Barry Manilow Net Worth

What is Barry Manilow's Net Worth?

Barry Manilow is an American singer and producer who has a net worth of $100 million. Barry Manilow's melodic pop anthems and theatrical performances made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 1970s and 1980s. Known for his sentimental ballads and polished showmanship, Manilow built a career that bridged pop, adult contemporary, and Broadway, earning a reputation as both a consummate entertainer and a master craftsman of catchy, emotionally resonant songs.

Manilow studied at the Juilliard School and the New York College of Music before working in television and commercial jingles, writing memorable ad tunes like "Stuck on Band-Aid" and "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There." His big break came in the early 1970s when he became Bette Midler's pianist, arranger, and musical director, helping her develop "The Divine Miss M" persona and producing her debut album. That partnership led to his own record deal, and his 1974 single "Mandy" became his first No. 1 hit, setting off a streak of success that included "Looks Like We Made It," "Can't Smile Without You," "Could It Be Magic," and "Copacabana (At the Copa)."

Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Manilow dominated adult contemporary radio and sold out arenas around the world. He released multiple platinum albums, including "Tryin' to Get the Feeling," "Even Now," and "One Voice." In addition to his pop career, he composed music for film and stage, including the musical "Harmony," and recorded tribute albums celebrating the Great American Songbook.

Despite shifting musical trends, Manilow has remained a beloved live performer with a fiercely loyal fan base. He has sold more than 85 million records worldwide, earned a Grammy, two Emmys, and a Tony Award, and established himself as one of the defining voices of American popular music.

Commercial Jingles

In the early 1960s, before achieving fame as a recording artist, Barry Manilow supported himself by writing and performing commercial jingles for major brands. At the time, he was a struggling musician living in New York City, grateful for any opportunity that allowed him to stay close to music. These advertising gigs paid modestly—typically one-time buyouts with no residuals or royalties—but they became a crucial training ground for his later pop success. As Manilow explained in an interview:

"You don't get residuals if you write it, so they just buy you out. At that point, $500 meant a lot of money — I was grateful to have it."

For instance, Manilow was paid a flat fee of just $500 to compose the now-iconic State Farm jingle "Like a Good Neighbor." Reflecting on the deal in a 2012 interview, he noted with wry amusement that the singer who performed the line "is on her third Rolls-Royce now," since, unlike him, she continues to collect performance royalties each time the jingle airs. The anecdote perfectly illustrates the irony of early advertising work: despite writing one of the most recognizable pieces of commercial music in history, Manilow earned only a modest one-time payment, while others have continued to profit from its enduring ubiquity.

Below is a list of commercial jingles penned by Barry Manilow:

• State Farm: "Like a Good Neighbor"
• Band-Aid: "Stuck on Band-Aid"
• KFC: "Grab a Bucket of Chicken"
• Pepsi: "Feelin' Free"
• McDonald's: "You Deserve a Break Today"

And while he may not have made a lot of money off the jingle, Barry would later credit this work as teaching him everything he would eventually need to know about creating pop songs:

"It was the best music college I could ever imagine."

Early Life

Barry Alan Pincus was born on June 17, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, into a family with both Jewish and Catholic roots. Raised by his mother and grandparents in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, he showed early musical talent and a fascination with the stage. After graduating from Eastern District High School in 1961, Manilow attended the City College of New York before transferring to the New York College of Music. To pay tuition, he took a part-time job in the CBS mailroom, a stroke of luck that would prove pivotal to his future career.

While working at CBS, he enrolled in night classes at the Juilliard School, where he studied musical theater and orchestration. His formal training in harmony and composition, combined with his practical exposure to television production at CBS, gave him a rare mix of classical discipline and pop accessibility—a blend that would define his career.

Career

Manilow's professional career began in 1964 when he met CBS director Bro Herrod, who asked him to arrange songs for an original musical. Instead of assembling preexisting material, Manilow composed an entirely new score. The production, titled "The Drunkard," became a surprise success, running for eight years off-Broadway and marking his first major professional credit. Around the same time, his growing reputation as a versatile composer and arranger led to steady work writing jingles for major brands, as well as singing on many of them himself.

By the late 1960s, Tony Orlando, then a Columbia/CBS executive, offered Manilow his first record deal. Though his early albums didn't chart, his career took a dramatic turn when he became Bette Midler's pianist and musical director. He produced and arranged her early albums, including the Grammy-winning "The Divine Miss M," helping Midler rise from New York club performer to international star. The collaboration earned Manilow his first Grammy nomination in 1973 and set the stage for his solo breakthrough.

In 1974, he released his self-titled debut, followed by "Barry Manilow II," which included his first No. 1 hit, "Mandy." The song's success launched a decade-long string of chart-toppers, including "Looks Like We Made It," "Can't Smile Without You," "Weekend in New England," and "Copacabana (At the Copa)." Ironically, despite being an accomplished songwriter, many of his biggest hits—such as "I Write the Songs"—were written by others.

Through the late 1970s and 1980s, Manilow became one of the most commercially successful entertainers in the world. His concerts sold out arenas, including a record-setting 10-night run in 1984 that grossed more than $2 million. He expanded into television and film with the Emmy-winning special "The Barry Manilow Special" and the 1985 TV movie "Copacabana." In later decades, he released tributes to the Great American Songbook, recorded Broadway-inspired projects, and remained a fixture in Las Vegas residencies.

Manilow has sold more than 85 million records worldwide and earned Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Awards, along with a special Clio Award recognizing his work in advertising. Through it all, he has maintained the meticulous craftsmanship and theatrical flair that turned him from a commercial jingle writer into one of the most enduring icons of American popular music.

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Lawsuits

In 1994, Barry filed a lawsuit against a Los Angeles radio station, claiming that one of their advertisements was destroying his reputation. The ad boasted that their radio station was better than the others since it did not play music by Barry Manilow. Eventually, the radio station agreed to drop the ad.

In 1997, Manilow settled another legal matter by donating $5,000 to the American Tinnitus Association. Judge Philip Espinosa sued the singer because he claimed that one of his concerts was too loud. Espinosa claimed that the music had caused "constant ringing" in his ears.

Fighting Crime

In 2006, Barry Manilow indirectly helped fight crime in Australia. Officials learned that the best way to stop gangs from congregating on the streets was to blast Manilow's music as loud as possible from 9 PM till midnight every night during the weekends.

Relationships

Barry Manilow has had relationships with both men and women in the past. His first love was his high school sweetheart, Susan Deixler, whom he married in 1964. Although Manilow has always stated that he genuinely loved Deixler, he left her after one year in order to focus fully on his musical career. Manilow would later become romantically involved with men, although he has stated that his attraction to Susan was genuine and that he didn't end the marriage because of his homosexual feelings.

In 1978, Barry started dating a TV executive named Garry Kief. This relationship continued until 2014, when the pair were finally able to marry because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in California. He had previously kept his relationship with Kief secret, as he was worried that his sexual orientation would upset fans – especially his large female audience.

Real Estate

In 1994, Barry Manilow listed his Bel-Air residence for $2.71 million. The property was built 25 years prior and features 5,000 square feet of living space. The home sits on two acres of land and also boasts a guest house, recording studio, and theater room.

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