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How Yoko Ono Achieved a Net Worth of $700 Million

Yoko Ono

Famous since the 1960s, Yoko Ono is a Japanese artist that is probably one of the most famous worldwide. Her career has allowed her to generate a healthy net worth of $700 million, which is substantial for a career spanning nearly sixty years.

Early Life

Yoko Ono did have a better start in life than others in Japan, as she was born into Tokyo wealth. She had direct access to the arts growing up, going to exclusive schools that allowed her to be creative with poetry, and plays and be trained in the piano.

While in College, she moved to New York and joined her family who had been transferred to the United States for work. At this time, her personal net worth probably only a few thousand dollars but she had access to her family's fortune which was in the millions in the 1950s.

Manhattan Life

She attended the Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, but really started making a name for herself in the world of art and eventually earning a solo gallery show in the 1960s.

By this time, she was generating her own net worth and creating a reputation that would gain the attraction of celebrities and other mainstream names in the industry. She had one marriage to a Japanese composition student and then later filmmaker, Anthony Cox who was working to make movements and protests across the country.

Gaining Global Acceptance

She started making big waves in American households and media with her Cut Piece performance which streamlined feminist art as an attack on sexual violence and to bring attention to what was happening in both American and Japanese cultures.

Becoming a name on her own, Yoko One Net Worth jumped significantly as she started gaining work and growth for feminist art. She was featured in galleries in London, Japan, and other places across Europe to promote her movement in Feminist art.

This lifestyle was something that she was used to, so her net worth on her own was getting into hundreds of thousands by this time to sustain that lifestyle.

Meeting John Lennon

During her time traveling the world for her art, she was introduced to a member of the Beatles, John Lennon. They both took the time to make statements in art, violence and promoting peace as global icons.

It was during this time that Yoko Ono would generate a good portion of her personal wealth, having her and Lennon's marriage available to the public.

Unfortunately, she took a hit personally during this time when the Beatles separated and the world blamed her for breaking up a band loved everywhere. She remained married to John Lennon until his death in 1980.

Personal Music Career

Yoko Ono moved forward with her own personal career in music and brought in artists from across the world for collaborations. This time period allowed Yoko

Ono to gain new popularity in other countries such as Australia and Asia, improving her net worth into the millions. Several million of the money she earned came from song collaborations with John Lennon, including Double Fantasy which was recorded before his death.

Even after his death, Ono continued to create her own music throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She was able to assume his assets as his wife, which were approximately $200 million. As her son got older, she even managed to do collaborations with his band. Allowing her songs to be remixed by younger bands, Yoko Ono continued to generate royalties from the use of her songs and her name.

Inheriting the Lennon Estate

After the death of John Lennon, Yoko Ono inherited an estate that gave her a foundation to continue building on over the next few decades. She has generated royalties, licensing deals, and merchandise sold over the last 43 years since his death.

Among these were properties that were owned, cash money, investments, and other items of value. Yoko Ono was left with the power of attorney on the estate, which compared with her own net worth, put her at nearly $300 million.

She continued to generate funds around John Lennon's name over the years and invested her earnings into different industries that would increase over time.

Royalties and Licensing For Her Own Name

Not only did Yoko Ono get agreements and royalties for her husband, but since the last 1990s, her own name and career have been generating royalties from her music and art.

The licensing agreements she has made with independent films and organizations have also generated about $150 million over the last few decades. The art and films she has made over the years have been used instrumentally in peace movements.

They were revitalized in the 2000s with demands for peace and equality sprang out around America. Yoko Ono has been a prominent figure in the feminist movement, which is why many organizations and brands have generated these licensing deals to use her name and personal art as a way to spread the same message of peace and love. Royalties for these uses add up for Yoko Ono and have now moved her into a solid $700 million net worth.

Real Estate

As a part of that large Yoko Ono net worth, she owned a property with her husband John Lennon in Palm Beach Florida that was worth over $10 million in the 1970s has currently been listed for over $47 million because of its large size and various amenities that are available on the property.

She also lived with John Lennon in the Dakota apartment in New York City, known as the Dakota. That is where she still currently resides as an 88-year-old woman. There are over 94 units in this luxury apartment building, and just one apartment for sale over the years has averaged over $14 million. Considering how long Yoko Ono has lived in the Dakota, her apartment value most likely equals or surpasses this amount.

Moving Forward

As she gets older, Yoko Ono has continuously generated one of the largest net worths for women of her age and generation. Because of the continuous popularity of the Beatles, John Lennon himself, and her own career in feminism through art and music, Yoko Ono will continue to generate a significant amount of royalties from her career until she passes.

While she is int he later stages of her life and not out in the public eye as much, she is still active with her family and continuing to promote her name. In the years ahead, you can expect to see this wealth increase and then split up between her children when the time comes.

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Allen Lee

Written by Allen Lee

Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. He spends more time than is perhaps wise with his eyes fixed on a screen either reading history books, keeping up with international news, or playing the latest releases on the Steam platform, which serve as the subject matter for much of his writing output. Currently, Lee is practicing the smidgen of Chinese that he picked up while visiting the Chinese mainland in hopes of someday being able to read certain historical texts in their original language.

Read more posts by Allen Lee

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