Jimmy Iovine Biography & Net Worth

Jimmy Iovine Biography & Net Worth

American music producer and entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine earned his first fortune as one of the men who founded Interscope Records which has enjoyed massive success especially in the 1990s and early 2000s thanks to hip-hop stars such as Eminem, Dr. Dre, Tupac, and Snoop Dogg. He further boosted his fortunes as the co-founder of Beats Electronics which Apple Inc. acquired in May 2014 for the sum of $3. At the time of the transaction which included $400 million in stock and $2.6 billion in cash, both Jimmy and Dr Dre owned 25% of the company and as a result, each took home roughly $580 million after taxes ($750 million before taxes). One of the main reasons Apple made the move to acquire Beats Electronics in the first place was to bring Iovine on as an executive to help them pilot through the media world in subsequent negotiations over video and music licensing deals. If you read on, you will see how Jimmy Iovine made his wealth through running several businesses and becoming known as one of the richest entrepreneurs that are associated to the music industry.

Jimmy Iovine’s Early Life

James Iovine was born on March 11, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, United States. His was an Italian working-class family, so he hardly lacked anything as a young boy. His father, Vincent Iovine worked as a longshoreman on the docks, while his mother was a secretary.

He received quality education as his parents could afford it. Iovine attended a Catholic school in Brooklyn, graduating from the Bishop Ford Central Catholic High School. After this, he moved to attend John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. By the time he was 19 years old, Iovine dropped out of college. He met a songwriter who introduced him to music production so he decided to leave his studies and focus in a career in the music industry. He soon began working in a recording studio as a cleaner. His status changed, and he found himself working as a studio professional.

Jimmy Iovine’s Career

It is on record that since he started his career, Jimmy Iovine has been actively involved in the production of over 250 albums to date. He dropped out of college and decided to forge a path for himself in the entertainment business. Initially, he started out by cleaning a recording studio. It was while doing this job that he paid attention to important details and gained useful experience which would later help him in the advanced stages of his career. He started working as a studio professional in 1972, and proceeded to work as a recording engineer together with the likes of John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen.

He joined Record Plant Studio in 1973 as an employee and started working on albums such as ‘Bat Out to Hell’ by Meat Loaf and ‘Born to Run’ by Springsteen. Jimmy gained attention after his work on ‘Easter’ by Patti Smith went viral after the release of the album in 1978. Up next, he worked on the albums of several artists, including U2, Heartbreakers, Tom Petty, and many others, and more fame went his way. He went ahead to produce ‘Making Movies’ for Dire Straits, ‘Got Gose’ for The Pretenders, and Stevie Nicks’ highly successful album ‘Bella Donna’. He also did other works such as supervising the two films ‘Scrooged’ (1988) and ‘Sixteen Candles’ (1984). In addition to these, Iovine has also worked on the films ‘8 Mile’ (an Eminem movie), ‘More than a Game’ (a documentary of LeBron James), and ‘Get Rich or Die Trying’ (a 50 Cent movie).

In 1998, Jimmy Iovine founded Interscope Records ran the company until 2007 when a merger made the company’s name to be changed to Interscope Geffen A&M. The label has also worked closely with Death Row Records and several others.

He decided to venture into business, and fund success after founding the Beats Electronics headphones brand along with Dr. Dre. The businessmen involved the likes of Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and former Topspin Media executive Ian Rogers, and their new company expanded and started to yield excess profits. Beats soon fumed into the online digital world of music, and a news service was incorporated in 2013.

Awards & Achievements

In 2011, Iovine was honored by the producers and Engineers Wing of the Grammy Awards. He also received an honorary doctorate of music award from the University of Southern California on 17 May. His intelligence and smart approach to running businesses got him a position at Apple Inc. where he serves as one of the company’s executives.

Personal Life & Family

Handsome and successful, it is certain that a man of his caliber must have tons of women from all corners of the earth falling for him even at his age. This billionaire music producer has had a long list of relationships throughout the course of his life. While producing Stevie Nicks’ debut album, Iovine and the singer started a romantic relationship which lasted for some years until it ended in 1982.

Iovine and model, lawyer, and writer Vicki Iovine were married for twenty-four years before their union ended in divorce. The couple had four children together.

Jimmy Iovine Net Worth

A prominent record producer and hardworking entrepreneur, Jimmy Iovine net worth is $1 billion as per various online reports. His primary source of wealth is his career as a music producer, but he has also earned his wealth from several other ventures including appearing on television, working as a recording engineer, and producing a good number of movies. Jimmy is the founder of Interscope Records, and currently serves as the chairman of Interscope Geffen A & M. Some of his biggest works were on albums such as ‘Born This Way: The Collection’ by Lady Gaga, ‘Bella Donna’ by Stevie Nicks, ‘The New Classic’ by Iggy Azalea, and ‘Rattle and Harm’ for U2.

Jimmy Iovine’s wealth was further boosted after the company he co-founded, Beats Electronics, was acquired by Apple in May 2014. He sold the company for $3 billion and went home with around $580 million or more. Till this day, this billionaire aged 67 is still very much active in the entertainment industries and continues to carry out his business activities professionally.