McKagan is best known for playing bass for the rock group Guns N’ Roses. Additionally, he briefly played bass for Jane’s Addiction. He has also occasionally played with Velvet Revolver and Loaded.
Duff was a part of Guns N’ Roses from 1985 until 1997 before returning to the group in 2016, four years after their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. With Guns N’ Roses, McKagan has recorded five albums, three with Loaded, two with Velvet Revolver, and two solos.
He has written weekly pieces for Playboy.com, SeattleWeekly.com, and ESPN.com. He is also a writer. It’s So Easy: And Other Lies, Duff’s debut book, was released in 2011, and “How to Be a Man: (and Other Illusions),” his second book, was released in 2015.
Biography of Duff McKagan
American musician Michael Andrew “Duff” McKagan, also known as Duff “Rose” McKagan. Michael Andrew McKagan, better known as Duff McKagan, was born in Seattle, Washington, on February 5, 1964. Together with his parents, Elmer and Marie, and seven elder siblings, he was raised in Seattle’s University District.
Since he was a little child, McKagan has been known as “Duff.” Marie started working as a medical stenographer to help support the family after his parents got divorced. Bruce, Duff’s brother, taught him how to play the bass, and he developed his abilities by imitating the albums “1999” by Prince and “Damaged” by Black Flag.
McKagan attended Roosevelt High School but left in the middle of his second year to work as a pastry cook for the Great American Food and Beverage Company while obtaining his GED. When he spoke at the graduation ceremony at Roosevelt High School in 2012, the school presented him with an honorary certificate.
Read More: Patrick Bet David Net Worth: How Much He Got From Youtube Channel Valuetainment?
What is Duff McKagan’s Net Worth?
Net Worth: | $70 Million |
Date of Birth: | Feb 5, 1964 (58 years old) |
Place of Birth: | Seattle |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.9 m) |
Profession: | Songwriter, Musician, Bassist, Guitarist |
Nationality: | United States of America |
The American musician and author Duff McKagan has a net worth of $70 million. McKagan is best known for playing bass for the rock group Guns N’ Roses. Additionally, he briefly played bass for Jane’s Addiction. He has also occasionally played with Velvet Revolver and Loaded.
How Does Duff McKagan Spend His Money?
Duff McKagan invests his money in stocks and real estate.
Duff McKagan’s Home: In LA, McKagan has owned a lot of residences. He bought a 1,855-square-foot Studio City cottage in 1988, then two years later paid $838,000 for a 4,162-square-foot Hollywood Hills house. Additionally, he has a 6,760-square-foot property with seven bedrooms and eight and a half bathrooms. In 1993, McKagan also purchased a house in Seattle for around $1.4 million.
Duff McKagan’s Other Purchases: McKagan made the decision to make his first investment in the stock market in 1994 by taking $100,000. Since he was raised in Seattle, he chose three of the city’s businesses. He picked Starbucks, Amazon, and Microsoft as his stocks. Over the years, Duff has made some savvy stock investments.
Career
McKagan founded the Vains, a punk band, in 1979. He traveled to Los Angeles in 1983 and, after responding to a newspaper post, established the band Road Crew with future Guns N’ Roses bandmates Slash and Steven Adler.
Guns N’ Roses also released the albums “G N R Lies,” “Use Your Illusion I,” “Use Your Illusion II,” and “The Spaghetti Incident?” when McKagan was a member of the group. Together with Steve Jones, John Taylor, and Matt Sorum, he founded the supergroup Neurotic Outsiders in 1995.
The following year, the group’s self-titled album was published. In 1993, McKagan released his debut album, “Belief in Me.” He organized an album tour and started the group Loaded with Dez Cadena.
Read More: What is Josh Altman’s Net Worth 2022? Are You Curious To Know About It?
Guns N’ Roses
Duff founded the Vains, a punk band, in 1979. He then collaborated with the Living, the Fastbacks, and The Fartz (later known as 10 Minute Warning). After relocating to Los Angeles in 1983, he joined forces with future Guns N’ Roses bandmates Slash and Steven Adler to establish the band Road Crew in response to a newspaper ad.
