| Net Worth: | $50 Million |
| Full name: | Randall Darius Jackson |
| Stage Name: | Randy Jackson |
| Date of Birth: | June 23, 1956 |
| Age: | 66 |
| Place of Birth: | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Country of Origin: | United States of America |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight: | 70 kg (154 lbs) |
| Marital status: | Divorced |
| Ex-Wives: | Elizabeth Jackson (div. 1990)
Erika Riker (1995 – 2019) |
| Occupation: | Record producer, Singer, Musician, TV Personality, Bassist, Music Manager, A&R executive, Television producer, Entrepreneur |
| Social Media Accounts: | Instagram Twitter Facebook |
Randall Darius Jackson, popularly known as Randy Jackson, is an American record producer, singer, bassist, music manager, entrepreneur, and TV personality. The music icon is best recognized for his work as executive producer of America’s Best Dance Crew and panel judge on American Idol.
What Is Randy Jackson’s Net Worth
With these many professions, what exactly is Randy Jackson’s net worth? The American record executive and TV personality has an estimated net worth of $50 million as of 2023.
Read on to learn more about this music icon, from his early and personal life to his career, nominations, awards, and famous quotes.
Early And Personal Life
Randall Darius Jackson was born on June 23, 1956, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, to Herman Jackson and Julia LeGolvan. His father was a plant foreman, while his mother was a homemaker.
Growing up, Jackson received lots of love and care from his parents. According to the talented bassist, his early years were quite magical, and he grew up in a warm and welcoming environment.
Jackson has two other siblings and is the youngest among them. According to him, he has always loved music, even from a tender age.
It was, therefore, no surprise that he started playing the bass guitar at the age of 13. And because of this passion for music, Jackson would sneak out of his home late at night to perform at neighborhood nightclubs.
1. Education
Jackson completed his high school education at a local high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In high school, Jackson always participated in inter-school musical competitions.
Still pursuing his musical dreams, Jackson enrolled in Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to study music. The music legend graduated in 1979 from university with a Bachelor’s degree in music.
2. Marriage
Jackson has been married twice. He was first married to Elizabeth Jackson, but the marriage ended in 1990. They had one daughter together named Taylor, who was born the same year the couple divorced.
In 1995, Jackson got married to Erika Riker. The two have a daughter named Zoe and a son, Jordan.
In 2014, Riker filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. Their divorce was finalized later in 2019.
Riker also fought for full physical custody and joint legal custody of their son, Jordan Jackson, who was a minor at the time.
Sadly, the separation affected Jackson financially, as the divorce settlement was $20 million. This was because, as reported by TMZ, the former couple had no prenuptial agreement before getting married.
As such, Jackson’s $40 million fortune was divided 50/50 between him and Riker.
3. Health Challenge
Jackson has experienced severe health issues in the past. In 2003, he found out that he had type 2 diabetes.
He was, however, not particularly shocked by his diagnosis as his father also had diabetes.
Jackson weighed about 25 stone (350 lbs) when he was diagnosed with the chronic condition. In response, he had to change his diet and exercise routine.
He also went for gastric bypass surgery to treat it. Consequently, the music icon lost about 114 lbs.
Following the health challenges and recovery, Jackson wrote a book called “With Body with Soul: Slash Sugar, Cut Cholesterol, and Get a Jump on Your Best Health Ever.”
He published the book in 2008. In the book, Jackson shared his health challenges and experiences battling diabetes.
Additionally, he used the book to educate readers about diabetes prevention. He also gave out other tips on general health improvement.
Following his battle with diabetes, Jackson has been a spokesperson for the American Heart Association’s “Heart of Diabetes” campaign. He also supports many charity organizations, including the “Randy Jackson Childhood Obesity Foundation,” which he launched himself.
Music Career
Like Brad Paisley, Post Malone, and Vicente Fernandez, Jackson’s career started with the music legend being a session bass guitarist for bands like Taxxi and musicians like Carlos Santana and Jean-Luc in the 1980s.
He went on to play for the rock band Journey from 1986 to 1987, working with them in the studio while they made the album “Raised on Radio.”
