James Hetfield Net Worth

What is James Hetfield's Net Worth?

James Hetfield is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who has a net worth of $300 million. James Hetfield earned fame and fortune as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the popular heavy metal band, Metallica. He is also one of band's founding members along with drummer Lars Ulrich. Hetfield is widely regarded as the greatest heavy metal rhythm guitar player of all time. As of this writing, James is not the richest member of Metallica. Lars Ulrich is currently the richest member of Metallica thanks to savvy art and real estate investments. James and Lars founded the band in 1981 after meeting each other through a newspaper ad. They eventually added Dave Mustaine on lead guitar and Cliff Burton on bass. Mustaine was fired from the group in 1983 due to substance abuse issues. He was replaced by Kirk Hammett. The band's original bass player was Cliff Burton. Tragically, Burton died in 1986 in a tour bus crash in Sweden. Burton was replaced by Jason Newsted, who stayed with the band through 2001. Newsted was replaced by Robert Trujillo.

James Hetfield, has had his share of ups and downs over the years. From battles with drug and alcohol abuse, to severe injuries onstage, including second and third degree burns from a pyro stunt that went awry during a concert, to struggling with the loss of his voice at one point in the 90s. He's pretty much seen it all.  James and Metallica continue to enjoy steady success. The band has been touring and recording since the early 80s, and their very successful studio albums have sold more than 125 million copies worldwide.

Early Life

He was born James Alan Hetfield on August 3, 1963, in Downey, California. His mother was an opera singer and his father was a truck driver. His parents divorced when he was 13. The family was very strict Christian Scientists and therefore did not use modern medicine, even when his mother was dying of cancer. Cynthia succumbed to cancer in 1979 when James was 16 years old. This pain, along with other difficult childhood memories, would later fuel many of Metallica's lyrics.

Hetfield got his first taste of music in his childhood after taking piano lessons. By the time he turned fourteen, he realized that playing rock music was his true calling. He was in a few bands including Leather Charm and Obsession.

Meanwhile, Lars Ulrich moved from Denmark to Newport Beach, California in 1980. Despite being a ranked tennis player back in Denmark, Lars failed to make the team at his high school. This failure was what finally inspired Lars to focus fully on drumming.

Metallica

In June of 1981, Lars placed an ad in an LA newspaper called The Recycler that stated he was looking for other metal fans to form a band. James Hetfield was one of two people that responded to the ad. They met and began to play together. On October 28, 1981 they two officially formed Metallica. Their original bass player Cliff Burton died in a tour bus crash in Sweden in 1986. He was replaced by Jason Newsted. Newsted remained with Metallica through 2001. After he left, he was replaced by current bassist Robert Trujillo. Metallica's original lead guitarist was Dave Mustaine. Dave was fired from the group on April 11, 1983 due to his substance abuse issues. Dave was replaced by Kirk Hammett, who nailed his audition earlier in the day on April 11. Hammett remains Metallica's lead guitarist and Mustaine went on to form the successful rival band Megadeath.

Metallica released its first album in 1983. They would eventually win nine Grammys and sell more than 125 million albums worldwide. To date they have released 11 studio albums, four live albums, three extended plays and 39 singles. James was ranked #24 in Hit Parader magazine's list of "Top 100 greatest vocalist of all-time."

Metallica's most successful album so far is their 1991 self-titled release "Metallica" which is also known as the Black Album. This album has sold 16 million copies in the United States and 24 million worldwide. Their 1988 release "…And Justice for All" has sold 5.3 million copes. Their 1996 album "Load" has sold 5.1 million copies. Hetfield has had many successful singles with Metallica including "One," "Enter Sandman," "The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else Matters," "Until It Sleeps," "Turn the Page" (a Bob Seger cover), "I Disappear," and many more. In April 2023, the band released their 11th studio album, "72 Seasons."

To this day, Metallica is one of the highest-earning bands in the world. If they are on tour, they are known to generate $50-100 million in revenue from tickets, merchandise and more. For example, between July 2018 and July 2019, the band generated $70 million in revenue. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

James married Francesca Tomasi in August 1997. They have three children together. In August 2022, it was revealed publicly that James had filed for divorce from Francesca. His son, Castor, is also a musician.

James has struggled with alcohol over the years. He entered a rehab program in 2001 for the first time. He re-entered rehab in 2019.

James is an avid hunter and fisher. He also customizes cars and motorcycles. He is a fan of the Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco Giants, and San Jose Sharks.

Real Estate

For much of his life, James Hetfield and his family lived in Marin County, California. In 2016, the Hetfields moved to Vail, Colorado, after years of being displeased by the local liberal politics and attitudes. On an episode of Joe Rogan's podcast, James explained how he was sick of getting dirty looks from neighbors when he returned home from a hunting trip. He found their attitudes hypocritical since none of these people would hesitate to buy a steak from a store. He has since found a much more accepting home in Colorado.

James still owns an extremely valuable real estate portfolio back in Marin County that at one point included thousands of acres of open land. He purchased 1,150-acres of rural property six miles from George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in 1999, forming what he dubbed "Rocking H Ranch." In 2008, James caused controversy when he erected a 300-foot fence across part of his land that blocked bikers and hikers from a popular trail that traversed his property. The county then spent $650,000 erecting a new trail which became known as 680 Trail to give visitors an alternative connection between two popular recreation areas. As a concession, he donated 330-acres of his and to the local community.

In 2011, the Hetfields submitted plans to build four single-family homes on his property, each between 5,000 and 8,000-square-feet on 10-acre lots.

Over the years, James has donated chunks of his land to various non-profit land trusts. For example, in 2017, the Hetfields donated 240 acres for an agricultural conservation. In February 2018, they donated 1,000 acres of open land to the Marin Agricultural Land Trust.

As of this writing, the Hetfields own around 50 acres of their original 1,150 property, having donated the rest to charity.

In 2021, James sold 20 acres of vacant land he owned in Pima County in Arizona for $1.2 million.

Outside of Marin County and Vail, they own a large property in Maui, Hawaii.