Rob Gardner, Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Tracii Guns, and Izzy Stradlin formed the band Guns N’ Roses in 1985. Two months later, Adler and Slash joined the group after Gardner and Guns left. After only two days of practice, the band performed their first show on June 6, 1985, at The Troubadour.
In 1987, Guns N’ Roses released “Appetite for Destruction,” which went on to sell more than 28 million copies and become the best-selling debut album in history. The albums “G N’ R Lies” (1988), “Use Your Illusion I” (1991), “Use Your Illusion II” (1991), and “The Spaghetti Incident?” were all released by Guns N’ Roses when Duff was a member (1993).
Solo and other Projects
Together with Steve Jones, John Taylor, and Matt Sorum, McKagan founded the supergroup Neurotic Outsiders in 1995. The group issued a self-titled album in 1996 before breaking up the following year. August 1997 saw Duff leave Guns N’ Roses, not long after the birth of his first child.
In 1998, he reformed 10 Minute Warning in Seattle and the group issued a self-titled album. The follow-up to McKagan’s 1993 debut solo album, “Belief in Me,” was slated for release in 1999; however, because Duff was fired from his label during the Interscope Records and Geffen Records merger, McKagan lost the rights to commercially release his album.
However, he did go on tour to promote the album, and for the tour, he formed the band Loaded with Dez Cadena, Michael Barragan, and Taz Bentley. The band Loaded has released the albums “Episode 1999: Life” (1999), “Dark Days” (2001), “Sick” (2009), and “The Taking,” and there have been other variations of the band throughout the years (2011).
Velvet Revolver was founded in 2002 by Duff, Slash, Matt Sorum, Dave Kushner, and Scott Weiland. Their 2004 first album, “Contraband,” received three Grammy nominations. After the success of “Contraband,” they released “Libertad” in 2007, and the band took a break after Weiland’s departure in 2008.
Personal Life
On May 28, 1988, Mandy Brixx and Duff got married. He married Linda Johnson in September 1992 after their divorce in April 1990. Three years after their separation, McKagan married Susan Holmes on August 28, 1999. Daughters Grace and Mae were born to the couple in August 1997 and July 2000, respectively.
Duff was admitted to Seattle’s Northwest Hospital and Medical Center in 1994 after developing acute alcohol-induced pancreatitis, which caused his pancreas to enlarge noticeably and begin spewing digestive enzymes into his bloodstream.
McKagan, who was 30 years old at the time, was informed that if he didn’t stop drinking, he would probably pass away within a month. Duff admitted to consuming “a gallon of vodka a day” in a 2005 interview; he attributes his continued sobriety to mountain biking and martial arts.
McKagan enrolled in a finance course at Santa Monica Community College in 1994. He later studied classes at Seattle Central Community College and the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University.
Read More: Byron Donalds Net Worth: What is American Politician Actual Property?
Stock Holdings
Duff used his newly acquired financial expertise to thoroughly examine Guns N’ Roses’ revenues and expenses as his body and mind began to feel better. In contrast to many of their contemporary bands, Guns N’ Roses, he immediately concluded, was handled reasonably effectively in terms of its finances, but was mostly losing money on tour to increase album sales.
He discovered that going on tour was a “loss leader” for selling CDs. One of the first musicians to understand that equation might be reversed and that he could make much more money selling tickets and t-shirts was Duff. He also started selling VIP packages and other services that were pure profit for the band while also securing tour sponsors.
The band’s earnings belonged to each member equally. Now that he wasn’t wasting his money on drugs and drink, Duff discovered that he had a lot of spare cash. He made the decision to make his first investment in the stock market in 1994 by taking $100,000. Since he was raised in Seattle, he chose three of those businesses. The shares he picked:
- Starbucks
- Amazon
- Microsoft
Although it is unclear how many shares, if any, he still holds today, if those were his first stock selections, it is likely that Duff has made very astute stock investments throughout the years.