Born Paul Frederic Simon on 13 October 1941 in Newark, New Jersey USA, to Hungarian-Jewish parents, Paul Simon is firstly a musician – famous since the early 1960s partly because his area of music involves folk, folk rock, soft rock and worldbeat – but also an excellent song writer, for many other singers as well.
So just how rich is Paul Simon? During his long career in the music industry, Paul has managed to accumulate a net worth that has been estimated at $45 million, earned with his singing partner Art Garfunkel (“Simon and Garfunkel”), and as a solo artist and song writer.
Paul Simon Net Worth $45 Million
Paul Simon’s father Louis (1916–1995) was a college professor, but also an upright bass player, and dance-band leader. His mother, Belle (1910–2007), was an elementary school teacher. Both encouraged their son in learning music, which really took-off when he met Art Garfunkel at school when they were 11, and they performed casually together at school dances. After leaving school, Paul Simon majored in English at Queen’s College, New York, while Garfunkel studied mathematics, but Paul’s real passion in those days was rock ‘n roll.
In 1964 Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel teamed together again, as Tom & Jerry. They soon changed their name to Simon and Garfunkel, and had great success around the world over the next 15 years, and reuniting for one-off concerts even until the present. Paul wrote almost all of the duo`s songs, many entering not only the US charts but also gaining them worldwide fame, for example “The Sound of Silence”, “Mrs. Robinson” and, of course, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” among many others. Consequently, Paul Simon’s net worth increased steadily through the late 60s and early 70s, after which Paul started pursuing a solo career, releasing three albums in relatively quick succession. He was continuing to write songs, too. These activities also added considerable income to Paul Simon’s net worth.
In 1986, Paul released “Graceland”, one of his studio albums, produced following visits to South Africa and in conjunction with the native group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. This was well received both critically and popularly, and helped Simon to add a great amount of money to his net worth. It is certainly true that this album is different: Paul`s passion and interest in South African township music contributed much to the production of this album.
Paul Simon has enlarged his net worth while working on Broadway, too. He co-produced a play named “Asinamali!” in 1987. He also performed at “Rock ‘n Roll! The First 5,000 Years” (1982), “Mike Nichols and Elaine May: Together Again on Broadway “(1992) and “The Graduate” (2002). Simon also composed and arranged the music for “The Capeman” (1998).
Paul Simon`s talent has been frequently acknowledged: he has been rewarded with 12 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1990 Paul and Art were inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, and in 20o1 Paul was inducted again as a solo artist, a totally unique achievement. Simon also received an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Music from Berklee College of Music, at which he is now a board member.
In 2006 Time Magazine included Paul Simon in the list of “100 People Who Shaped the World”. Paul has also received the Polar Music Prize (2012), Library of Congress Gershwin Prize (2007) and in 2011, Rolling Stone magazine named Simon as one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists.
As regards his personal life, Paul has been married three times, firstly to Peggy Harper in 1969, with whom he had a son, Harper Simon – currently known as a guitarist, producer, singer and songwriter – but they divorced in 1975. From 1983 to 1984 Simon was married to the author and actress Carrie Fisher, who is known for her bestselling book “Postcards from the Edge”. Since 1992, Paul has been married to folk musician Edie Brickell, and the couple has three children.
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