Net Worth: $26 million
Venture: Bret Maverick
Ed Bruce is best known as everyone’s favorite original outlaw country singer and avid traditionalist of the genre. Born in Keiser, Arkansas, the talented young Bruce quickly caught the attention of Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Records, and began writing and recording various songs for him. Bruce then proceeded to do voice-overs for TV shows and radio commercials, and finally debuted his first single in 1969 to moderate success.
The aspiring singer finally made big progress when he released “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys”, a song that he wrote with his wife. The song reached the Top 20 charts and his career began improving quickly from there. Bruce has released over 20 studio albums to date, with the most popular and commercially successful being his 1980 self-titled album.
Greg Bates
Net Worth: $200,000
Venture: The Highway (Sirius XM)
American country singer Greg Bates has had a fairly short-lasting musical career that mostly appeared between 2012 and 2013. He released his first single, "Did It for the Girl," which debuted at number 57 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2012. The song was well received and was praised for being simple and memorable.
Bates was born in Brentwood and moved to Nashville to better position himself for a country music career. He then got his music degree from Belmont University, which led to his signing a record contract with Republic Nashville a year later in 2011. He has since been fairly quiet and we've not heard too much from the country singer except for his marriage in 2015 to girlfriend Shelley Skidmore.
Tammy Wynette
Net Worth: $900,000
Venture: Tammy Wynette Museum
Tammy Wynette was truly one of the greats when it came to classic country music. Often referred to as the “First Lady of Country Music,” she helped during the ‘60s and ‘70s to pioneer much of the popularity of the folk American genre. Wynetta is often compared with some of the greats in the genre like Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn.
Wynetta hit her peak popularity between the ‘60s and the late ‘70s with songs like “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” that were massively popular before anyone has even heard of country pop. With twenty singles reaching number one in the charts, this iconic and legendary singer was truly one of the best the 20th century had to offer.
Cole Swindell
Net Worth: $3 million
Venture: The Reason to Drink
Tour Cole Swindell is a singer and songwriter who debuted his career as a solo country singer in 2013, after a full three years of songwriting for other popular country artists such as Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, Luke Bryan, and Craig Campbell.
Several of Swindell's singles w made it to number five or higher on the country charts. He has over a million likes on Facebook and managed to become a multi-millionaire in his mid-thirties. In 2015, Swindell won the Best New Artist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music Awards. His most successful singles so far have been "You Should Be Here," "Middle of a Memory," "Break Up in the End," and our favorite, "Chillin’ It."
Jason Aldean
Net Worth: $80 million
Venture: Buck Commander
Known by many as one of the best guitarists in the country music space, Jason Aldean has managed to create his own small empire with a fortune of over $80 million over his career. The country star has mostly stuck to traditional country values, both in his personal life and musical career. Aldean is also the owner of a hunting and fishing gear label named “Buck Commander” that’s based on his likeness and brand.
Aldean was able to organize and invest in this business through the large income he receives from album sales. He’s apparently even more popular than you might think, with his 2010 album My Kinda Party receiving the super rare quadruple-platinum certification by RIAA (which is a super-duper cool certificate). Various of his other albums also reached platinum and double-platinum statuses.