Rock Stars with Financial Savvy

When you hear the phrase "rock star", visions of partying, yachts and shockingly excessive spending often come to mind. Fortunately for some famous musicians, the lure of the rock star lifestyle does not trump old fashioned money sense. These three rockers grow wealthier by the day for many reasons including hiring competent accountants and lawyers and diversifying their investments and business ventures. Ultimately, however, they keep getting richer because they are doing what everyone should be: spending less than they make.

Sting

While Sting (whose real name is Gordon Sumner) is not the wealthiest rock star on the planet- that title is still firmly in the grip of Sir Paul McCartney- his estimated wealth of 180 million pounds sterling (approximately $290 million U.S.) has survived the economic meltdown of the past two years and continues to grow.

Like many wealthy rock stars, Sting maintains various real estate properties, including an estate near Salisbury plus several other residences in England, a vineyard in Tuscany and properties in the United States and the Caribbean. Sting also retains songwriting credits to most of the Police's back catalog and a co-songwriting credit on Dire Strait's Money For Nothing. He continues to earn an estimated $1,600 a day alone on the radio play royalties for the Police hit, Every Breath You Take. Sting's growing wealth is even more commendable after losing almost $10 million U.S. in the 1990s to his crooked accountant.

Prince

Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson) is one of those celebrities that people either love or hate. Whatever you think of his music, his attention to the details of his business forged new awareness in the music industry of the intellectual property rights of musicians and songwriters.

Known most famously for his public falling out with his record label, Warner Bros. in 1996 and his subsequent control of his own publishing and distribution rights to his music, Prince has held a tight reign over everything related to his public image. The songwriter has aggressively pursued copyright infringement against both media and fans, which has resulted in mixed sentiments in the music community. His estimated $250 million net worth, however, continues to grow as he nurtures his own catalog and writes material for other music celebrities.

Bono

Paul Hewson, more famously known as Bono, the lead singer of the Irish band, U2, has been an iconic figure in rock music and activism circles for more than two decades. Bono's net wealth is difficult to estimate as he is involved in so many ventures outside of the band, but it is estimated that he is worth between $900 million to $1.3 billion U.S.

Through Elevation Partners, a private equity firm for which he serves on the board of directors, he owns a minority investment in Forbes Media LLC and also owns a 1.5% stake in Facebook, which would currently be valued at $800 million U.S. Amongst Bono's other financial ventures, he purchased and restored an aging hotel in Dublin with fellow bandmate, The Edge.

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