Introduction   

Michael Flatley is an American-Irish professional dancer and musician with an estimated net worth of $350 Million. 

Flatley is best known for Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, and Celtic Tiger Live. In a career spanning nearly five decades, Flatley’s shows have been seen by more than 60 million people in 60 countries and have grossed more than $1 billion.

This profile outlines our research into Michael Flatley’s net worth, earnings history, income sources, and real estate investments.

Quick Facts

• Earned a peak annual income of $54 million in 1997
• Lord of the Dance grossed more than $1 billion in revenue
• Guinness World Record for highest-paid dancer ($1.6 million/week)
• Secured a $40 million insurance policy on his legs
• Filed a $128 million lawsuit against the Riverdance producers (1995)
• Assets include a £60 million estate in Ireland

Earnings History

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Michael Flatley was among the world’s highest-paid entertainers. He was also featured on the Forbes Top 40 and Celebrity 100 lists several times. Between September 1996 and September 1997, Flatley earned an estimated $54 million. Fast forward to 2004, and he reappeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 with an estimated annual income of $28 million.

To the best of our knowledge, these are the only times he’s appeared on any such list. Therefore, Flatley earned an estimated $82 million from just two years of his career.

Riverdance Disputes

In the mid 1990s, a couple of years before creating Lord of the Dance, Michael Flatley helped choreograph the original, and now famous, Riverdance act, authored by Bill Whelan. He initially starred in the debut performance at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. In February of the following year, the full-length production of Riverdance made its debut.

However, once the show became successful, Flatley found himself in legal disputes with the creators. That same year (1995), he filed a lawsuit against the producers, in which Flatley claimed that his contract entitled him to 20% of the show’s gross revenues. Some reports falsely list the number at 2%, which is incorrect.

Michael alleged he was entitled to 20%, and the show had reportedly generated £400 million ($640 million) in revenue. In other words, he was seeking £80 million ($128 million) from the lawsuit.

The case was settled outside of court four years later in 1999, but the outcome was kept confidential. Thus, we have no idea as to Flatley’s exact financial gain from the lawsuit.

Lord of the Dance Earnings

In 1996, a year after he began and left the Riverdance production, Michael Flatley created his own dance production, Lord of the Dance. The production debuted at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, on the 2nd of July, 1996. 

According to his own website, Lord of the Dance has achieved the following milestones:

• 1998 – Performed 21 consecutive sell-out shows at the Wembley Arena
• 1999 – Secured a five-year residency in Las Vegas
• 1999 – Signed a contract with Disney to perform at Epcot

More importantly, reports suggest that the production has grossed $1+ billion in lifetime revenues, and reached a lifetime live attendance of 60 million people.

In 2000, Flatley was officially inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s highest-paid dancer. At the time, he earned £1 million ($1.6 million per week). Not per month, or per year… per week. Lord of the Dance was also responsible for Flatley’s entries on the Forbes list, and FYI, $1.6 million per week equates to $83.2 million per year. Though only if the show runs every single week of the year.

Leg Insurance Policy

Technically, Michael Flatley also holds, or held, another one or two Guinness World Records. In 1999, by his own claim, he secured a $40 million insurance policy on his legs, arranged through Lloyd’s of London. Yes… $40 million.

This policy came a year after he broke the Guinness World Record for fastest tap dancer, at 35 taps per second. Though the record was quickly broken by James Devine, with 38 taps per second. Nonetheless, Flatley’s record made his legs valuable, and his insurance policy became the most valuable of its kind.

Real Estate

In 2001, Flatley purchased Castlehyde, an old Irish estate house originally owned by the first president of Ireland, Douglas Hyde. The house was in a derelict condition when he purchased it for £3 million, and Flatley spent over £45 million renovating and furnishing it with antiques and artwork. 

Introduction

Eric Clapton is an English professional singer and musician with an estimated net worth of $450 Million.

Clapton is one of the biggest names in the music industry and a true Rock and Roll legend. Through his solo works and band collaborations, Eric has earned himself a reputation as one of the all-time greatest virtuosos. Bands that have benefited from his incredible skills are The Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominos. Eric is a self-made artist whose arrangements and performances have mesmerized audiences worldwide.

In this profile, we’ll outline our research into Eric Clapton’s net worth, income sources, earnings history, and how he spends his fortune.

Quick facts

• Earned an estimated $62 million between 1992 and 1994
• Sold three Gerhard Richter paintings for $74.8 million (2012-2016)
• The artwork cost him just $3.4 million in 2001
• Assets include a $14 million property in Antigua

Earnings History

Between 1992 and 1994, Forbes consistently featured Eric Clapton in its annual lists of the Forbes Top 40. This list was ultimately superseded by the Forbes Celebrity 100 in 1999.

To the best of our knowledge, Clapton debuted on the list in 1992, when he earned an estimated $33 million. Bear in mind that this was among his most active years on tour, performing at 83 concerts. The following year, his earnings declined to an estimated $19 million. They also dropped again to approximately $10 million in 1994, at which point he fell off the list.

