- Category:
- Richest Celebrities › Rock Stars
- Net Worth:
- $100 Million
- Birthdate:
- Jul 23, 1961 (63 years old)
- Birthplace:
- Dagenham
- Gender:
- Male
- Height:
- 5 ft 7 in (1.72 m)
- Profession:
- Guitarist, Keyboard Player, Singer, Disc jockey, Lyricist, Songwriter, Record producer, Remixer, Film Score Composer, Actor
- Nationality:
- England
What Is Martin Gore's Net Worth?
Martin Gore is an English songwriter, singer, guitarist, keyboardist, DJ, and record producer who has a net worth of $100 million. Martin Gore is best known as one of the founding members of the band Depeche Mode, and he is also the band's primary songwriter. Depeche Mode was one of the biggest new wave bands of the 1980s, and Martin has written the majority of the band's songs, including hits such as "Personal Jesus," "Enjoy the Silence," "I Feel You," "People Are People," "Everything Counts," "Shake the Disease," and "Never Let Me Down Again." Depeche Mode has released 14 studios albums, such as "Speak & Spell" (1981), "Violator" (1990), "Songs of Faith and Devotion" (1993), "Sounds of the Universe" (2009), and "Spirit" (2017). Gore has also released two solo albums, "Counterfeit²" (2003) and "MG" (2015), as well as the EPs "Counterfeit e.p." (1989), "MG Remix EP" (2015), and "The Third Chimpanzee" (2021). The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.
Earnings
Between June 2017 and June 2018, Martin and his fellow members of Depeche mode earned $55 million, collectively.
Early Life
Martin Gore was born Martin Lee Gore on July 23, 1961, in London, England. His mother, Pamela, and his stepfather, David, both worked at Dagenham's Ford of Britain motor plant. Until the age of 13, Martin believed that David was his biological father, but his biological father was actually an African-American G.I. who was stationed in Britain. Gore did not meet his biological father until the early '90s. Martin grew up with two younger half-sisters, Karen and Jacqueline, and he has said of his childhood, "Family life was stable, nothing too traumatic occurred. I remember I was a very good boy until the age of five when I went through a phase of beating up other children. One day my mother caught me putting a brick over another child's head. My father was furious. He told me never to hit anyone else again. I'm glad I got such a talking to, it made me very passive and harmless." Gore began teaching himself to play the keyboard in the 1970s, learning to play the hits with the help of "Disco 45" magazine. Martin attended Nicholas Comprehensive, Basildon, and after completing his A-levels in 1979, he found work as a bank cashier. In his free time, Gore played with the band Norman and the Worms, and after becoming interested in electronic music, he bought a Yamaha CS5 synthesizer.
Career
Martin met Andy "Fletch" Fletcher in 1980, and he joined Fletcher's band Composition of Sound, which also included Vince Clarke. Dave Gahan became the band's lead singer later that year, and they soon became known as Depeche Mode, which was inspired by the French fashion magazine "Dépêche mode." Gore wrote the tracks "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Big Muff" on the band's 1981 debut album, "Speak & Spell," which was released by the independent British record label Mute, and after Clarke left the band that year, Martin became the main songwriter. "Speak & Spell" was certified Gold in the U.K., as were the band's next two albums, 1982's "A Broken Frame" and 1983's "Construction Time Again." Depeche Mode's first big hit was 1981's "Just Can't Get Enough," which went Platinum and reached the top 10 on the charts in the U.K., Australia, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The 1984 album "Some Great Reward" was certified Platinum in the U.S. and reached #5 on the UK Albums Chart and the Swiss Hitparade; the single "People Are People" was a #1 hit in Germany. Depeche Mode followed "Some Great Reward" with "Black Celebration" (1986), and "Music for the Masses" (1987), and 1990's "Violator" went 3x Platinum in the U.S. and 2x Platinum in Canada. The "Violator" singles "Personal Jesus" and "Enjoy the Silence" reached the top 10 in several countries and were both certified Gold in the U.S.
After "Violator," Depeche Mode released two more albums in the '90s – 1993's "Songs of Faith and Devotion" and 1997's "Ultra" – and they both topped the charts in the U.K. and Germany. "Songs of Faith and Devotion" included the Gold (in the U.S.) single "I Feel You," and "Barrel of a Gun" from "Ultra" went Gold in Sweden
. The 2001 album "Exciter" reached #1 on the charts in nine countries, and 2005's "Playing the Angel," which was released through Mute as well as the U.S. labels Reprise Records and Sire Records, went 2x Platinum in Germany and 3x Platinum in Russia. The band's next three albums, 2009's "Sounds of the Universe," 2013's "Delta Machine," and 2017's "Spirit," all reached #1 in at least five countries, and the single "Heaven" from "Delta Machine" was certified Gold in Italy. Gore's solo albums, 2003's "Counterfeit²" and 2015's "MG," reached #3 and #1 on the "Billboard" Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, respectively. Martin also teamed up with Vince Clarke for the techno duo VCMG, releasing the electronic dance album "Ssss" in 2012.
Personal Life
Martin began a relationship with model/lingerie designer Suzanne Boisvert in 1989, and they married on August 27, 1994. Gore and Boisvert welcomed three children, daughters Viva (born June 1991) and Ava (born July 1995) and son Calo (born July 2002), before divorcing in 2006. Martin then wed Kerrilee Kaski on June 12, 2014, and they have two daughters, Johnnie (born February 2016) and Mazzy (born March 2017). During Depeche Mode's 1993 Devotional Tour, Gore suffered from seizures that were caused by stress. In 1983, he became a vegetarian for "moral and health reasons."
Awards and Nominations
In 1999, Gore was honored with the International Achievement award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors at the Ivor Novello Awards, and in 2019, he received the Moog Innovation Award. With Depeche Mode, Martin has earned five Grammy nominations: Best Music Video, Long Form for "Devotional" (1994), Best Dance Recording for "I Feel Loved" (2001) and "Suffer Well" (2006), Best Alternative Music Album for "Sounds of the Universe" (2009), and Best Short Form Music Video for "Wrong" (2009).
The band has won an ASCAP Pop Music Award for Most Performed Song for "Enjoy the Silence" (1991), Antville Music Video Awards for Best Narrative Video and Best Cinematography for "Wrong" (2009), a BMI London Awards Pop Award for "Precious" (2007), two Bravo Otto Awards for Best Rock Group (1986 and 1987), a Brit Award for Best British Single for "Enjoy the Silence" (1991), two Echo Awards for Best International Group (2010 and 2014), two International Dance Music Awards for Best Dance Artist (Group) (2006 and 2007), an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Group (2006), and a UK Music Video Award for Best Alternative Video for "Personal Jesus 2011." Depeche Mode has also received nominations from the "Billboard" Music Awards, "Classic Pop" Readers' Awards, GAFFA Awards, Hungarian Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and Music Video Production Awards, and the band has been nominated for more than 30 Žebřík Music Awards, winning six of them.