As one of the most talked-about figures, Angus Young has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.
What is Angus Young's Net Worth?
Angus Young is a Scottish-born Australian guitarist and songwriter who has a net worth of $160 million. A co-founder of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, Young is known for his highly energetic performances, schoolboy uniform stage clothing, and the (re)popularization ofChuck Berry's"duck walk." The world's 14th best-selling artist with sales exceeding 200 million records, AC/DC has released 16 studio albums, and songs like "Highway to Hell," "You Shook Me All Night Long," "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," and "Back in Black" have been staples of classic rock radio stations for decades. Their 25x Platinum 1980 album "Back in Black" is accountable for 50 million of those sales and is rated as the second highest-selling album of all time. "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked Angus #24 on their "100 Greatest Guitarists" list, and Young and his AC/DC bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
Angus Young was born Angus McKinnon Young on March 31, 1955, in Glasgow, Scotland. His mother, Margaret, was a housewife, and his father, William, served as a flight engine mechanic in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Angus is the youngest of Margaret and William's eight children, and after 1963's "big freeze," the family moved to Sydney, Australia. Young attended Ashfield Boys High School but dropped out when he was 15. Several of the Young children were blessed with musical talent, and Angus first learned to play the banjo (after re-stringing it with six strings), then began playing a secondhand acoustic guitar bought by his mother. Young purchased his first Gibson SG in the early 1970s, and he has continued to use various Gibson SGs throughout his career. Gibson thanked him for his loyalty by naming a signature guitar after him, releasing the Angus Young SG in 2000.
Angus began his music career in the Marcus Hook Roll Band, which also included his brothers Malcolm and George. The band released the album "Tales of Old Grand Daddy" in 1973. Young also played in the band Kantuckee (later renamed Tantrum) before he formed AC/DC with Malcolm in 1973. Angus took on lead guitar duties, with Malcolm playing rhythm guitar, and the band's original lineup also included vocalist Dave Evans, bassist Larry Van Kriedt, and drummer Colin Burgess. Angus considered several stage costumes, such as Zorro, Spider-Man, and a Superman parody called Super-Ang, and when his sister Margaret suggested a schoolboy outfit, Young's signature look was born. Margaret created Angus's first schoolboy costume, but after it eventually fell apart, he began wearing his old uniform from Ashfield Boys High School.
The band seemed to be losing popularity in the 1980s, but 1990's "The Razors Edge" went 5x Platinum in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. After 2000's "Stiff Upper Lip," AC/ DC went on hiatus for several years, and 2008's "Black Ice" was an instant success, debuting at #1 in nearly 30 countries. Malcolm left the band in 2014 due to health problems, and nephew Stevie Young took his place. By 2016, Brian Johnson and drummerPhil Ruddhad also left AC/DC, so Angus recruitedAxl Roseof Guns N' Roses to replace Johnson on the Rock or Bust World Tour's remaining dates.
In September 1974,Bon Scottreplaced Evans as lead singer, and the band re-recorded their first single, "Can I Sit Next To You Girl," with him. AC/ DC's debut album, "High Voltage," was released in February 1975 in Australia and reached #14 on the ARIA Charts. Their follow-up, 1975's "T.N.T.," peaked at # 2 and was certified 9x Platinum in Australia. "High Voltage" was released internationally in 1976 and went gold or platinum in several countries. That year, the band also released "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," which went 6x Platinum in Australia and the U.S. With 1979's "Highway to Hell," AC/DC reached a new level of success, finally breaking into the top 100 on the U.S. charts. Sadly, Bon Scott passed away from alcohol poisoning in February 1980, and the band recorded their next album, "Back in Black," withBrian Johnsonon lead vocals. "Back in Black" went on to become AC/DC's most successful album, and onlyMichael Jackson's"Thriller" has sold more copies.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
