Born Randall Darius Jackson on 23 June 1956, in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana USA, the American bassist, media personality and record producer is perhaps best known as a former “American Idol” judge for a whopping twelve seasons before finally taking a step back to concentrate on other areas of his career, in particular as a musician, during the course of which Randy Jackson has collaborated with such high-profile names as Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi, Imogen Heap, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Bolton – earning him a spot amongst the more successful contemporary instrumentalists, and certainly among the richest, as evidenced by Jackson’s considerable net worth.
How rich is Randy Jackson? As of mid-2017, Jackson’s net worth is estimated by authoritative sources to be over $60 million, most of this impressive amount derived from Randy’s long and nigh-legendary career not just as a bassist, but also as a music producer, manager and media personality, during a career which began in the early 1980s.
Randy Jackson Net Worth $60 Million
The son of an average middle-class family, whose mother was a homemaker and father a plant foreman, details of Randy Jackson’s education are lacking, and his first claim to fame was as a bassist – Randy’s earliest known performances were back in the 1980s, together with French violinist and jazz composer Jean-Luc Ponty. A wide range of different experiences and performances followed, and Randy Jackson’s career as a musician includes work with rock and Italian pop, among other genres. Other early projects included providing music for the 1985 comedy “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, featuring Whoopi Goldberg, during which time Randy had the chance to work with singer and musician Aretha Franklin. Over subsequent years, Jackson continued to appear as a bassist alongside various other well-known performers, including his continued and long-standing collaboration with Ponty.
Randy Jackson’s success as a musician has contributed to his impressive net worth – and certainly had a part in securing him his most iconic role, as one of the original judges for the Fox TV singing competition series “American Idol”. Appearing alongside the two other original judges, Paula Abdul and the notoriously harsh English entrepreneur Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson was a permanent member of the cast of “American Idol” from its first season – and he would be the judge to remain with the show the longest, stepping down only in 2013. However, throughout his twelve-season run as a reality television personality, Jackson did not neglect his music career, either. In 2005, Randy appeared alongside his long-time protégé Mariah Carey in the “Live 8 in London” concert, and in various other tours, and in 2008 he released a solo album entitled “Randy Jackson’s Music Club, Vol. 1”. His collaboration with and support of many high profile artists includes, on a very impressive list – Whitney Houston, Céline Dion, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Nicks and Madonna among female artists. Of the male gender, in addition to those mentioned above, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel, George Michael and Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) stand out, as does playing with The Charlie Daniels Band at the Grand Ole Opry.
In addition, Jackson remains in demand as a producer, and active as a manager, as he has helped foster a number of talents throughout the years; currently he is working with the alternative rock band “Paper Tongues”.
In his personal life, Randy Jackson lives with his wife of over 22 years, Erika Reiker – the couple has a daughter and a son. He was previously married to Elizabeth, but they divorced in 1990.
