# How rich is Neil Young? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141 "2018-03-06T19:47:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/21 "2018-03-08T00:48:51Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > A band which has frequently collaborated with Young as his backup band, though they’ve done a fair amount without Young, as well (including, it appears, six original albums). … Crazy Horse HAS NOT done a fair amount of anything without Neil Young, let alone releasing albums. They were Danny and the Memories before Neil Young and they’ve been Neil’s tried and true rocking band since Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/53CSOJZ1bIs/hqdefault.jpg "Danny & The Memories") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53CSOJZ1bIs) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/22 "2018-03-08T01:08:31Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I’m guessing he can finally afford a maid. If he ever found that heart of gold, that would set him up nicely! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/23 "2018-03-08T01:19:23Z")
[quote=“bobot, post:21, topic:810141”] Crazy Horse HAS NOT done a fair amount of anything without Neil Young, let alone releasing albums. They were Danny and the Memories before Neil Young and they’ve been Neil’s tried and true rocking band since Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. [/QUOTE] I fucked up that 2nd link. Here’s another one from the same time period. (Always contingent upon Mr. Young allowing it to stay on Youtube.) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaclLeX9yaA) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/24 "2018-03-08T01:36:41Z")
[quote=“bobot, post:21, topic:810141”] Crazy Horse HAS NOT done a fair amount of anything without Neil Young, let alone releasing albums. They were Danny and the Memories before Neil Young and they’ve been Neil’s tried and true rocking band since Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. [/QUOTE] OK, I am by no means an expert on Neil Young, nor Crazy Horse, but their [Wikipedia entry shows six original albums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse_(band)#Crazy_Horse) (and two collections) that, as far as I can tell, weren’t collaborations with Young (but were recorded after they began working with Young). Of course, they did much more _with_ Young. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/25 "2018-03-08T02:53:49Z")
Neil Young has lately been touring with Promise of the Real which is Lukas Nelson’s band. Lukas is Willie’s son. Promise of the Real tours a lot on their own but they play smaller clubs. It’s a fantastic band and Lukas is a very good songwriter on his own. He recently recorded a single with his very famous girlfriend Lady Gaga. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/26 "2018-03-08T05:27:21Z")
Neil Young don’t want no cash. Don’t need no money. Ain’t got no stash ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/27 "2018-03-08T05:53:30Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > all he would have to do is … head out for a concert tour. > How many nights would he have to play at mid size venues in large cities in the US to make this kind of money? I don’t know about N.Young, but recently I’ve been watching Billy Joel on youtube clips. There are a lot of youtube videos of Joel on stage in small, intimate halls with only a few hundred people, usually on college campuses, where he chats with the audience informally, answering their questions and telling funny stories. In one of those chats, somebody asked him about doing a tour…and Joel said that it’s a HUGE, very complex undertaking. I think he said it takes a full year. There is _lots_ of advance planning, and then the first 2 months of shows just to cover the costs, before he can start making a profit. ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/28 "2018-03-08T08:03:07Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > … > In one of those chats, somebody asked him about doing a tour…and Joel said that it’s a HUGE, very complex undertaking. > I think he said it takes a full year. There is _lots_ of advance planning, and then the first 2 months of shows just to cover the costs, before he can start making a profit. Would Billy take on the organising and financial risk of running a tour rather than letting someone else do it and just turning up each night, singing and getting paid? I mean, I’m guessing he does, as he said so, but is the way these things work? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/29 "2018-03-08T08:23:17Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I’m guessing he can finally afford a maid. Everybody ought to have one. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/30 "2018-03-08T12:51:50Z")
Well, he’s recently divorced and gave his ex-wife the Broken Arrow Ranch, so he’s less rich than he used to be. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/31 "2018-03-08T14:54:34Z")
Watching an episode of _Hill Street Blues_ last night (S07EE04) when Joyce and the ADA bald guy walk by a pillar with some signs plastered on it. One has Crazy Horse on it and some fuzzy print under it. Checking the fuzzy print, expecting a date or venue, instead turns up “de Paris”. Oops, wrong Crazy Horse. Dang. Why is a poster for a Paris cabaret on a pillar in the city of … of … …? I can be happy the rest of _my_ life with my cinnamon girl. ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/32 "2018-03-08T17:29:17Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The truth is, most working musicians make very little money. Courtney Love said that when Hole’s album sold 1 million copies, the band members made about $50,000 each from it. If you don’t have songwriting credits, it’s hard to make real money I read that same article. Also one by Steve Albini where he was discussing basically the same idea, band sells a million copies and members get very little or can even still be in debt. So, at what point in album sales DO they actually start to see real money? Take Nirvana for example. Kurt Cobain had songwriting credits, so it’s no surprise his estate is worth a fortune now. But what about Krist Noveselic? Nirvana wasn’t around long enough as an arena band for him to have made a ton from touring, so it must have been mostly from album sales. I’m pretty sure he’s not working day jobs these days. If we take the “Hole” example and he got $50k per million records sold, and Nirvana sold 20 million, that’s only $1 million. So at SOME point, the percentage of album sales for the band members must start going up. Granted, the odds of finding yourself in a band that successful is probably about the odds of becoming the next Tom Brady. Also, i’ve heard that nowadays bands release albums to promote a tour, whereas it used to be bands toured to promote the album. But the artist getting ripped off on record sales seems to have ALWAYS been the case. So hasn’t it always been about touring as far as the bands financial interests are concerned? