Lionel Richie Net Worth: A Peek Into the Financial and Personal Life of ‘American Idol’s Judge’!

By David D. Ramey On Mar 23, 2022

Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on June 20, 1949. He grew up on the Tuskegee Institute’s campus.

He was a star tennis player at Joliet Township High School in Joliet, Illinois, where he graduated.

He received a tennis scholarship to Tuskegee Institute and graduated with a B.S. in economics.

During his time at Tuskegee University in the mid-1960s, Richie formed a variety of R&B ensembles. Richie went to Auburn University for graduate study for a short time.

Name	Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr.
Birth	June 20, 1949, in Tuskegee, Alabama
Age	73 years
Genre	Record producer, Actor, Musician, Singer-songwriter, Multi-instrumentalist
Relationship Status	Single
Net Worth	$200 Million

Lionel Richie’s Career!

Richie joined the Commodores in 1968 as a singer and saxophonist. In 1968, the quartet signed a one-record deal with Atlantic Records before switching to Motown Records.

With the tunes “Brick House,” “Machine Gun,” “Easy,” and “Three Times a Lady,” the Commodores became a popular R&B group. Richie began creating songs for other performers on commission in the late 1970s.

In 1980, he penned “Lady” for Kenny Rogers, which became his first number one hit. Richie sang the theme song for the film “Endless Love,” a duet with Diana Ross, in 1981.

It was one of Motown’s biggest songs, and it received an Academy Award nomination. Richie was encouraged by his achievement to pursue a solo career.

“Lionel Richie,” Richie’s first solo album, was published in 1982 and had three big singles: “Truly,” “You Are,” and “My Love.” It was stylistically comparable to the Commodores’ sound.

The album charted at number three and went on to sell over four million copies. In 1983, he released “Can’t Slow Down,” which sold twice as many copies as “Lionel Richie.”

“Can’t Slow Down” was also nominated for two Grammy Awards, one of which was for Album of the Year. The album’s standout track was “All Night Long,” which Richie sang during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles’ closing ceremony.

Richie had a string of Top 10 songs in the 1980s, including “Hello,” “Stuck on You,” “Running with the Night,” and “Penny Lover.

” For the 1981 film “Endless Love,” he penned and recorded the title song. It was a duet with Diana Ross that received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song in 1982.

For the 1985 film “White Nights,” he penned and performed the song “Say You, Say Me.” The song was the number one song in the United States for four weeks and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Richie also worked with Michael Jackson on the song “We Are The World.” “Say You, Say Me,” “Dancing on the Ceiling,” “Love Will Conquer All,” “Ballerina Girl,” and “Sela” are among the five Top 20 tracks from his 1986 album “Dancing on the Ceiling.”

Richie’s albums in the 1990s were not as successful as his previous three. Richie has had six Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom since 2004. In 2009, he released the album “Just Go.” “Tuskegee,” Richie’s tenth studio album, was released on March 26, 2012.

In recent years, Richie has achieved incredible success and has become extremely popular in a lot of Arab countries. Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Libya are among the countries where he has performed.

Richie holds four Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for “We Are the World” in 1985, Album of the Year for “Can’t Slow Down” in 1984, Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) in 1984, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Truly” in 1982.

Richie was the first individual to get a Diamond album award from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Richie has had two Golden Globe nominations and has won one. Richie was a judge on “American Idol” in 2019.

Lionel Richie’s Personal Life!

On October 18, 1975, Richie married Brenda Harvey, his college love. Nicole Camille Escovedo, the two-year-old daughter of Sheila E’s niece and a member of Lionel Richie’s band, was adopted informally.

Richie made Nicole’s adoption legal when she was nine years old. In 1986, Richie began a relationship with Diane Alexander.

Brenda Harvey was still his wife. After 18 years of marriage, Richie and Harvey divorced in 1993. In December 1995, Richie married Alexander. Miles is their son, and Sofia is their daughter.

In early 2004, they divorced. Nicole Richie gave birth to a baby girl with her husband Joel Madden, the lead singer of the band Good Charlotte, in 2008, and Richie became a grandfather. Nicole and Joel welcomed Richie’s second grandchild in 2009.

Lionel Richie’s Net Worth!

Lionel Richie is a $200 million dollar singer-songwriter from the United States. Lionel Richie is a multi-talented musician and producer who rose to prominence with the Commodores. He had a great solo career as well.

Lionel Richie’s Salary!

Lionel Richie reportedly earned $10 million as a judge on “American Idol” in his first season in 2019.

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