Leslie West was born as Leslie Weinstein on the 22nd October 1945, in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City USA, and is a rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, who is probably best recognized as one of the founding members of the hard rock band Mountain, with which he has released a number of albums such as “Climbing!” (1970), “Avalanche” (1974), and “Masters Of War” (2007). His musical career has been active since 1965.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Leslie West is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that the total size of Leslie’s net worth is over $2.5 million, accumulated through his successful involvement in the music industry.
Leslie West Net Worth $2.5 Million
Leslie West was raised in a Jewish family, and while he was growing up his family moved frequently, so he spent his childhood in Hackensack New Jersey, East Meadow New York, Forest Hills New York and Lawrence New York. He attended Forest Hills High School, but after his parents divorced, he quit and immediately started working for a jeweler in Manhattan’s diamond district. At that time, he began playing guitar, and changed his surname to West.
So his musical career began while Leslie was a teenager, as he started an R&B/Blues- soul-rock band called The Vagrants with his brother Larry. Although, they only had two minor hit singles – “I Can’t Make a Friend” and a cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect”, it didn’t stop Leslie pursuing further his career in the music industry. Some of their songs were produced by Felix Pappalardi, who was famous for working with popular bands at the time, and later he produced their compilation album “The Great Lost Album” in 1987, which marked the beginning of an increase to Leslie’s net worth.
Subsequently, they decided to form a new hard rock band called Mountain, and soon appeared at the legendary Woodstock Festival with Steve Knight. Soon, they released the hit single “Mississippi Queen”, which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard charts, and No. 4 on the Canadian charts. After that, Pappalardi left the band in order to focus on his production career, so they replaced him with a bassist from Cream – Jack Bruce – and performed under the name West, Bruce and Laing. Mountain reformed in 1973, but disbanded again the next year. However, they got back together in 1981 and continued to perform on a regular basis, increasing further Leslie’s net worth.
During his long career, Leslie has collaborated with many rock ‘n’ roll legends. He played guitar for the track “Bo Diddley Jam” on Bo Diddley’s 20th Anniversary of Rock ‘n’ Roll all-star album, and in 2005 he performed on Ozzy Osbourne’s album “Under Cover”, playing guitar on a remake of “Mississippi Queen”, all of which added to his net worth.
To speak further about his career, he was also a songwriter and composer for some of the very popular TV series and film titles such as “The Simpsons”, “The Expendables”, “The Blacklist”, among many others, contributing further to his wealth.
Thanks to his career as a rock musician, Leslie has won a number of awards and recognitions, and in 2006 he was inducted in the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.
Regarding Leslie West’s personal life, he married his fiancée Jenni on stage after the performance of his band at the Woodstock 40th anniversary concert in Bethel, New York. In the media it’s known that he had problems with drugs, but is now ‘clean’. He also had diabetes, so he had an emergency leg amputation in order to save his life.
