Born Charles Richard Wilson on the 17th January 1978, in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Ricky is a singer, songwriter and music coach, probably best known to the world as the lead singer of the award-winning indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs, with which he gained world fame. Some of the most successful songs of the band include “Ruby” (2007), “Never Miss a Beat” (2008), and “Coming Home” (2014).
Have you ever wondered how rich Ricky Wilson is, as of mid- 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Wilson’s net worth is as high as $10 million, earned through his successful career in the music industry, which has been active since the late ‘90s. Aside from fronting the indie rock band, Ricky has also served as judge/coach on the competition show “The Voice UK” (2014-2016) and had several other TV appearances, which also contributed to his wealth.
Ricky Wilson Net Worth $10 Million
Ricky is the son of TV producer Geoff Wilson, and his wife Glynne. He went to Leeds Grammar School, and after matriculation enrolled at Leeds Metropolitan University, graduating with a BA degree in Graphic Arts and Design, after which he worked for around a year at Leeds College of Art and Design, before he became fully focused on music.
Ricky’s music career really started in 1999, when he joined the band called Runston Parva, which already consisted of Nick Hodgson and Andrew White, and soon joined by Simon Rix and Nick Baines. They changed the name to Parva, and after several years of performing and building-up a name for themselves, they managed to secure a record deal with Mantra Recordings. Their debut album came out in 2003, entitled “22”. Unfortunately, Mantra Recordings soon closed, and Parva was left without a record label. The members decided to change the name of the band and start anew, and so Kaiser Chiefs were born, and soon signed a recording contract with the B-Unique Records.
Their first album came out in 2005, entitled “Employment”; the album became an immediate success, reaching No. 2 on the UK charts, and achieving six times platinum status in the UK, which increased Ricky’s net worth to a large degree. They continued in the same rhythm, and in 2007 released their second album “Yours Truly, Angry Mob”, which became their first album to top the UK chart, and it achieved double platinum status in the UK, further increasing Ricky’s wealth. The album spawned such hits as “Ruby”, “Everything is Average”, and “The Angry Mob”, all which helped increase the sales of the album. Now, nationally successful, they had several concerts of England, most notably two sold out shows at Earl’s Court in London, with a total crowd of nearly 60,000 people.
They entered the studio in mid- 2008, and their third album came out in October that year, entitled “Off with Their Heads”, which peaked at No. 2 0n the UK chart, and achieved gold status. Nevertheless, the band had one of their most successful tours after the release of the album, which certainly added a considerable amount to Wilson’s wealth. They played alongside Green Day, Republic of Loose, and U2 among other bands, in a tour lasting from February to August 2009, concluding the tour with a show at Reading and Leeds Festival.
After the tour ended, the band took a 2-year break and returned in 2011 with their album “The Future Is Medieval”, and three years later another studio album came out, entitled “Education, Education, Education & War”, which became their second No. 1 UK chart album. Most recently, the group released their sixth album “Stay Together”, which debuted at No. 4 on the UK chart and it was released by Caroline Records.
Aside from Kaiser Chiefs, Ricky has worked on several other projects; he was a part of the TV show “Never Mind the Buzzcocks”, then “Shooting Stars”, and also appeared in the talent show parody created and hosted by Peter Kay, “talent show parody, Peter Kay’s Britain’s Got the Pop Factor… and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice”, among many other appearances, all of which added to his wealth.
Regarding his personal life, Ricky has been known for his high-profile relationship with Lesley Williams with whom he was in a relationship from 2010 until 2015. He is currently in a relationship with stylist and costume designer Grace Zito.
Over the years, Ricky became known for his crowd surfing, which resulted in several minor injuries, including torn angle ligaments during the band’s performance in Portugal.
He has further jeopardized his health when he was hit by a car in Leeds; luckily he only sustained a broken toe and bruising, when he performed his trademark jump and was hit by windscreen, instead of the front of the car.
