From sleeping rough to owning a plush estate, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, Ed Sheeran's journey to the top has been nothing short of remarkable. Owing to the goodwill of a few celebrities, including Academy Award winner Jamie Fox, Sheeran quickly went from a starving artist to one of the best-selling music artists in the world.
Bursting into the scene with his debut album, +, Sheeran shook up the music industry with a string of chart-topping hits and sold-out tours, including the Divide tour, which sold over 8.9 million tickets worldwide, and grossed a staggering $775.6 million. However, though his successes have made him ridiculously wealthy, Sheeran famously leads an extremely frugal lifestyle. Here’s why, rather than splurge on sprawling mansions, designer clothing, and fast cars, Ed Sheeran chooses to live on a surprisingly small allowance.
Just How Much Is Ed Sheeran Worth?
Ed Sheeran has amassed a ridiculous net worth ever since his debut album, +, landed him at the top of the UK Albums Chart. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the renowned singer is currently worth $200 million, and ranks among the highest paid entertainers in the music industry. However, things were not always so hunky-dory for the Grammy-winning musician.
Sheeran, whose journey to stardom started close to two decades ago with the release of his first collection of works, Spinning Man, was once a starving artist, playing in small venues around London just to make ends meet. Things took a turn for the better when the now 32-year-old caught the eye of Jamie Fox, who invited him to crash on his couch and gave him a free recording space. Barely a year later, Sheeran released his debut album, +, which topped the charts in four countries, including the United Kingdom.
The father of two followed up this success with a series of chart-topping singles, including Lego House, Photograph, Don’t, Shape of You and Castle on the Hill; all of which went a long way in inflating his net worth to its current $200 million.
Sheeran has also landed some pretty lucrative endorsement deals in his career, famously parlaying his ketchup bottle tattoo, which many fans had thought rather weird, into a Heinz deal worth a couple hundred thousand dollars.
Ed Sheeran Lives Off A Very Small Allowance
Thanks to his successful music career, Ed Sheeran is now a pretty wealthy man. However, rather than splurge on luxuries, Ed has been known to lead a very modest life, living off a surprising $1000 a month. “I really don’t spend much money,” he revealed to The Irish Examiner back in 2014. “I spend most of it on taxis!”
Sheeran has also chosen to forgo all the perks that come with being a multi-millionaire, opting to continue using his Barclays student account in fear of overspending. “[I use] my Barclays student account,” he admitted to The Irish Examiner. “I’ve not upgraded because I don’t spend much money. If I had all my money in one account I would spend all of it, so I get an allowance.”
Sheeran’s extremely frugal lifestyle might surprise many, given that he’s accumulated the kind of net worth that could purchase unimaginable luxuries. As it turns out, the 32-year-old has a pretty good reason for not dabbling in the high life. "I do think money is the root of all evil," he admitted to OK! Magazine back in 2017. "I've never lost more friends in my life than I have done after finding money coming to my life."
Sheeran’s aversion to money might have started back in 2015, when he topped Forbes’ list of highest paid entertainers under 30. According to the outlet, Sheeran had made a staggering $57 million in 2015 alone; a revelation that ended up wreaking havoc in Sheeran’s personal life. "I was getting texts from people with pictures of cars going, I'd like this for my birthday, please,” he told RollingStone back in 2017. "This one's only .06% of your annual income.
The 32-year-old was so taken aback by his friends’ reactions that he ditched his smartphone, and never looked back. “I still don’t have a phone number,” he revealed to RollingStone. “I bought an iPad and I just work off of email. It’s so much less stress. I don’t wake up in the morning and have to answer 50 messages of people asking for something.”
How Does Ed Sheeran Spend His Money?
With a $1000 monthly allowance, Ed Sheeran doesn’t have access to a great chunk of the luxuries his net worth affords him. As such, the Thinking Out Loud singer spends his money on very modest purchases. In fact, following a period of intense touring in 2016, Sheeran chose to unwind with a pretty unusual shopping spree. “I just shut all my doors, turned my phone off, and I watched lots of DVDs,” he said. “I went on a spree on Amazon, they’re pretty much giving away DVDs for free these days. I bought 200 films.”
One thing that Sheeran has splurged on, however, is real-estate. The father of two reportedly owns a massive real-estate portfolio, which includes his sprawling estate in rural Suffolk; reportedly worth about £3.7 million.
Sheeran is also known for being an incredibly generous philanthropist. The 32-year-old has poured out donations to multiple charities over the years, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Elton Johns AIDS Foundation, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, Children’s Cancer Association, Memorial Sloan-Ketttering, Musicians on Call, St. Mungo’s, and ONE Campaign.
“It’s like earn a penny, spend a penny with me,” he revealed to OK! Magazine in 2017. “As soon as it comes in, it goes out. I don’t have much value on it. I have more value on my friends and family being OK. A lot of my money goes to charity or to children’s hospitals near where I live. I have enough to be comfortable, and the rest goes to help people."