After relocating to Italy, Jackson collaborated with the Italian pop star Zucchero Fornaciari. He also performed with Panamanian–American jazz drummer Billy Cobham during this time.
In the mid-80s, the talented bassist joined an all-star band to record songs for the movie “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” In this group were other musical icons like Keith Richards and Aretha Franklin.
In the late 1980s, Jackson was featured on “Silly Soul” by Maze and Steve Lukather’s debut solo album. He also contributed to the Divinyls album in 1991 as a bass guitarist.
The following year, he featured as a bassist on various tracks in Tracy Chapman’s album – Matters of the Heart (released on April 28, 1992).
Around the same time, Jackson featured as a bassist on several singles like Bruce Springsteen’s “Human Touch,” “Open Arms,” “Bang Bang Bang,” and “Dreaming on a World.”
On March 11, 2008, Jackson released his debut album called “Randy Jackson’s Music Club, Vol. 1.” The album was entirely produced by Jackson, even though he didn’t sing any of the songs.
Over the years, Jackson has worked with renowned artists like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Céline Dion, Madonna, and many others. He has worked with these artists as a record producer, bassist, or while on tour.
Jackson is also a music manager. He has managed bands like Paper Tongues music band.
As a music executive, he has also taken music executive roles at Columbia Records and MCA Records.
TV Works
Jackson has gained significant recognition in recent years for his television roles. One of them is on American idol.
In 2002, Jackson joined American idol as one of the panel judges alongside performer Paula Abdul and record executive/producer Simon Cowell. As someone well-known in the music business, fans and contestants respected him for his constructive criticism on the show.
The show gained popularity, and his habit of referring to contestants as ‘dawg’ made him more popular, and that became his signature. In May 2013, Jackson, who was, at this point, the last original judge on the show, announced he would be quitting after season 12.
According to the music executive, the reason for leaving was to concentrate on his record label and other business ventures. He finally left the show in November 2014.
After American Idol, producing MTV reality show America’s Best Dance Crew was Jackson’s other significant TV work.
“It’s very much more street than whatever you’ve seen… It’s really kind of raw and has a lot of great imagery,” Jackson told People Magazine while describing the show.
The reality show premiered on February 7, 2008, and featured TV personality Layla Kayleigh as its backstage correspondent. It also featured actor Mario Lopez as the host.
R&B singer Omarion, Hip-hop recording artist Lil Mama, hip-hop choreographer Shane Sparks, dancer Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval, and singer-songwriter JC Chasez were all part of the judging panel. In 2012, the show got canceled due to poor ratings after its first seven-season run.
Radio work
Aside from being a TV personality, Jackson is also a radio host. His most notable program is the weekly countdown show for Westwood One called Randy Jackson’s Hit List.
He started hosting the radio program in 2005. On the program, which airs for three hours, Jackson counts down his top 30 songs of the week.
Famous Quotes by Randy Jackson
Some of the most famous quotes by the music legend include:
“I always say the greats just get better.”
“I love people who break boundaries and always create something new and fresh.”
“My ego is really good. I don’t need to watch myself on TV like some others.”
“There is a lot of territory out there still to explore TV-wise, show-wise, movie-wise, everything.”
“The public always picks quality.”
“Accept who you are and try and make the best of that.”
“If I’m paying money to come to see you, you shouldn’t look like everybody else in the crowd.”
Nominations and Awards
Like Ted Nugent, In his career, Jackson has received quite a few nominations. Five years in a row (from 2003-2007), he received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.
This was in the category: “Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. American Idol: The Search for a Superstar.”
In 2001, Jackson won a Grammy Award for his work as a co-producer on Gladys Knight’s album “At last.”
Conclusion
In any sector, one of the major secrets to success is having a good working relationship with others. This has been one of the key reasons behind Jackson’s success.
Over the years, he has worked well with musicians, record labels, as well as TV and radio networks. He has also benefited greatly from career diversification, as evidenced by how he left American Idol to concentrate on other endeavors.
His various professions have really helped boost his income. This makes sense why he has an estimated net worth of about $50 million.
