As one of the most talked-about figures, Harry Belafonte has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
What Was Harry Belafonte's Net Worth?
To pay for his acting classes, Belafonte became a club singer. Eventually, in 1949, he signed with the Roost record label to begin his career as a recording artist. With his friend Millard Thomas, he made his debut at the Greenwich Village jazz club the Village Vanguard. In 1953, Harry signed with RCA Victor, the label with which he would remain for the next two decades. He went on to have his mainstream breakthrough in 1956 with his studio album "Calypso," which became the first album in the world to sell more than a million copies within a single year. Moreover, the album launched the song that would become Belafonte's signature: "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)." The other hit single from "Calypso" was "Jamaica Farewell."
Further Music Career and Retirement
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Music Career in the 1950s and 1960s
Harry Belafonte was an American singer, actor, and social activist who had a net worth of $30 million at the time of his death. Harry Belafonte died on April 25, 2023, at the age of 96. Belafonte was best known for popularizing calypso music with his hit recordings of "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)" and "Matilda," among other tunes. His 1956 album "Calypso" (which included "Day-O" and "Jamaica Farewell") topped the Billboard album chart for 31 weeks and became the first album by a single artist to sell more than one million copies. This album propelled Belafonte to touring superstardom and made him the highest-paid black performer in history up to that point in the late '50s and early '60s. As an actor, he starred in such films as "Carmen Jones" and "Odds Against Tomorrow," and made a memorable late-career appearance inSpike Lee's2018 film "BlacKkKlansman." As an activist, Harry was a major leader in the American civil rights movement and the South African anti-Apartheid movement. He was a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, using his own funds to bail out civil rights protestors and to support Dr. King's family after his assassination.
Belafonte made his acting debut in the 1953 film "Bright Road," co-starringDorothy Dandridge. The pair reunited the following year to star in Otto Preminger's hit musical film "Carmen Jones"; they appeared together again in the 1957 ensemble film "Island in the Sun." Two years after that, Harry starred in and produced Robert Wise's film noir "Odds Against Tomorrow." He also starred in the science-fiction film "The World, the Flesh and the Devil." After taking a break from the big screen in the '60s, Belafonte returned in the '70s to star alongside Sidney Poitier in the Western "Buck and the Preacher" and the action crime comedy "Uptown Saturday Night."
Beyond the calypso genre, Harry recorded blues, folk, and gospel songs as well as show tunes and standards. In 1959 and 1960, he released a pair of live albums recorded at Carnegie Hall; the 1959 album included his popular cover of the Jewish folk song "Hava Nagila." Belafonte subsequently released such albums as "Jump Up Calypso," "Midnight Special," "Streets I Have Walked," and "Ballads, Blues and Boasters." He also had a notable professional partnership with South African singer-songwriter and activist Miriam Makeba, with whom he recorded the Grammy Award-winning 1965 album "An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba."
Harry Belafonte was born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. on March 1, 1927, in New York City. He was the son of Harold Sr. and Melvine, both of whom came from Jamaica. As a youth, Belafonte lived with his grandmother in Jamaica; there, he went to Wolmer's Schools for his primary education. After coming back to New York, he attended George Washington High School. Harry went on to enlist in the US Navy during World War II. He later developed a love for the performing arts when he went to see the American Negro Theater and met actorSidney Poitier. Toward the end of the '40s, Belafonte took acting classes at the New School's Dramatic Workshop and performed with the American Negro Theater.
In 1971, Belafonte released his final calypso album, "Calypso Carnival." His recording career subsequently slowed down throughout the decade, during which time he embarked on tours around the world. Harry returned to musical success in the mid-1980s when he became involved with the charity supergroup USA for Africa. He also scored the musical film "Beat Street." After signing a record deal with EMI, Belafonte released his first album of original material in more than a decade: "Paradise in Gazankulu." The album, which would be his last, features protest songs criticizing Apartheid in South Africa. Harry continued to perform throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, with his final concert being an Atlanta Opera benefit concert in late 2003. He retired from professional singing not long after that.
Ultimately, Harry Belafonte's financial journey is a testament to their success.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
