Born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasieff on the 10th February 1958, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Walter is a Grammy Award- winning producer and songwriter, best known to the world for being the producer of the smashing ‘90s hit “My Heart Will Go On”, sang by Celine Dion. Also, he is known for his long-term collaboration with R&B star Mariah Carey.
Have you ever wondered how rich Walter Afanasieff is, as of mid- 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Afanasieff’s net worth is as high as $80 million, an amount earned through his successful career in the entertainment industry, which has been active since the ‘80s.
Walter Afanasieff Net Worth $80 Million
Walter is the son of Russian parents; his father was originally from Leningrad, while his mother was a part of Harbin Russians from China. Once he turned five, he and his family moved to San Francisco, although even before the move he had become interested in music, as he started playing piano when he was only three years old. During high school his musical aspirations became even greater, and he then enrolled at the Conservatory of Music in San Mateo, California.
Walter started his professional music career as a jazz musician, playing keyboards next to the violin player Jean-Luc Ponty, and then started his own band, The Warriors, with the guitarist Jaoquin Lievano, and drummer Narada Michael Walden who is also experienced in producing and songwriting. His collaboration with Narada continued beyond The Warriors, as Walden appointed Walter as a staff producer/arranger and the two scored a massive success when they produced Whitney Houston’s debut album in 1985. Walter continued working beside Narada, and scored collaborations with such artists as George Benson, Kenny G and Lionel Richie, before becoming the lead songwriter and composer for Mariah Carey in 1988. Their collaboration lasted for the next ten years, during which he worked on Mariah’s hits such as “Hero”, “One Sweet Day”, “Emotions”, “Dreamlover”, “Butterfly”, and “My All”, among others, all of which increased his wealth and popularity.
In 1998 he was producer and arranger for Celine Dion’s track “My Heart Will Go On”, which was used as soundtrack for the cult film “Titanic”, and Walter won the Grammy Award in the Record of the Year category for this massive hit. He has continued to work as producer, composer and arranger until present day, collaborating with a number of successful musicians, including Santana on the album “Shaman” (2002), then Darren Hayes on “Spin” (2002), Gladys Knight’s “Gold” (2006), Leona Lewis and her album “Spirit“ in 2007, then Julia Nachalova in 2013, working on her album “Wild Butterfly”, and in 2014 with Richard Marx on the album “Getaway”. Most recently, he worked with Barbara Streisand on the albums “Partners” (2014), and “Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway” (2016), still adding steadily to his net worth.
Regarding his personal life, Walter is engaged to his girlfriend of 12 years Katie Cazorla and their wedding is scheduled for November 2017. Previously, he was married to Corine with whom he has three children together.
