Wes Borland Net Worth

What is Wes Borland's Net Worth?

Wes Borland is an American musician who has a net worth of $10 million. Wes Borland is best known as the innovative and theatrical guitarist for Limp Bizkit. Renowned for his experimental playing style and eccentric stage persona, Borland helped define the nu-metal sound that dominated the late 1990s and early 2000s rock. His use of unusual tunings, heavy effects, and avant-garde techniques set him apart from his peers, while his elaborate costumes and body paint became a visual hallmark of the band's performances.

Borland first gained prominence with Limp Bizkit's 1997 debut album "Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$," which featured the breakout cover of "Faith." The group's massive commercial success continued with "Significant Other" (1999) and "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water" (2000), both of which sold millions of copies worldwide. Despite leaving the band in 2001 over creative and personal differences, Borland rejoined multiple times and remains its most distinctive member.

Outside of Limp Bizkit, Borland has led and recorded with several projects, including Big Dumb Face, Black Light Burns, and Eat the Day, exploring industrial, electronic, and experimental rock. He is also a painter and sculptor, further cementing his reputation as one of alternative metal's most creative and unconventional figures.

Early Life and Education

Wes Borland was born on February 7, 1975, in Richmond, Virginia. He has a brother named Scott. Growing up, Borland became passionate about music and took up the drums as his instrument of choice. However, his parents disapproved of the loudness of the drums, so he switched to guitar. He and his brother eventually began playing bass guitar together. The family later moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where Borland attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.

Limp Bizkit

In 1994, Borland joined the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, consisting of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, and bassist Sam Rivers. The group went on to gain a cult following in the underground music scene in Jacksonville, with Borland attracting attention for his theatrical style and outlandish dress, including his masks, uniforms, and face and body paint. Although Borland briefly left Limp Bizkit after DJ Lethal joined the band, he returned to record the band's 1997 debut studio album, "Three Dollar Bill, Y'all." Limp Bizkit had its commercial breakthrough with its next album, "Significant Other," which reached number one on the Billboard 200 in 1999. That was followed by the memorably titled album "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water," which debuted atop the Billboard 200 in 2000.

In the fall of 2001, Borland left Limp Bizkit due to creative differences. He eventually returned to record the band's first EP, "The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1)," which came out in 2005. Not long after that, Limp Bizkit entered a hiatus. The original lineup got back together in 2009 for a tour, and in 2011 released the album "Gold Cobra." Limp Bizkit didn't release another album until 2021, with "Still Sucks."

Universal Music Royalty Lawsuit

In October 2024, Wes Borland and his Limp Bizkit bandmates filed a major lawsuit against Universal Music Group, accusing the label of fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty over unpaid royalties. The suit alleged that Universal had intentionally engineered a flawed royalty accounting system that misclassified profitable artist accounts as "unrecouped," allowing the company to withhold payments owed to artists, songwriters, and producers.

According to the filing, Limp Bizkit discovered the issue after Fred Durst's new business representatives accessed the band's royalty portal and found more than $1 million in unpaid balances. Universal allegedly told Durst for years that the band's account had not yet reached recoupment, meaning the group had not earned enough to offset previous advances. The lawsuit claimed this explanation made no financial sense, given that Limp Bizkit's first three albums sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and generated hundreds of millions in revenue.

The complaint also stated that Universal failed to issue royalty statements during the band's peak commercial years between 1997 and 2004, suggesting the company was concealing true sales figures to avoid paying out royalties. Limp Bizkit accused the label of maintaining a "fraudulent and systemic" policy that allowed it to keep artist profits for itself while publicly promoting an image of supporting its talent.

Universal denied the allegations and said the issue stemmed from a "software error" that had since been corrected, but Limp Bizkit's attorneys called the explanation "implausible" and part of a wider pattern affecting other artists. The band is seeking over $200 million in damages and a court order voiding its remaining recording contracts with the company.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Big Dumb Face

While still with Limp Bizkit in 1998, Borland started the experimental side project Big Dumb Face with his brother Scott. Known for its comedic lyrics and eclectic musical style, the group released its debut album, "Duke Lion Fights the Terror!!," in 2001. Not long after that, Big Dumb Face fell into inactivity. Borland revived the project in 2017 with the album "Where is Duke Lion? He's Dead…," which he described as the "most metal record" he'd ever recorded. Big Dumb Face released its third album, "Christmas in the Cave of Dagoth," in late 2021.

Black Light Burns

During his departure from Limp Bizkit in the '00s, Borland founded the industrial rock band Black Light Burns with John Freese and Danny Lohner, fellow bandmates of his from the failed rock supergroup the Damning Well. They were later joined by Nick Annis, Sean Fetterman, and Marshall Kilpatric. Black Light Burns released its debut album, "Cruel Melody," in 2007. After a temporary hiatus, the band put out its second studio album, "The Moment You Realize You're Going to Fall," in 2012. The following year, Black Light Burns released the concept album "Lotus Island."

(Photo by George Fairbairn/Total Guitar Magazine/Future via Getty Images)

Solo Releases

In 2016, Borland released "Crystal Machete," an instrumental solo album that marked his first release as a solo artist. Unlike his typical style, the album features no distorted guitars. Borland went on to release the EP "Matadors and Daughters" in 2018. His subsequent solo releases include the albums "The Astral Hand" (2020) and "Mutiny on the Starbarge" (2023).

Other Musical Contributions

Borland has made various contributions to works by other musical artists. In 2004, he played guitar on the album "Legion of Boom" by the Crystal Method, and in 2006 played bass on the album "Heroine" by From First to Last. Later in the decade, Borland played bass on the album "Youthanize" by the Color of Violence. In the early 2010s, he contributed to works by the band Combichrist and collaborated with Tomandandy on the soundtracks to two of the "Resident Evil" movies. Meanwhile, as an illustrator, Borland designed the album artwork for the eponymous debut album by Fear and the Nervous System. Among his many other contributions, he played guitar on the 2018 album "Black Labyrinth," the debut solo album of Korn frontman Jonathan Davis.

Personal Life

In 1998, Borland married his longtime girlfriend, Heather McMillan. The pair divorced in 2001. Borland later married Anna Carlise in 2009; they divorced in 2013. He wed his third wife, Queen Kwong lead singer Carré Callaway, in 2016. The couple divorced in 2019.

Real Estate

In 2002, Wes paid $600,000 for a home in Los Angeles. He sold this home for $1.23 million in April 2015. Also in 2015, Wes paid $500,000 for a home in Detroit's Arden Park district. He and his then-wife, Carré Callaway, performed a renovation that was featured on a DIY network show. He listed this home for sale in August 2020 for $900,000 and ultimately accepted $760,000 in February 2021.

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