Janet Jackson is the youngest child in the Jackson family. She got her career started with the television series The Jacksons, in 1976. She went on to appear in other shows throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including T.V. hits such as Good Times and Fame. In 1982, she signed a record contract with A&M Records, and the rest was history. She soon became a world-renowned pop icon.
Her widely known collaborations with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, which incorporated rhythm and blues, disco, rap and funk, helped Janet’s crossover success in popular music. She has sold over 100 million records, which makes Jackson one of the world’s best-selling music artists.
$55 million
Spanning over seven decades of fame and success, we have the legendary Paul Simon. It all began in 1956 with Art Garfunkel as Simon & Garfunkel (which was originally Tom & Jerry). Simon was on point for writing almost all of their songs, including the ones that reached number one on the charts: "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", and "Bridge over Troubled Water".
Among many accolades, and an amazing 16 Grammys, Paul Simon was the first person to get the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. In 1986, he was given an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music. He currently sits on the Board of Trustees there.
$10 Million
Melissa Viviane Jefferson, more famously known as Lizzo, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Houston, Texas, where this 31-year-old multi-talented artist began her career as a performing artist.
Besides being a hit songwriter and a classically trained flutist, which she often incorporates into her live performances, she's also quite the dancer. Some even call her "the next Beyonce." She sure has the skills, so she's well on her way. And with an estimated net worth of $10 million, the people seem to love what she has to offer. Go Lizzo!
$250 million
Academy Award winner, Golden Globe Award winner, Emmy Award winner, Tony Award winner, and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Tim Rice is in a league of his own. Tim may be best known for his work with Andrew Lloyd Webber- together they wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita. He also gained much success for his collaborations with Alan Menken on Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
Tim Rice is said to be one of the most influential lyricists in pop culture. In 1994, Rice was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and also is in the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. He is one of just fifteen people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award.
$75 million
The mega-successful John Legend has racked up quite a bit of money. That might be in part the result of the combined bank accounts with his former super-model wide, Chrissy Teigen, but make no mistake, John Legend has done pretty well in his own right. Legend had a less glamorous start as a management consultant before he began penning and performing romantic love songs.
In the year 2000, he self-released two albums, one self-titled and the second, 'Live at Jimmy's Uptown' in 2001. It was meeting singer Kanye West however, that really changed the direction of his career completely. In fact, it was Kanye West who gave him his stage name! He signed to his label and immediately began churning out number one hits. Kanye called it, because he actually did end up as quite the legend.