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/33 "2018-03-08T17:41:49Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > $65 million according to [this site](https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rock-stars/neil-young-net-worth/), which may or may not be accurate. > > I would have thought more, but what do I know? I heard a mid- level comic talk about that site. He said basically it’s was a good estimate of the total amount of money he earned. It doesn’t take into account paying managers and agents, taxes, ex-wives, and other expenses. It was close to what he earned but no where close to what he is worth. I have no idea if that is true across the board with all their calculations but it seems reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/34 "2018-03-08T19:45:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > How rich do you think you need to be to “buy a yacht”? Without even looking anything up, I’d be shocked to find out that Young could not “buy a yacht”. It depends on what you mean by a Yacht. A yacht is generally thought of as a large pleasure craft. A new 45 ft sail boat can be had for around $500,000. As some one who rents sail boats a 45 foot boat is a large boat. I would personally go down to 35 foot and not laugh at anyone who called that a yacht. But nobody I know really refers to their sailboats in this class as yachts as it is kind of pretentious. Then there are boats that are big enough that the owners generally hire a crew to sail and take care of the boat for them. I have not really looked at how much those cost but basically there is no limit to how much you can spend. Pall Allan’s boat was docked near a cruise ship I was on and it was probably about 1/4 of the size of the cruise ship. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/35 "2018-03-08T21:01:43Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > If you ask me, that’s exactly how it should be. The people who write the songs are making a far greater and more lasting contribution than the ones who sing them. Yes and no. Since the advent of recorded music, the singer’s voice or the musician’s instrument playing often is as much a distinctive contribution to a song as is the melody and lyrics. After all, Neil Young songs by anyone else would not sound the same. (Just as Jimi Hendrix playing guitar does not compare to a cover band in a pub). However, yes, the biggest contribution by far is the songwriter. As someone commented about Paul McCartney, every time someone played one of his songs, he got one quarter of the take, Yoko got one quarter, and Michael Jackson got half… ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/36 "2018-03-08T22:05:16Z")
he has 2 children with cerebral palsy and another with epilepsy. Those conditions can cause a lot of money to be spent for health care. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/37 "2018-03-08T22:43:15Z")
> [@Dahu](#): > > Would Billy take on the organising and financial risk of running a tour rather than letting someone else do it and just turning up each night, singing and getting paid? > > I mean, I’m guessing he does, as he said so, but is the way these things work? Without knowing, or much caring about Billy Joel, early in his career his (first) wife’s brother managed him and basically stole $90 million from him. Joel sued but apparently only recovered $8 million, if this source is right. > **[10 Celebrities Who Got Scammed For Huge Money in 2024: Billy Joel &...](https://financesonline.com/10-celebrities-who-got-scammed-for-huge-money-billy-joel-robert-de-niro-lost-millions/)** > > Many people look up to their favorite celebrities for inspiration, hope, and direction. However, celebrities are human and like us ordinary people, are vulnerable one way or another. Celebrities are not at stupid, at least not all of them. But... Joel has said his advice to young musicians is to hire a good lawyer and then hire another good lawyer to watch the first. I can see why he would watch closely who was running a tour, despite all the money he has made since. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/38 "2018-03-08T23:54:40Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > Well, he’s recently divorced and gave his ex-wife the Broken Arrow Ranch, so he’s less rich than he used to be. This is heartbreaking to read. I thought he and his wife were still quite tight. Very sad - and with his three high-needs kids, that much more complex. Damn. In the early 1970’s, he would speak about this new farm he’d bought from a coupla lawyers. That was the Ranch. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/39 "2018-03-09T16:16:57Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > This is heartbreaking to read. I thought he and his wife were still quite tight. Very sad - and with his three high-needs kids, that much more complex. Speaking from experience, raising one special needs child is incredibly stressful on a marriage. Raising two (he only has the two, one with CP and one with both CP and epilepsy) mus be off the charts. Having tons of money might help some (no fighting for funding for services), but still… ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/40 "2018-03-09T16:47:00Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Yes and no. > > Since the advent of recorded music, the singer’s voice or the musician’s instrument playing often is as much a distinctive contribution to a song as is the melody and lyrics. After all, Neil Young songs by anyone else would not sound the same. (Just as Jimi Hendrix playing guitar does not compare to a cover band in a pub). > > However, yes, the biggest contribution by far is the songwriter. > > As someone commented about Paul McCartney, every time someone played one of his songs, he got one quarter of the take, Yoko got one quarter, and Michael Jackson got half… The melody and lyrics are the song. The singer and the instrument are the color. How often does a “song” get covered vs how often does a “voice or instrument” get covered? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141.md?page=3)