunited with his former band “Loaded”, and they released their first extended play (EP) recording entitled “Wasted Hearts”. McKagan did not waste much time as he joined yet another rock band called “Jane’s Addiction” but he did not stay with them for too long either. The key moment of 2010 was a “Guns N’ Roses” reunion, a show that was played for the very first time since the band’s last live performance in 1993. Since then, Duff McKagan has been going back and forth between many solo, as well as collaborative projects.
In his personal life, in 1988 McKagan married Mandy Brix, singer of punk rock band the Lame Flames, but the couple divorced less than two years later. He then married Linda Johnson in 1992, but this marriage too ended in divorce, in 1995. McKagan married his current wife, model and swimsuit designer Susan Holmes, in 1999. They have two daughters together, reside in his hometown of Seattle, Washington.