Art Collection

Perhaps one of the best investments that Clapton has ever made has been his art collection. Now it’s not exactly clear how many pieces are in his collection, but based on his history, it could be in the hundreds. 

We also don’t know exactly how much he paid for his collection, nor its current value. However, here’s what we do know:

In 1997, Clapton listed 32 pieces up for sale with Christie’s auction house in London, England. The collection included works from Degas, Matisse, and Sandro Chia. Reports suggest that all 32 pieces sold for a total of £419,665 ($680,000), with the most expensive (“Meditation” by Sandro Chia) selling for £87,300.

Several years later, in 2001, Clapton acquired three Gerhard Richter Paintings for a total of $3.4 million, which were as follows:

• Abstraktes Bild (809-4)
• Abstraktes Bild (809-1)
• Abstraktes Bild (809-2)

Roughly a decade later, in 2012, he auctioned off the first painting (809-4) at Sotheby’s. It sold for an astonishing $34.2 million, which at the time was the highest price a Richter piece had ever been sold for.

In November 2013, Clapton returned to Christie’s to auction off the second painting (809-1). It sold for an impressive $18.5 million at the hammer, with a sale price of $20.89 million including the buyer’s premium. Exactly three years later, Eric sold the final painting (809-2) for $22.1 million at the Christie’s auction house.

In summary, Eric Clapton bought three pieces of artwork for $3.4 million in 2001, and within the span of fifteen years, sold them for $74.8 million. Of course, this is before taking the auction’s commission off the top line, but that’s a $71.4 million gross profit.

Introduction

Bill Berry is an American retired professional musician with an estimated net worth of $40 Million. 

Berry was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M., but he is best known for his economical drumming style. He also played other instruments, including guitar, bass, and piano, for songwriting and on R.E.M. albums. After a long career with the band, he left the music industry to become a farmer and has since maintained a low profile. 

In this profile, we’ll discuss our research into Bill Berry’s net worth, contracts, earnings from R.E.M., and how he’s invested his fortune.

Quick Facts

• Paid roughly $113,000 for a 56.6-acre farm in Georgia
• R.E.M. earned an estimated $44 million in 1996
• Signed an $80 million, five-album deal with Warner Bros. in 1996
• The band has sold over 93 million records worldwide

R.E.M. Earnings 

In 1996, R.E.M. was ranked on Forbes’ Top 40 with an estimated annual income of $44 million. At the time, most of this figure came from touring. However, prior to the 2000s, touring revenue in the music industry wasn’t widely reported; verified figures are difficult to find.

In any case, between January 1995 and November 1995, R.E.M. held the Monster Tour, which grossed an estimated $94.6 million. Not all of this revenue fell within the calculation period for Forbes Estimates, but anything from June 1 onward would have.

Tour Revenues

As we briefly mentioned above, the only time that Berry’s band R.E.M. made the Forbes list was thanks to the Monster World Tour. Throughout their tenure, touring was a primary source of revenue for the band. They held 14 major concert tours between 1981 and 2008, but it appears that the Monster Tour was responsible for the bulk of the revenue.

In a 2022 report from Pollstar, R.E.M. were ranked 127th on its list of “Top Touring Artists” in order of tickets sold. The group has reportedly sold 3,640,879 tickets, resulting in gross revenues of $128.3 million. This is surprising, since the Monster World Tour allegedly grossed $94.6 million on its own, accounting for roughly 73.7% of the band’s lifetime touring revenue.

While we don’t know how much their other tours grossed, here’s a complete list of every major concert tour R.E.M. has held:

• Rapid.Eye.Movement. Tour (1981)
• Chronic Town Tour (1982)
• Murmur Tour (1983)
• Little America Tour (1984)
• Reconstruction Tour (1985)
• Pageantry Tour (1986)
• Work Tour (1987)
• Green World Tour (1989)
• Monster World Tour (1995)
• Up World Tour (1998/99)
• Reveal World Tour (2001)
• In Time World Tour (2003)
• Around the Sun World Tour (2004/05)
• Accelerate World Tour (2008)

Warner Bros. Records Deal

In 1996, R.E.M. signed a five-album record deal with Warner Bros., reportedly valued at $80 million, or $16.66 million per album. At the time, this was among the largest record deals in history, which many might have found surprising. According to reports, R.E.M.’s contract with the label included the following:

• $10 million signing bonus
• $20 million advance tied to future sales of existing catalog
• $10 million advance per album
• 24% royalty payment on future retail sales

Real Estate

In the late 1980s, Bill Berry purchased 56.6 acres of land in Watkinsville, Georgia. While the purchase price wasn’t publicly disclosed, Berry has previously commented on this investment, saying he wanted to broaden his portfolio at the time. He mentioned that the land cost about $2,000 per acre back then, which would have totaled about $113,100. There now stands a 6,010-square-foot home on the land, and the property is worth roughly $1.47 million. It also costs him roughly $16,000 in property taxes each year.