As one of the most talked-about figures, Herb Alpert has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.

What Is Herb Alpert's Net Worth?

The group's album "Whipped Cream and Other Delights" was the number one album of 1965 and remained on the "Billboard" charts for more than three years. The second album released that year was called "Going Places." In 1966, the Tijuana Brass outsold the Beatles, selling more than 13 million albums. That same year, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized that Alpert set a new record by placing five albums simultaneously in the Top 20 on the "Billboard" Pop Album chart, an accomplishment that has never been repeated. In the first week of April of that year, four of those albums were in the Top 10 at the same time. An album or two was released each year throughout the 1960s. Alpert's only #1 single during this period was a solo effort: "This Guy's in Love with You," written byBurt BacharachandHal David. Herb sang it to his first wife in a 1968 CBS Television special titled Beat of the Brass, filmed in Malibu.

Herb Alpert is an American musician and music industry executive who has a net worth of $650 million. As a musician, Herb Alpert is best known for being the trumpeter who led the Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass band in the '60s. In 1966, the Tijuana Brass outsold the Beatles, selling more than 13 million albums. Herb Alpert would go on to release 28 albums, and five were #1 hits, 14 went Platinum, and 15 went Gold.

Outside of performing, Herb earned the vast majority of his massive fortune as the co-founder of A&M Records and Rondor Music. He co-founded both companies withJerry Moss. A&M was instrumental in the rise of the Carpenters, a sibling duo who became among the best-selling music artists of their time.Sting, following the breakup of the Police, launched a successful solo career under A&M.Peter Frampton's"Frampton Comes Alive!," one of the best-selling live albums ever, was released on this label. The Police themselves rose to global fame while with A&M. Singer-songwriterCat Stevens,Sheryl Crow, and even Herb Alpert, with his own recordings, all found significant success under the A&M banner.

Herb Alpert was born on March 31, 1935, in Los Angeles, California. He was raised in Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles, the son of Tillie and Louis Leib Alpert. Born into a family of musicians, his parents were Jewish immigrants to the United States from Ukraine and Romania. Herb began taking trumpet lessons at the age of eight and played at dances as a teenager. He attended Fairfax High School, and after graduating in 1952, he joined the Army. While in the Army, Alpert performed the trumpet at ceremonies and desired to pursue a career in acting. When he returned from the Army, he attended USC, where he was a member of their famous marching band, the USC Trojan Marching Band.

Alpert's music career began in earnest when he became a songwriter for Keen Records. Starting in 1957, Herb began writing and recording music for the first time professionally. He built a small recording studio in his garage, and, along with a musician named Rob Weerts, wrote several top twenty hit songs. Many songs written or co-written by Alpert for two years became Top 20 hits, including "(What A) Wonderful World" bySam Cooke. In 1960, Herb began his recording career as a vocalist at Dot Records under the name of Dore Alpert. "Tell It to the Birds" was recorded as the first release on Carnival Records.

Herb and Jerry sold A&M to PolyGram in 1989 for $500 million in cash. In 1998, they sued PolyGram and won an additional $200 million payout. In 2000, Herb and Jerry sold another company they co-founded, Rondor Music, a music-publishing business, to Universal Music for $400 million.

Herb Alpert in his Malibu yard in 1982 (Photo by Paul Harris/Getty Images)

Herb is probably most famous musically for founding the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. He came up with the idea for his signature sound after hearing a brass band while attending a bullfight in Tijuana, Mexico, in the early 1960s. In order to capture this signature sound, Herb overdubbed his trumpet on two different tape machines. Originally, the Tijuana Brass was just Herb himself overdubbing his own trumpet slightly out of sync. He personally funded his first single, "The Lonely Bull," and it spread across radio airwaves until it became a Top 10 hit in the fall of 1962. His debut album, "The Lonely Bull," quickly followed and reached #6 on the "Billboard" Pop charts. For his subsequent albums, Alpert worked with a group of L.A. session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. By the end of 1964, there was a growing demand for live appearances from the Tijuana Brass, so Alpert auditioned and hired a team of session men: John Pisano on electric guitar, Lou Pagani as a piano player, Nick Ceroli on the drums, bass guitarist Pat Senatore, and Tonni Kalash on the trumpet. Herb Alpert played trumpet and did the vocals for the band. The newly formed band debuted in 1965 and became one of the highest-paid acts performing at that time.

Alpert disbanded the Tijuana Brass in 1969, then released another album by the group in 1971. In 1973, with some of the original Tijuana Brass members and some new members, he formed a group called Herb Alpert and the T.J.B. This new version of the Brass released two albums in 1974 and 1975 and toured. Alpert reconvened a third version of the Brass in 1984, after being invited to perform for the Olympic Games athletes at the Los Angeles Summer Games. The invitation led to the Bullish album and tour.

Ultimately, Herb Alpert's financial journey is a testament to their success.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.