Wouter “Wally” De Backer was born 21 May 1980, in Bruges, Belgium, and under the stage name of Gotye, he is now known around the world as an outstanding instrumentalist and singer, having reached #1 on the US Billboard chart, and winning five Aria Awards.

So just how rich is Goyte? Sources estimate that currently he has a net worth of $1.5 million, accumulated during a career in the music industry which has so far spanned not much over 10 years.

Gotye Net Worth $1.5 Million

Gotye started his musical career at early age. He spent all of his childhood in Australia (the family moved away from Belgium when he was only two years old), and started learning to play various musical instruments at school in Sydney. He met some like-minded young teens and they started a school band called Downstares; one of the band members, Lucas Taranto, still plays in Gotye’s live shows. After another relocation, this time to Melbourne, where the artist finished his Bachelor of Arts, he received an old record collection from a neighbor, and from that point in 2001, his career started picking up.

Goyte recorded his first tracks primarily using samples, designed the cover of the CD himself, and made 50 copies. He sent them to more or less influential radio stations around the country, and made ‘phone calls to make sure they were received. However, a solo career was a while coming, and hasn’t been the only way to fill Gotye’s pockets. Since 2002, Gotye has been a member of indie pop band called “The Basics”, who have released three studio albums along with many other recordings and singles. This, of course, has notably contributed to the artist’s net worth. It is important to mention that Gotye’s vocal abilities are often compared to those of Sting and Peter Gabriel.

As they say, money do not come as easily and quickly as we would wish. Only in 2011, when Gotye released a single called Somebody That I Used to Know which made him a world known star, has his income started reaching those dreams. As mentioned before, the single reached the first place of the Billboard Hot 100 charts and made him famous all over the globe. Gotye as a solo artist has released three studio albums so far. As a strong believer of the indie movement, he never signed contracts with any record label, the albums were released independently. In addition to the three albums, Gotye has released an album combined of remixes of songs written in his early career. The money received from selling the mentioned albums skyrocketed to the overall amount of Gotye net worth.

Gotye is now considered to be one of the most successful musicians of today, as in his adopted Australia he managed to become the fifth artist to reach first place in the Billboard Hot 100 and the second artist from his native Belgium (we compare so because the artist is half- Australian, half- Belgian). Not only is he a great singer, but also a world renowned multi- instrumentalist. He is the best at playing the piano and the drums though.

Money makes the world go round, but acceptance is nice too. Goyte has received five ARIA awards – having been nominated for seven in 2011 alone – as well as three Grammy awards. The three Grammy awards were received at the same ceremony, the 55th Annual Grammy Awards to which the singer’s reaction was: “I often feel more of a tinkerer, less of a musician”.

Little is known of Goyte’s private life, but outside music he is interested in politics, even rumoured to be considering standing for the Victorian parliament. For the sake of his many fans, we can hope that he prefers to continue his music career, full time.

Neal George Joseph Schon was born on 27th February 1954 at Tinker AFB (Air Force Base), Oklahoma USA, of Italian and German descent. Neal Schon is a rock guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, best known for being an important member of several hugely popular bands, namely Santana, Bad English and Journey.

So just how rich is Neal Schon? Neal’s net worth has been calculated to be over $30 million, amassed during his successful career of more than 40 years in the music industry.

Neal Schon Net Worth $30 Million

Neal Schon was lucky to be born into a musical family – his father Mathew Schon was a famous musician and mother Barbara Schon sang in a band. So Schon picked his first guitar at the age of five years, and starting at early age is usually a way to success. His first career steps started at the age of 15 with the band Santana, in preference to joining Eric Clapton in the band Derek and the Dominos, and debuting with some vocals on Santana’s album Santana III. Being such a great musician at such young age with the possibility to choose between two iconic bands, he went on and started making his money. He also played for Azteca but very briefly.

In 1973 Neal Schon formed his now legendary band Journey. He subsequently released five solo albums, and fourteen studio albums with the band. This must be the main flow into his net worth. Importantly, he is the only band member who has not changed through the years. He has taken part in every tour of the band, and sang on all their albums, so no doubt this longevity with Journey has increased the overall amount of Neal Schon’s net worth as well. Apart from this, he has also collaborated with famous musicians such as keyboardist Jan Hammer, Sammy Hagar and Paul Rodgers on short-term projects.

Neal Schon is as great a vocalist, as he is a guitar virtuoso. Two talents double the money earned, does it not? Let’s talk about his musical influences, of whom there were plenty. He has said that he was highly influenced by the 1960’s, musicians from that era such as Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin. Then he put some blues to the mix, namely B.B. King and added some guitar-based influences, including of course Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton as well as Wes Montgomery. This is probably Neal Schon’s key to fame – adding the best ingredients from different musical eras.

Schon was always proud of his guitars. He started with acoustic Stella guitar followed by Gibson ES-335. At present he became interested in Xotic guitars. Schon was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in August 2013, which made him, if possible, even more famous. This is considered to be an accomplishment of a lifetime for any musician.

In his not-so-private personal life, Neal Schon has married five times, first to Tena Austin(1976-86), then Beth Buckley(1987-92), Dina Gioeli(1993-99), and Amber Kozan(2001-08). In 2013 he married Michaele Salahi. He has five children.