Toby Keith Net Worth: Know All About His Income Resources
The American country music artist, actor, songwriter, and record producer Toby Keith is worth an estimated $400 million. Toby Keith has always had a knack for writing songs that hit close to home and for drawing listeners in with his heartfelt storytelling. In the early 1990s, he launched his breakthrough single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” and it became an immediate classic in the country music industry. This initial triumph paved the way for a string of singles that solidified Keith’s position as a fixture in the country music industry. His reputation as a successful songwriter was further cemented by songs such as “How Do You Like Me Now?!” and “Beer for My Horses,” a duet with Willie Nelson.
Who is Toby Keith?
Toby Keith Covel came into this world in Clinton, Oklahoma on July 8, 1961. He was born to Carolyn and Hubert Covel; they also have a girl and two boys. Even though he was a little boy, he spent summers with his grandmother. Fort Smith, Arkansas was home to her supper club. In particular, Toby found the supper club musicians to be quite interesting. When he was eight years old, he got his first guitar. After helping out around his grandma’s club, he worked his way up to playing in the house band.
The towns of Moore, Oklahoma, and Fort Smith, Arkansas were Toby and his siblings’ home towns. He played football at Moore High School as an end. He became a derrick after finishing high school and found employment in the oil industry. Gradually, he rose through the ranks to become the operations manager.
When Toby was twenty years old, he and his mates established the band Easy Mony. As the band performed at local watering holes, Toby kept working in the oil fields. During the oil industry’s downturn in 1982, he lost his job. The Oklahoma City Drillers were a semi-professional football team that Toby later played defensive end for. Easy Money began performing in honky-tonks in Oklahoma and Texas a few years after they achieved some regional popularity.
Toby Keith Net Worth
Toby Keith has a net worth of $400 million, as per our study. The success that Toby Keith has had as an American singer-songwriter has contributed significantly to his net worth.
| Name | Toby Keith |
| Net Worth (2023) | $400 Million |
| Profession | American singer-songwriter |
| Monthly Salary | $3 Million + |
| Yearly Income | $35 Million + |
| Genres | Country |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Last Updated | 2023 |
Toby Keith Net Worth Growth
| Year | Net Worth (Million) |
|---|---|
| Toby Keith Net Worth in 2023 | $400 Million |
| Toby Keith Net Worth in 2022 | $365 Million |
| Toby Keith Net Worth in 2021 | $330 Million |
| Toby Keith Net Worth in 2020 | $295 Million |
| Toby Keith Net Worth in 2019 | $260 Million |
| Toby Keith Net Worth in 2018 | $230 Million |
Career
In the early 90s, Toby traveled to Nashville and busked on Music Row, the city’s notorious entertainment district. The city’s several record labels received his demo cassette, which he generously distributed. His demo had no takers, so he returned to Oklahoma. He had vowed to himself that he would get a recording contract by the time he turned 30 or else he would abandon his career goals. Meanwhile, serendipity had it that a flight attendant who was a fan of the Easy Money Band handed along his demo tape to a Mercury Records executive while she was on the job. Toby was signed to a recording contract after the executive was smitten with his sound.
The country music charts were dominated by Toby’s breakthrough single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” which reached number one in 1993. On the pop charts, the song also made it into the top 100. In the late 90s, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” had racked up over three million airplays. The song’s popularity in the 90s was unparalleled in the country music industry, surpassing even Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart.”
“Toby Keith” (1993), “Boomtown” (1994), “Blue Moon” (1996), and “Dream Walkin'” (1997) were Keith’s first four studio albums. He left Mercury Records in 1998. Several singles from these albums reached the top ten. The hit single “How Do You Like Me Now?!” was released in late 1999 after Keith signed with DreamWorks Records Nashville in 1998. The title single from his 1999 album of the same name, this song was the most popular country song of 2000 and was just one of several that he had while working with DreamWorks Nashville. Three additional number ones came from his subsequent three albums, “Pull My Chain,” “Unleashed,” and “Shock’n Y’all,” and each of those albums was certified four times Platinum.
With over 40 million albums sold globally, Keith’s discography includes 19 studio albums, 2 holiday albums, and 5 compilations. On his 2002 album “Unleashed,” which featured the smash duet “Beer for My Horses” with Willie Nelson, he sold three million copies.
Profession in Entrepreneurship
With $400,000, Toby bought a 10% interest in Big Machine in 2004. Though risky at the time, that investment has now yielded substantial returns. After that, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, and Taylor Swift were all signed by Big Machine. To this day, Toby Keith earns a cut of every artist’s earnings from Big Machine.
Don Marrandino, the proprietor of a casino in Las Vegas, approached Toby with a proposition soon after he founded his record labels. Marrandino had grand plans to open a restaurant within his casino with a Toby Keith motif, which he would have named the “I Love This Bar and Grill.” It had risen to become one of the 50 highest-grossing restaurants in America by year’s end 2004.
Most people would be satisfied with this. Except for Toby Keith. When Toby heard that his friend Sammy Hagar had made $80 million selling his Cabo Wabo tequila brand in 2007, he knew he had to follow in his footsteps. Launching a vodka or Bourbon line was something he thought about. It became clear that mass-producing bourbon was not easy, and the vodka industry appeared to be at capacity. He finally decided on mezcal. Once Toby tracked down a distributor, he set out to try mezcal from all the different family-run distilleries. Launched in March 2011 was “Wild Shot” mezcal. Wild Shot surpassed all other premium mezcals in the US by year’s end. The last piece of a rapidly expanding empire was Toby’s liquor arm. A lucrative enterprise that brings in an estimated $60–$100 million annually for him.