Bono Net Worth: Vehicles, Investments & Charity
Irish rock band U2’s frontman and lyricist Bono has a net worth of $700 million.
Further, he is also known for his activism for social causes such as poverty, hunger, and shrewd investment ventures.
With U2, he has produced hits such as “One,” “With or Without You,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “New Year’s Day,” “Bad,” “Beautiful Day,” “Pride,” etc.
His expressive vocal style, passionate performances & inspiring political and religious-themed songwriting set him apart from other performers.
Unsurprisingly, he has won an impressive 22 Grammy Awards throughout his career and is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Also, Bono is the only individual ever nominated for a Nobel Prize, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar.
Quick Facts
Before learning about Bono’s wealth, let us look at some quick facts about him.
Full Name | Paul David Hewson |
Net Worth | $700 Million |
Birth Date | 10 May 1960 |
Known as | Bono, Bono Vox |
Age | [calculate_years datestring=”05/10/1960″] Years Old |
Birth Place | Dublin, Ireland |
Religion | Christian |
Nationality | Irish |
Ethnicity | White |
Education | Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Glasnevin National School |
Zodiac Sign | Taurus |
Father’s Name | Brendan Robert Hewson |
Mother’s Name | Iris Hewson |
Siblings | Norman Hewson |
Height | 5 ft 6 inches (168 cm) |
Weight | 79 kg (174 lb) |
Sexual Orientation | Straight |
Hair Color | Brown |
Eye Color | Dark Brown |
Profession | Singer, Lyricist, Activist, Philanthropist, Venture Capitalist, Entrepreneur |
Genre | Rock, Alternative Rock, Post-Punk |
Instruments | Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica |
Labels | Mercury Records, RCA Records Label |
Marital Status | Married |
Spouse | Ali Hewson (m. 1982) |
Children | John Hewson, Jordan Hewson, Eve Hewson, Elijah Hewson |
Active Years | 1976-Present |
Awards | Grammys, Golden Globes, MusiCares Person of The Year, Time Persons of the Year, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, OBE, etc. |
Social Media | N/A |
Endorsements | RED, ONE |
Associations | U2, Passengers |
Last Update | [current-month], [current-year] |
Bono: Net Worth and Income
Bono has accumulated his massive wealth of $700 million, primarily from his musical career.
His largest earning from the album was $25 million from “The Joshua Tree,” $18 million from “Achtung Baby,” and $15 million from “Rattle and Hum.”
Moreover, Bono’s earnings from other hits include $12 million from “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” $9 million each for “War,” & “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.”
Similarly, he made $7 million for “Zooropa,” “Pop,” and “The Unforgettable Fire,” respectively, along with over $5 million for initial albums “October” and “Boy.”
Also, Bono has had ticket sales amounting to over $1.67 billion up to 2016 with U2, making them the only band to surpass the billion-mark in revenue during the 2010s.
Further, U2’s 30th-anniversary tours in 2017 and 2019 for “The Joshua Tree” resulted in a huge windfall for Bono, with the band making almost $400 million.
His 2001 movie “The Million Dollar Hotel” had a global box office collection of over $52,000.
Also, he had box office earnings of $26.1 million in 2007 for the concert film U2 3D.
Through Facebook investment, he has made a personal income of around $40-50 million.
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Bono: Cars, Bike, Jet, Yacht, and Houses
Cars
Bono has the following cars in his collection:
Mercedes 450 SEL
He has a 1980 Mercedes 450 SEL, which he purchased for $25,000 from his proceeds from “Boy.”
This high-performance S-Class luxury sedan was later auctioned off for a charity.
Maserati Quattroporte
Secondly, he owns a $100,000 Maserati Quattroporte featuring luxurious interiors made of high-grade leather.
It has a 4.2L V8 engine producing 425hp of power and was later swapped for a Tesla Model S.
Tesla Model S
Next up is the $75,000 Tesla Model S, a five-door electric sedan with a range of 402 miles, dual motors producing 825 bhp, and a specialized autopilot feature.
Vauxhall Zafira Tourer CDTI
Next, he has the Vauxhall Zafira, which he keeps in his summer house in Cote d’Azur. It is a 7-seater compact MPV with a diesel engine.
Tesla Roadster
Besides, he has acquired the $120,000 Roadster sports car, which can do 0-60 in only 3.9 seconds.
Volkswagen Tiguan
Also, Bono owns a $33,000 Tiguan crossover SUV containing a 2.0L TSI engine with a high 150 km/h.
Bike
Ducati 916
Bono sure does love his automobiles! He has a $12,000 Ducati sports bike operating in a 916 cc engine that can reach speeds of 160 mph.
Private Jet
Between 2009-2011, Bono had rented the Airbus A310s from French aviation company Blue Line and had the tail modified to have U2’s logo.
Yacht
Bono is the owner of a medium-sized vessel named “The Cyan.”
Initially, he had rented it for vacation but later purchased it for around $25-30 million. It can host 12 guests in its 6 cabins and can reach up to 12 knots.
Houses
Bono owns a beachfront villa in Eze bord du Mer standing at 5-metres above the beach.
The four-floor residence is only accessible through under- the-railway tunnels and is close to his bandmate The Edge’s mansion.
Next, he possesses a New York apartment in the famous “The Sam Remo” building, which he purchased from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs for $15 million.
This duplex estate has a 3500-sq-feet interior and a 1300-sq-feet exterior terrace.
Further, he owns the Killiney mansion, a manor-style villa in Dublin. The house is situated in an isolated area and provides a magnificent view of the bay nearby.
Bono: Lifestyle and Vacations
Lifestyle
Bono regularly wears the Emporio Armani 9252,9285 and Bulgari sunglasses to protect his sensitive eyes.
