Lionel Richie Net Worth : Biography, Age, Wife & Assets

Lionel Richie Net Worth    $200 million

Lionel Richie Net Worth : Lionel Richie is a renowned American singer, songwriter, and actor. For decades, his honeyed tones have graced the radio frequencies of tons of soul and R&B music stations around the world.  

He first rose to prominence as a member of the band ‘Commodores’ and then proceeded to have a successful solo career.  

A Grammy Award-winner, Richie is regarded as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of the 20th century, with several of his works peaking on important music charts.  

After a long and successful stint with the group ‘Commodores’, he began a career on his own where he wrote and produced country songs, and earned himself the status of one of the most popular and most successful artists of his era.  

He is known to have worked with many greats such as Enrique Iglesias, Diana Ross, Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney, and has sold about a hundred million records worldwide. He has also showcased his acting abilities as an actor who has a number of film credits to his name.  

Read on to discover many more interesting details about this veteran who still has his place in the hearts of millions around the world up to this day. 

Lionel Richie’s Early Life

Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States to Alberta R. (Foster) and Lionel Brockman Richie. He played tennis while a student of Joliet Township High school.  

When he graduated from high school, he was offered a tennis scholarship to attend Tuskegee Institute, which he accepted. He majored in Economics and bagged a degree from the university. 

While studying at the university, he picked an interest in R&B and paid attention to some R&B groups in the 1960s.  

He acquired a degree from Tuskegee Institute and moved to attend Auburn University for a small time before the start of his music career. 

Lionel Richie’s Career

Richie became passionate about music starting from his days in college. He would listen to several tracks and follow certain R&B groups as well. He eventually joined Commodores as its lead singer and saxophonist.  

The Commodores was widely known as a funk-soul band that started with upbeat dance numbers, like “Brick House” and “Machine Gun”, before evolving into making soulful and profoundly romantic hits like “Three Times a Lady”, “Easy” and “Sail On”. 

In 1981, Lionel Richie wrote a song titled “Endless Love” for a movie of the same name. The song achieved unprecedented international success, and this encouraged the singer to find a solo career on his own.  

He quit the Commodores the following year and released his debut album in that same year. His album was a big hit and sold more than 4 million copies. His next album, ‘Can’t Slow Down’ was released in 1983 and achieved more success.  

It became the album of the years and propelled Lionel Richie to international stardom while winning two Grammy Awards. 

After he spawned a series of top ten songs, like ‘Running with the Night,’ ‘Hello,’ ‘Stuck on You,’ and ‘Penny Lover,’ in 1984, he made waves again in 1985 with the release of the charity song “We Are the World” featuring Michael Jackson. 

More About Richie’s Career

Their joint track broke all sale records with more than 20 million copies sold worldwide. 

Starting from 1986, he took a ten-year break from doing music and returned in 1996. The music scene changed a lot in the decade he was away, with many more genres of music making waves. 

Upon his comeback, Lionel Richie released his fourth studio album, titled, ‘Louder Than Words’, which maintained his original soulful style. The album failed to leave a mark probably due to a change in the audience’s musical sensibilities.  

He did not accomplish much in terms of success until he released the album ‘Coming Home’ in 2006, which was successful and became his first charting album in more than ten years.  

Six years afterwards, he released another album ‘Tuskegee,’ which featured several country singers, like Billy Currington, Blake Shelton, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, and others.  

This album was appreciated worldwide and it took him to the top of the Billboard 200 chart after more than 25 long years. 

Lionel Richie has been a singer and actor all his life. He is also renowned as a songwriter and producer whose fortune has come from the sales of his records, and from acting in films and performing his records on tours and concerts.  

He has also appeared on a number of game shows as well as talent shows over the years, earning more reputation and wealth as he goes his way. Below, we have listed some of Lionel Richie’s best works over the last three decades. 

Lionel Richie’s Albums

• Lionel Richie (1982) 
• Can’t Slow Down (1983) 
• Dancing on the Ceiling (1986) 
• Louder Than Words (1996) 
• Time (1998) 
• Renaissance (2000) 
• Just for You (2004) 
• Coming Home (2006) 
• Just Go (2009) 
• Tuskegee (2012) 

Lionel Richie’s Movies & TV Shows

• 1977: Scott Joplin 
• 1978: Thank God It’s Friday 
• 1991: Truth or Dare 
• 1996: The Preacher’s Wife 
• 1998: Pariah 
• 2007: The Simpsons 
• 2011: Who Do You Think You Are? 
• 2011: Lionel Richie: Dancing On the Ceiling 
• 2014: Oprah Winfrey’s Master Class 
• 2018 American Idol 
• 2019 American Idol 
• 2020 Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time 

Awards & Achievements

Lionel Richie has been a strong force in the industry. He has been a singer and actor for up to the last 50 years, and so far, he has won a Golden Globe Award and four Grammy Awards from several nominations.  

He has been awarded the Songwriters Hall of Fame and also the George & Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award 

Personal Life & Family

The legendary musician has been married and divorced twice in his lifetime. His first marriage was to Brenda Harvey, his college sweetheart with whom he tied the knot in 1983.  

In their marriage, they adopted Nicole Camille Escovedo, the daughter of his fellow bandmate, and raised her as their own child.  

After their divorce in 1993, Lionel Richie married Diane Alexander in 1995. Together, they have two children; Miles Brockman and Sofia Richie. Their marriage came to an end in 2003. 

The 73-year-old veteran is a proud grandfather of Nicole’s two children. He is 180cm tall and weighs 77kg. 

Lionel Richie Net Worth 

Richie earned himself the status of one of the most popular and most successful artists of his era and has sold about a hundred million records worldwide.  

He is also renowned as a songwriter and producer whose fortune has come from the sales of his records, and from acting in films and performing his records on tours and concerts.  

He has also appeared on a number of game shows as well as talent shows over the years, earning more reputation and wealth as he goes his way.  

He also boosted his income by endorsing popular brands including the likes of Lion Nathan. In 2019 when he played a judge on the popular talent show, American Idol. The hitmaker collected a salary of $10 million and even earned much more from other areas of his career. 

Lionel Richie net worth in 2022 is a staggering $200 million. He is among the very few artists whose music has been able to survive through time and is still listened to by almost every generation.  

This feat alone has established the iconic singer-songwriter as one of the greatest performers the world has ever known.