- Category:
- Richest Celebrities › Rock Stars
- Net Worth:
- $20 Million
- Birthdate:
- Sep 5, 1968 (56 years old)
- Birthplace:
- Portland
- Gender:
- Male
- Profession:
- Songwriter, Musician, Drummer, Actor, Activist, Percussionist
- Nationality:
- United States of America
What is Brad Wilk's net worth?
Brad Wilk is an American musician and drummer who has a net worth of $20 million. Brad Wilk is best known as the drummer for the bands Rage Against the Machine, supergroup Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage. Rage Against the Machine formed in Los Angeles, CA in 1991. As of this writing they have sold more than 20 million records worldwide. The band released their self-titled debut studio album in 1992, and it became 3x Platinum in the United States. Their second album "Evil Empire" was released in 1996, and reached #1 in the US, France, and Sweden. The band's 1999 album "The Battle of Los Angeles" reached #1 in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. Their fourth album "Renegades" was released in 2000. Rage Against the Machine's best known single is "Bulls on Parade". Wilk was a part of the super group Audioslave which formed in 2001 as basically Rage with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell on vocals. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2002 and was 3x Platinum in the US. Audioslave had success with their second and third albums.
Early Life
Brad Wilk was born on September 5, 1968, in Portland, Oregon. He was raised in Chicago, Illinois, before his family finally settled in Southern California. He grew up a fan of Van Halen and started playing the drums at the age of 13. He has cited his greatest influences as John Bonham, Keith Moon, and Elvin Jones. Wilk started his career as a drummer in 1990 in the band Greta.
Rage Against the Machine
Wilk co-founded Rage Against the Machine in Los Angeles, California, along with Tom Morello and Zack de la Rocha in August of 1991. To date, the band has sold more than 20 million records worldwide. They released their self-titled debut studio album in 1992 and it went 3x Platinum in the United States. Their second album "Evil Empire" was released in 1996 and reached #1 in the US, France, and Sweden. The band's 1999 album "The Battle of Los Angeles" reached #1 in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. Their fourth album "Renegades" was released in 2000. Since then, they have released the live albums, "Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium," "The Battle of Mexico City," and "Live & Rare." Rage Against the Machine first disbanded in 2000 citing growing creative differences but reformed in April of 2007 for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival before going on hiatus again in 2011.
Rage Against the Machine was nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility in 2017 and again in 2018, 2019, and 2021, but the bids failed. After an eight-year hiatus, the band announced their reunion in November of 2019.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Audioslave
Wilk was a part of the super group Audioslave which formed in 2001 as basically Rage Against the Machine with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell on vocals. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2002 and went 3x Platinum in the US. Audioslave also had success with their second and third albums "Out of Exile" and "Revelations." The group disbanded in 2007.
Other Projects
Brad Wilk played in the band Prophets of Rage from 2016 until 2019 along with Tom Morello. He also filled in on drums on the Black Sabbath album "13." Brad played briefly with Pearl Jam after the release of their debut album "Ten." Wilk sat in in The 8G Band on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" and has played for Juliette Lewis on several shows and tours.
Personal Life
Brad married fellow musician Selene Vigil in 2005. She filed for divorce in 2013 but they didn't officially separate until 2016. According to their divorce filings, Brad earned $2.2 million in 2017.
After being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1997, Brad Wilk has been active in raising money for diabetes awareness. Brad has donated around $12,000 to the Orange County chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Real Estate
In 2005 Brad and Selene paid $3.5 million for a 6,000 square-foot home in Santa Monica, California. Brad listed the home for sale in October 2020 for $6.5 million. He sold this home in early 2021 for $6.2 million.
In December 2021 Brad paid $5.4 million for a home just blocks away from his former Santa Monica home.
