Francis Albert Sinatra was born on the 12th December 1915, in Hoboken, New Jersey USA into a family of Italian immigrants, and died on the 14th May 1998, in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a legendary singer, actor, producer and director, widely known by the nickname of ‘Ol’ Blue Eyes’. This outstanding artist is still a cult personality who has influenced many people, and can be compared with Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and The Beatles. He was named the greatest singer of the 20th century by music critic Robert Christgau. Sinatra was an honourable and highly respected person awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan, with the Congressional Gold Medal and others. Among countless awards as a singer and actor, he won 11 Grammy Awards as well as three Academy Awards, which are considered to be the most prestigious in the music and film industries respectively. Frank Sinatra accumulated his net worth while being active in the entertainment industry from 1935 to 1996.
How rich was the artist who is known to have sold more than 150 million records around world? Reportedly, the net worth of Frank Sinatra was equal to over $100 million, accumulated during more than 70 years in the entertainment industry.
Frank Sinatra Net Worth $100 Million
The career of Frank Sinatra began in the era of swing, beginning with ‘The Hoboken Four’ teenagers in the early 1930s winning ‘The Major Bowes Amateur Hour’ radio competition, and earning a radio and stage contract. He was then taken on by Harry James in 1939, being included on a number of record releases during that year, but was released to sing with the more popular Tommy Dorsey band at the end of that year, although the contract was somewhat one-sided in favour of the bandleader. Regardless, these were a big break for Sinatra, and contributed the first significant amounts to Frank’s net worth.
During the war years of 1941-45, Sinatra was particularly popular with forces personnel, and by extension with an increasing younger set of fans. He was unfit for service himself because of a perforated eardrum, but supported the war effort with innumerable concerts for the military around the world, often along with other major stars such as Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. However, his career as a solo artist achieved most recognition in the 1950’s, after signing a contract with the record company Columbia Records. His debut album “The Voice of Frank Sinatra” (1946) topped the Billboard Music Chart in the USA, and from then his popularity grew with every album he released, although it waned in the 1960’s. Then, the artist decided to change his record label and signed a contract with Capitol Records. Under this label, Sinatra released many more successful albums certified platinum/gold including “In the Wee Small Hours” (1955), “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!” (1956), “A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra” (1957), “Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely” (1958), “Nice ‘n’ Easy” (1960) and others. In 1961, he left the label in order to found his own Reprise Records label. Sinatra continued with successful albums such as “September of My Years” (1965), “A Man and His Music” (1965) and “Strangers in the Night” (1967). A steady decline in record sales and a few unsuccessful films forced him to announce the end of his career in 1971, though after two years he returned and released several successful albums, including “Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back” (1973), “Some Nice Things I’ve Missed” (1974) and others.
On the whole music was the most important element of Frank Sinatra’s life as well as of his net worth. The next two decades saw a rather more relaxed Sinatra, accepted as one of the leading vocalists of the era, with an easy style attracting audiences spread across generations, and without the need to be so innovative or spectacular. Suffice to say that Frank Sinatra released well over 60 albums during his singing career. His acting career also continued in a similar vein.
Movies were another aspect which increased Sinatra’s net worth as well as adding to his fame; he actually debuted successfully in the post-war movie “Anchors Aweigh” with Gene Kelly in 1945. Frank then became known as one of The Rat Pack group, that was a widely popular group of actors who appeared in many films and on stage together. The group was made up of Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin. Sinatra won Oscars for his roles in the films “The House I Live In” (1945) directed by Mervyn LeRoy and “From Here to Eternity” (1953) directed by Fred Zinnemann. Other varied starring roles included “High Society”, “Pal Joey”(Golden Globe for Best Actor), “The Pride and the Passion”, “Some Came Running”, “Kings Go Forth”, “Ocean’s Eleven” “The List of Adrian Messenger”, “Von Ryan’s Express”, and the outstanding highly original psychological thriller “The Manchurian Candidate” in 1962. Overall Frank Sinatra appeared in over 60 films, produced seven and directed one – “None But the Brave”. He also appeared in over 30 documentaries and TV shows as himself.
It is difficult to name another star who has had such a lengthy, varied and successful career in the entertainment industry as Frank Sinatra. As a crowning glory, Frank is the only celebrity with three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to various aspects of the entertainment industry.
Concerning his private life, Frank Sinatra was married four times. His wives were Nancy Barbato (1939–1951), with whom he had three children; Ava Gardner (1951–1957); Mia Farrow (1966–1968) and Barbara Marx (1976–until his death). Being seriously ill for the last few years of his life, suffering from a number of illnesses including bladder cancer, pneumonia, high blood pressure and others, Sinatra died from a heart attack at the age of 82.
