Tom Morello’s unique style as a guitarist has made him a household name among fans of rock and especially rap metal. His stint with the anti-establishment band Rage Against the Machine is his best-known work, although he has been active as a musician after the disbandment of the band.
In addition to RATM, he also worked as a guitarist in other legendary bands like Audioslave and Prophets of Rage. He is also a social worker and has been passionate as an activist right from his RATM days.
In fact, he is well-known for using his music as a platform for political and social activism.
Tom Morello has a net worth of around $30 million as of March 2020. He made this net worth from a career as a musician and guitarist.
He started his career back in 1979 and has since made himself a well-known guitarist who has developed his own instantly recognizable style on the axe.
Morello is a popular musician and has sold a lot of records all over the world; in fact, Rage Against the Machine sold more than 4.8 million copies of their self-titled album. The following table lists his earnings from record sales.
READ MORE: Connie Britton, Married, Husband, Children, Biography
Year | Earnings | Album/Record |
1992 | $6,310,000 | Rage Against the Machine |
1996 | $4,160,000 | Evil Empire |
1999 | $3,090,000 | The Battle of Los Angeles |
2000 | $1,520,000 | Renegades |
2001 | $1,300,000 | |
2002 | $3,970,000 | Audioslave |
2003 | $65,000 | |
2005 | $1,300,000 | Out of Exile |
2006 | $585,000 | Revelations |
2008 | $137,800 | The Terror State |
2010 | $40,300 | Rise Up |
2011 | $36,400 | Give the Drummer Some |
2014 | $390,000 | High Hopes |
$1,770,000 | The Hunting Party | |
2017 | $27,300 | Prophets of Rage |
Additionally, he also earns a substantial amount from various gigs and tours like other artists. In fact, he earned $64,930,000 when he toured with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He also earned $293,700,000 in 2016 from The River Tour.
Morello has an iconic guitar collection and is especially famous for using the arm of the homeless guitar. The following table is his guitar collection and some of their prices.
Guitar | Price |
Custom "Arm The Homeless" Electric Guitar | $599 (approx.) |
Fender Soul Power Aerodyne Stratocaster | $1,399 |
Ibanez Custom AS200 with 2-Tone Finish | $2,399.99 |
Fender American Standard Telecaster Electric Guitar | $699.99 |
Gibson EDS-1275 Double Neck Electric Guitar | $7,099 |
Applause AA-31 | $89.99 to $129.99 |
Ibanez Talman with Kenyan Flag Artwork | N/A |
Gibson Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar | $6,499 |
Ibanez Tom Morello's ''Whatever It Takes'' Galvad | N/A |
Ovation Breadwinner | $1,100 |
Gibson Explorer Electric Guitar | $1,350 |
Fender American Telecaster Black "Sendero Luminoso" | N/A |
Kay SG Style | $308.75 |
Gibson J-45 | $2,749 |
James Trussart Steelcaster Electric Guitar | $4,881 |
D'Angelico EX-DC Electric Guitar | $769 to $1,449 |
Ibanez Roadstar Custom | $209.00 to $1,000.00 |
ST George Goya Rangemaster Copy | N/A |
Fender Telecaster American Designer Edition | $1,950 |
Tom Morello Les Paul Custom | N/A |
Ibanez GA6CE Classical Guitar | $199 |
Manson Guitarworks Custom "Power To The People" | N/A |
Fender Custom Shop Game of Thrones House Targaryen | $35,000 |
Morello believes in leftist political views and has used his music to spread views of equality and egalitarianism.
Especially during his stint with RATM, he and the members, who share similar ideologies, released songs like Killing In The Name Of to oppose police brutality against minorities, government surveillance, the unequal rule of law, etc.
Morello and RATM also released other songs like Guerilla Radio, Bulls On Parade, etc. to protest propaganda spread by the government, and the was USA fighting based on lies.
Right from an early age, Morello was interested in music and joined his first band t the age of 13 covering Led Zeppelin (consisting of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page), Steve Miller Band, and Bachman–Turner Overdrive.
His first serious band was Lock-Up, which disbanded. Then he met Zack de la Rocha, who impressed him by his freestyle rapping style. Then in 1991, Rage Against the Machine was formed with Tim Commerford, Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, and Brad Wilk as members.
Almost immediately, the band found common ground with the audience estranged from their government. They released incredible politically charged masterpieces and established themselves as one of the most passionate live performers.
Zack de la Rocha announced his departure in 2000, effectively ending the band, but they have reunited on multiple occasions after their disbandment.
In fact, they had plans to reunite in 2020 and perform tours all over the world, but their plans have been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
After RATM disbanded Morello and the remaining members of RATM formed Audioslave with Chris Cornell as the lead singer. They formed the supergroup and released their self-titled album on November 18, 2002.
Tom Morello was born Thomas Baptiste Morello on May 30, 1964, in Harlem, New York, U.S. to Mary Morello and Ngethe Njoroge. He has Kenyan and Italian roots.
His mother raised him after his father abandoned them. He attended Libertyville High School, where his mother taught. Morello aced his high school tests and enrolled at Harvard University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies.
Morello grew up with Tool guitarist Adam Jones and is also credited with introducing him and Maynard James Keenan to Danny Carey, who would later form Tool with Jones and Maynard.
As of March 2020, he is married to Denise Morello. The pair tied the knot on July 5, 2009, and have two sons Rhoads and Roman, together.
They live in a house in Los Angeles, California, the USA where the average price of a house is $859,000.