This AC/DC Guitarist Has The Highest Net Worth Of All The Group's Current And Former Members
Highlights
- Angus Young is the richest member of AC/DC, having been with the band since its founding and having songwriting credits on their biggest hits.
- Other members such as Cliff Williams and Brian Johnson also have high net worths, but they haven't caught up with Angus yet.
- AC/DC still owns its music rights, although Sony acquired them in 2021; the band is still touring and earning millions of dollars per year.
Since the band started in 1973, AC/DC has had a number of member lineup changes. Angus Young, an original founding member (and the lead guitarist), is the only person who has stuck with the group since its inception. That said, the group hasn't always lost members due to internal issues. AC/DC lost a handful of members to health issues, like Bon Scott in 1980, Malcolm Young in 2017, and Paul Matters in 2020. However, they pressed on, acquiring new members over the years, some of whom also left and came back later.
Out of all of them, however, Angus Young is hands-down the richest member, which might not be surprising given how much he's invested into AC/DC over the years.
Who Is The Richest Member Of AC/DC?
Angus Young helped found AC/DC in 1973 along with the late Malcolm Young, and at the time, the group included Larry Van Kriedt, Colin Burgess, and Dave Evans. As the only person who has stuck with the band since its inception, it makes sense that Angus Young is the richest member of AC/DC with a net worth of $160 million.
Not only has Angus been the rock of the group, but he also has songwriting credits on some of the band's biggest hits. Bon Scott, Malcolm Young, and Angus Young share credit for the group's massive hit "Highway to Hell."
For the massively successful album Back in Black, Brian Johnson, Angus Young, and Malcolm Young share writing credits for the album's lead single, "You Shook Me All Night Long," and "Hells Bells," among others.
Clearly, those notable credits helped bolster those members' earnings over time. But just how rich are the members of AC/DC today, including both the current and former members?
How Rich Are The Other Members Of AC/DC?
Cliff Williams and Brian Johnson have similarly high net worths, though they haven't quite caught up with Angus just yet. Cliff is said to be worth $100M and Brian $90M, as of 2023. Other members, both current and former, are worth far less.
For example, Stevie Young, an AC/DC guitarist and backup vocalist since 2014, is only worth $1 to $4 million. This does make sense, given that many of AC/DC's biggest hits were far in the band's past.
Yet bandmates like Phil Rudd, who has been with AC/DC off and on since 1975, are worth less than a third of what Angus is; Rudd is worth about $50 million. As for the original members of AC/DC who debuted with Angus, the three who are still living are worth $5 million or less each.
It would seem that songwriting credits factor in heavily in terms of long-term earnings for each band member, but the ownership of the songs—and transfers of ownership—may also have impacted AC/DC's earnings.
It also impacted which songs the band wanted to play; Brian Johnson refused to play a song that he considered a trademark of the late Bon Scott's.
Malcolm Young Was Worth $100 Million When He Died
Malcolm Young passed away in 2017, and at that time, he was worth $100 million. With multiple writing credits on various albums, Malcolm was one of the richest members of AC/DC. However, given that he was Angus' older brother, it only makes sense that Malcolm's estate may have been tied to his brother's net worth in some way.
Malcolm left behind a wife and two children, so it's assumed that they inherited his estate, though it's not clear how the music ownership might impact future earnings for the estate.
Who Owns AC/DC's Music Today?
Many bands and individual artists eventually wind up selling their catalogs, often due to financial issues. Tina Turner sold off her catalog for $50 million, rapper Nelly dropped his catalog for cash, and Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham have both sold their music rights, too.
However, that doesn't seem to be the case for AC/DC. The band, which still performs regularly and went on tour with The Rolling Stones in 2023, was said to own its music rights under a family-owned label, Alberts.
However, in 2021, Sony acquired the band's music rights through a partnership with Alberts, explained Billboard. Of the deal, Sony Music Publishing suggested that the partnership would "deliver new opportunities for AC/DC."
It's unclear exactly what those opportunities might be, but the fact that the band is still touring—and still bringing in massive revenue—is a good sign. In fact, the band as a whole is said to earn more than $10 million per year, and some years (such as those that have tours) have historically earned AC/DC more than $177 million.
After decades in the industry, that's nothing to scoff at, especially if most of the earnings are split between the band's main/current members.
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