What Is Alicia Keys' Net Worth?
Alicia Keys is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who has a net worth of $150 million. This is a combined net worth that she shares with her husband, producer Swizz Beatz. Their net worth is almost equally divided.
Alicia Keys, also known as Alicia Cook, released her debut album, "Songs in A Minor," in 2001 and took the world by storm. The album was a bonafide hit, sold 12 million copies around the world, and netted her five Grammy Awards. Not a bad a way to start your music career. Her second album, released in 2003, was also a success, selling eight million copies and winning four more Grammy Awards. Since then, she has released several additional successful albums and won a bunch more Grammy Awards, among various other honors. Outside of a steady schedule of writing songs, recording, and touring, she has also managed to squeeze in time to appear in multiple films and marry producer and hip-hop artist Swizz Beatz.
In 2023, "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked Keys #185 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
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Early Life and Career Beginnings
Alicia Augello Cook was born on January 25, 1981, in Manhattan, New York City. She is known professionally as Alicia Keys. Alicia is the only child of her mother, Teresa Augello, and one of three children of her father, Craig Cook. Her father left when she was two years old, leaving her mother to raise her as a single parent in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City.
Alicia began singing from an early age, performing in school musical productions as early as preschool. After a friend gifted Keys an old piano, she began taking lessons as a child. By the time she was seven years old, she was receiving classical piano training. She would continue her studies of classical music until age 18. Furthermore, she enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School when she was twelve, and there, she took classes in music, dance, theater, and choir.
When Keys was 13 years old, she met manager Jeff Robinson through the youth organization Teens in Motion. He became a sort of mentor to her, showing her and educating her on the music industry by taking her to meetings with attorneys and record label negotiations. Robinson introduced her to A&R executive Peter Edge, and they helped her put together some song demos to showcase to label executives. In the ensuing bidding war that erupted, Columbia Records eventually won after offering her a $26,000 white baby grand piano.
After signing with Columbia, Keys continued her education, graduating early from high school at the age of 16 as valedictorian. She then attended Columbia University on scholarship. After struggling to balance the demanding time schedule of her university course load in addition to working in the recording studio, she decided to drop out of college after a month to focus on music full-time. However, she was extremely frustrated with the lack of control she had over her music, as Columbia tried to create a certain image for her and force her to work with producers she did not like. Eventually, with the help of Robinson and the president of Arista Records, Clive Davis, Keys negotiated out of her Columbia contract and signed with Arista in late 1998. After Davis was ousted from Arista in 2000, her album was once again put on hold, but he started his own label, J Records, and immediately signed her to it.
Music Career
Now at J Records, Keys began to promote her upcoming debut with performances on shows like "The Tonight Show" and "The Oprah Show." Her first single, "Fallin'," was released in April 2001 and reached #1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Her debut studio album, "Songs in A Minor," was released in June 2001 to widespread critical acclaim. It debuted at #1 on the "Billboard" 200 chart and went on to sell over 6.2 million copies in the United States. The album contained material that had previously been rejected by Columbia Records. However, Keys' decision to stick to her guns and not give in to Columbia paid off, as the album was nominated for six Grammy Awards. At the 2002 Grammy Awards, Keys went on to win five Grammys in the following categories: Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, Best New Artist, and Best R&B Album.
Her following albums, "The Diary of Alicia Keys" (2003) and "As I Am" (2007), both also performed well on the charts, and she won two awards for the song "No One" (from the album "As I Am") at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Her other albums include "The Element of Freedom" (2009), "Girl on Fire" (2012), "Here" (2016), and "Alicia" (May 2020). In 2021, she released her ninth studio album, "Keys," the last one in her contract with RCA Records. Her Christmas album, "Santa Baby" (2022), was her first independent release distributed exclusively on Apple Music, and it peaked at #148 on the "Billboard" 200.
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Acting and Television Career
Keys' film debut was in the crime film "Smokin' Aces" (2007), followed by "The Nanny Diaries" (2007) and "The Secret Life of Bees" (2008). She has also appeared on a number of television shows such as "Saturday Night Live," "Empire," and "The Late Late Show with James Corden." Additionally, Keys has served as either a judge, coach, or musical guest on several reality music competition shows, including "The X Factor Australia" (Season 4), "The Voice" (Seasons 7, 11-12, 14), and "The Voice Germany" (Season 6).
Other Projects
Outside of music, Keys has pursued several other projects. She released the book "Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics" in 2005. It featured unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics and made it onto "The New York Times" bestseller list that year. Her memoir "More Myself: A Journey" was released in March 2020. Alicia is also the co-owner of The Oven Studios, a recording studio in Long Island, along with her production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. Keys and Brothers also co-founded KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team that works on Alicia's albums as well as projects with other artists.
Keys has also been the spokesperson for several brands over the years. In 2008, she starred in a commercial micro-series for Dove promoting the brand's Go Fresh line. She was also featured in an American Express commercial and signed a deal to endorse VitaminWater.
In 2023, it was revealed Alicia was making a musical, "Hell's Kitchen." It is said to be inspired by her own life story. The musical transferred from The Public Theater to Broadway's Shubert Theatre in March 2024, and it earned 12 Tony nominations, winning Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Maleah Joi Moon) and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Kecia Lewis).
Personal Life
Keys was in a relationship with longtime collaborator and friend Kerry Brothers until 2008. Later, she began dating hip-hop artist and producer Swizz Beatz. Keys and Beatz announced their engagement in May 2010, married in July, and Alicia gave birth to their son in October that same year. She gave birth to their second son in December 2014.
Real Estate
In 2013, Alicia and Swizz paid $10.4 million for an enormous mansion in the town of Englewood, New Jersey. The 5.4-acre property measures 25,000 square feet, and the seller was Eddie Murphy. This mansion alone has 32 rooms. In 2015, they paid $1.7 million for an adjoining property. They listed this estate for sale for the first time in 2015 for $14.9 million. They re-listed it in 2016 for $9.9 million. They finally accepted $6 million in April 2022.
They previously owned a NYC apartment, which they bought from Lenny Kravitz in 2010 for $12.75 million and sold in 2013 for a slight loss. They also previously owned a home in Phoenix, which they offloaded in 2021 for $3.1 million.
In September 2019, Alicia and Swizz paid $20.8 million for an opulent mansion in La Jolla, California, that had previously been listed for $30 million.
On August 9, 2019, Swiss and Alicia Keys announced they were planning to transform the former Jindal Films center, a 111-acre, 3-building piece of property in Macedon, New York, into a "musical paradise." They intend to make a performing arts center and recording studio with the space.
