If you frequented West Hollywood's Sunset Strip in the '80s you'd probably have seen Motley Crue a couple of times. The devil-may-care rock band was a force to be reckoned with during the height of the '80s heavy metal scene, and they traveled the world wreaking havoc and causing mayhem on and off the stage as they progressively got richer and richer, and spent their new fortunes on extravagant things and living up to the rock star lifestyle.
When Motley Crue became popular in the early '80s, no one was prepared for their in-your-face attitude and heavy music. Everything was bigger and better than anything anyone had ever seen before. Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, and Mick Mars wanted to be over the top in everything, taking sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to the next level. The parties, the sheer amount of drugs, the on-stage theatrics, and of course the out of control spending. But now, after all these years of drama, near-death experiences, and spending more than they were earning, who is the richest Crue member?
Today the band is still making music, either in their solo careers or when they're coming back together to make new Crue music and going back out on the road, just minus all the drugs. They have also just released their own biopic, Netlfix's The Dirt, along with new songs featured in it, which has brought old and new fans together. Now they've sold about 100 million albums worldwide, making them one of the most successful rock bands in music history. But besides all this, they still have a whopping net worth.
Bassist, Nikki Sixx, was actually in two other bands before Motley Crue, Sister, and London. When those bands fell though, he started Motley Crue and became the band's primary songwriter. But being the creator and chief songwriter apparently didn't help Sixx's net worth. Celebrity Net Worth records Sixx worth at only $45 million, the lowest of all his other bandmates. Sixx had the hardest upbringing, constantly shoplifting and causing mayhem from a very early age which carried into his teenage years. He was the biggest drug user in the band and almost died of a heroin overdose (Sixx himself estimates that he's overdosed about half a dozen times). When Crue reunited in 2004, Sixx declared himself sober.
Besides Crue, Sixx has collaborated on songs with other notable rock stars like Alice Cooper and Steve Jones. In the early 2000s, Sixx also started side project Sixx: A.M. and a clothing line called "Royal Underground" with fellow musician Kelly Gray. He started his radio show, "Sixx Sense" in 2010 as well.
The second richest bandmate is Vince Neil, the singer, who had moves like David Bowie and a voice like David Lee Roth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Neil is worth $50 million. He was the last member to join Crue after Lee recruited him. He was just as wild as the rest of the band and in 1984, while under the influence, Neil and Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle took a drive to the liquor store and crashed. Razzle died and Neil was arrested but was released after 30-days and after paying a $25 million fine for vehicular manslaughter.
In 1992, Neil left the band and started a solo career, released his first album, Exposed, in 1993 which reached number 13 on Billboard charts. Like Sixx, he owns a couple of businesses outside of music, including a bar and restaurant and clothing lines. After his daughter Skylar died at age four of cancer, he started the Skylar Neil Memorial Fund, which raises money for children with cancer.
Coincidentally the man who brought us some of the most gut-busting guitar riffs in songs like Dr. Feelgood and Kick Start My Heart, and the guy who made drumming in rollercoaster-like spinning contraptions look epic, are the two wealthiest Crue members. Mick Mars and Tommy Lee are both estimated as having a $70 million net worth.
Mars was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis, in his late teens, but he's still able to shred on guitar, all these years later. According to Money Inc., Mars has racked up his fortune from personal investments and has contributed his songwriting skills to bands like Rock Star Supernova and Escape the Fate. While Mars did splurge on things like great cars and motorcycles like the rest of his bandmates, Mars lives a relatively simple life compared to the rest.
Lee, on the other hand, is also one of the more successful members as well, also bringing in $70 million. He was one of the more enthusiastic band members and caused just as much havoc, but along with the riches that Crue brought him, he's also had a pretty successful solo career as well, founding rap-metal band called Methods of Mayhem. He has also collaborated with artists like Rob Zombie throughout the years. Besides Methods of Mayhem, he also has a solo album called Never A Dull Moment, and another band called Rock Star Supernova.
The drummer also had a reality TV show in 2005, called Tommy Lee Goes to College, in which he took college classes at the University of Nebraska and played drums in the school's marching band. His book Tommyland came out that same year, which had a soundtrack made for it, called Tommyland: The Ride. Over the years Lee has been very present on social media and has continued to tour with Crue.
While some members are richer than others, Crue continues to make great music and has begun to tour with each other again (despite signing a legal contract in 2015 that stated they would never again tour under the Motley Crue name ever again). Now, along with The Dirt's release, Crue is back in the spotlight and better than ever.