His concert apparel has included the Rock & Republic Neil Monogram jeans and stylish jackets.
Further, he can be frequently spotted in a Rolex Datejust watch during his outings.
He likes playing chess and is a big fan of Garry Kasparov.
Meanwhile, he plays the Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar accompanied by Vox AC30 Amp and Shure Beta 58 for vocals.
Vacations
Bono was in the luxurious Mercury Islands in 2006 with The Edge, where they had stayed for U2’s Vertigo concert series in Auckland.
The lavish residences on the island can be rented for a whopping NZD 20,000 per day.
Also, he had hosted a lavish getaway on his yacht in St. Tropez for stars Noel Gallagher and Sacha Baron Cohen in 2015.
Besides, he has spent holidays with the Obamas in France, where they enjoyed a special gourmet meal and the beautiful periphery.
Meanwhile, his favorite holiday is the Mediterranean, also known as magical islands.
Bono: Charity
Bono contributed the earnings from his rendition of Prokofiev’s Peter and The Wolf for the Irish Hospice Foundation in 2003.
He founded the Debts, AIDS, Trade, Africa (DATA) with Bobby Shriver in 2002, a multinational non-governmental foundation aiming to carry out humanitarian and philanthropic activities in Africa.
However, DATA was later merged with World Vision, Oxfam America, Bread for World, etc., to form ONE.
It is a coalition campaign hoping to end extreme poverty and prevent the disease from enabling one to lead a life of dignity.
Bono and his wife initiated the EDUN fashion label in 2005, which aims to encourage trade in Africa.
In 2006, he joined hands with Shriver again and found Red persuading private firms to donate funds to tackle health problems.
Companies such as Nike, Converse, Microsoft, Dell, Giorgio Armani joined the movement, raising over $650 million to fight HIV/ AIDS until 2020.
Besides, he has performed and recorded music for many Band AID programs with U2, which raised millions for various causes worldwide.
In 2021, Bono provided his voice for ONE’s Pandemic series in a bid to create awareness of vaccination to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bono: Media, Endorsements, Investments, Book Publications
Media
Bono has made an epic cameo in the 2007 musical “Across The Universe,” playing the character “Dr. Robert” and singing The Beatles song “I am The Walrus.”
Besides, he has been featured in TV series such as “Entourage,” “The Simpsons,” “Late Late Show with David Letterman,” “Top of the Pops,” etc.
In addition, he has been a cover star for magazines such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, Oor, Le Soir, etc.
Also, he is set to voice a character in Universal Pictures’ animated movie “Sing 2,” which will be released in 2021.
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Bono and his wife have appeared in Louis Vuitton’s “Every Journey began in Africa” advertisements.
Besides, he was involved in Apple’s iPhone 6 release program with U2 as they counted down the release of their album “Songs of Innocence.”
In addition, he was featured in Bank Of America’s TV commercial promoting U2’s Super Bowl performance in 2014.
Investments
In 1992, he acquired and refurbished Dublin’s Clarence Hotel from a 70-room estate to a five-star hotel.
Through his private equity fund Elevation Partners, he made a pre-IPO investment of $210 million in Facebook which was valued at an astounding $1.5 billion at one point.
Moreover, he holds a minor stake in Forbes Media, worth $250 million.
Similarly, he has financed the “Rise Fund,” a $2 billion investment fund founded by TPG.
Subsequently, he incorporated Y Analytics to determine the environmental and social impacts of investments.
Furthermore, he was named in 2017’s Paradise Papers as one of the investors in the Nude Estates in an attempt to prevent tax.
Besides, Bono was the executive producer of the 2000’s movie The Million Dollar Hotel starring Milla Jovovich, Mel Gibson, and Jeremy Davies.
Book Publications
In 2003, Bono published a children’s book called “Peter and the Wolf” with 64 pages of his original paintings illustrated by his daughters to narrate the classic story and a CD with its musical score.
Further, he is set to release his autobiography soon with Penguin Random House, becoming the first U2 member to do so.
Bono: Career
Bono’s career began in 1976 when he & his siblings Dik and Adam formed a bank with Larry Mullen Jr after reading his advert for a rock band.
Initially, the band was named “Feedback” before changing it into “The Hype.” Subsequently, the group was renamed “U2” after Dik left it.
The band got their breakthrough from their album through 1983’s War and then followed it up with the highly successful The Unforgettable Fire.
Then came their iconic performance in the 1985 Live Aid, which made them global superstars.
Later, they released critically acclaimed albums such as The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, Boy, Rattle and Hum, Zooropa, etc., to solidify their status as rock legends.
Today, the band is considered amongst the best live acts of all time and has record sales exceeding 157 million albums.
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3 Facts About Bono
Bono’s nickname was set by his gang members from a local hearing-aid store in Dublin called Bonavox, which meant ‘good voice’ in Latin.
He was described as the worst investor in America by 24/7 Wall Street before acquiring shares of Facebook.
The U2 frontman is always seen in sunglasses. The reason behind it is that he suffers from Glycoma, due to which he is sensitive to light.
Bono: Social Media Presence
Bono doesn’t have any personal social media handles. However, he does have a band-centered Youtube channel with 2.13m subscribers.
He also has a profile page in his One Foundation, which tackles poverty.
Quotes
“Music can change the world because it can change people.”
“The less you know, the more you believe.”
“We thought that we had the answers, it was the questions we had wrong.”
FAQs
What does U2 stand for?
U2’s name has no particular meaning but was chosen for the word’s ambiguity and open interpretation.
What is the net worth of Bono’s wife, Ali Hewson?
Bono’s wife Ali Hewson’s net worth is $600 million.