David Lee Roth Is Worth A Lot More Than You Think

Rock stars are often unpredictable, but David Lee Roth has taken things to another level. From the 1970s to mid-1980s, he was the high-kicking, ultra-cocky frontman of Van Halen, where his theatrical antics and natural frontman panache was an instrumental part of taking the band to the utmost heights of popularity. When he parted ways with Van Halen, he took things to a new level (and direction) by going all in with a highly successful and equally eclectic solo career, which incorporated influences from blues, jazz, and other musical styles, to his hard rock roots. Meanwhile, he feuded with Eddie Van Halen for decades, and at one point, almost as if to prove that you can never tell where he'll go next, he became a licensed emergency medical technician. At another, he became a radio show host. Oh, and yes, of course he reunited with Van Halen eventually. Who knows what Diamond Dave will come up with next?

With a resume like that, it's easy to think that Roth might have earned himself a pretty nice pile of money over the years. In fact, David Lee Roth may very well be worth a lot more than you think.

Musicians are not always known for their rock-solid financial decisions, especially when it comes to artists whose career peak happened in the 1970s and 1980s, and this is doubly the case with the ever-mercurial David Lee Roth. After all, some of his career decisions don't exactly speak of a man who isn't in sore need of some cash. The Van Halen reunions. The Las Vegas residency. The fact that he at one point worked as an EMT. In fact, Diamond Dave himself has admitted that his net worth has very much been in flux. In 2012, he told the Guardian that he's been on both sides of the poverty line. ""I was a surgical tech right out of high school, I sold clothes," he says. "I shovelled s**t at a horse stable for years. I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better." 

You'll notice, though, that he never once said that he's been wanting for money since he became famous ... because by the looks of it, he hasn't. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Roth is worth a very respectable $60 million. So, if he's had that kind of money sitting around all along, why did he do the whole EMT thing? "I live a very different life away from music," he says.