Born Zacharias Manuel de la Rocha on the 12th January 1970 in Venice Beach, California USA, he is a musician, singer and songwriter, but best known to the world as the lead singer of the rap metal band Rage Against the Machine from 1991 until 2000, and again from 2007 until 2011 when the group finally disbanded. He has been involved in several other projects, including One Day as a Lion, among many others.
Have you ever wondered how rich Zack de la Rocha is, as of early 2018? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Rocha’s net worth is as high as $50 million, an amount earned through his successful career, active since the late ‘80s.
Zack de la Rocha Net Worth $50 Million
Of Mexican, Irish and German ancestry, Zack is the son of Olivia Lorryne Carter and Robert “Beto” de la Rocha, an artist and muralist; his parents divorced when he was only six years old and from his hometown he moved to Irvine, California to live with his mother.
During his junior high school, Zack befriended Tim Commerford with whom he started the band Juvenile Expression. From there, he moved on to the band Hardstance, from which the hardcore band Inside Out was formed in 1988. As a part of Inside Out, Zack is credited with a single record – “No Spiritual Surrender” – released through Revelation Records, two years following the band’s formation, but then in 1991, the band broke up.
Zack then started performing in clubs, but as a hip-hop artist, which caught the attention of the guitarist Tom Morello. The two talked and decided on forming a band, and with the addition of Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford, Zack’s longtime friend, Rage Against the Machine was formed. In 1992, the group released their debut self-titled album through Epic Records, which became successful as it achieved multiple platinum status in the US, Australia and Britain, which propelled them to stardom and increased Zack’s net worth to a large degree. In order to promote their album, Rage Against the Machine went on tour, including performing on the main stage at Lollapalooza in 1993.
Their second album – “Evil Empire” – came out in 1996, and became the first Rage Against album to peak at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, while it also achieved multiple platinum status in the US, further increasing Rocha’s wealth.
The band continued in the same rhythm, producing political songs which resulted in another No. 1 album “The Battle of Los Angeles”, released in November 1999, again adding a considerable amount to Zack’s net worth as it achieved double platinum status in the US and Canada. Before he left the group, they released one more album – “Renegades” – their least successful album, though it still achieved platinum status in the US and Australia.
Zack left the band in 2001, as he wasn’t satisfied with the freedom given to his writing talents; he became more focused on politics, but other members of the band didn’t like it and as a result, the group went on hiatus which lasted until 2007. From 2007 to 2011 they toured extensively with the last show performed at the LA Coliseum on the 30th July 2011, as the headliners of the LA Rising festival.
Aside from Rage Against the Machine, Zack was a part of the band One Day as a Lion, alongside Jon Theodore as drummer; the duo released one EP “One Day as a Lion”, before dissolving in 2011.
Since then, he has recorded several solo songs, but also collaborated with other musicians, such as for “Digging for Windows”, on which he worked with El-P, among others.
When it comes to his personal life, Zack is engaged to Carolina Sarmiento. Previously, he was in a relationship with Jenifer Chu, a beauty pageant queen.
Since finding out that his grandfather fought in the Mexican Revolution, Zck has been fighting for the rights of the Zapatista movement in Mexico, and has supported the EZLN by writing songs in their honor, including “People of the Sun” and “Without a Face”.
He has also helped the Chicano people organize music workshops, and launched the Centre de Regeneracion, where Chicano youths could develop their talents. Unfortunately, the center provided refuge for only two years, before it stopped operating.
