Okay, so I got curious about John Phillips’ net worth – you know, the guy from The Mamas & the Papas. It’s kinda hard to pin down an exact number, especially with older musicians. Here’s how I went about trying to figure it out, my own way.
Digging Through the Obvious Stuff
First, I just did some basic searching, you know. I mean, that’s where everyone starts, right? There were a bunch of those “celebrity net worth” sites, but honestly, they all seemed to have different numbers. Some were pretty low, some were surprisingly high. It felt pretty unreliable, just random guesses.
Looking at the Music
Then I thought, okay, let’s think about the music itself. The Mamas & the Papas were HUGE. I mean, “California Dreamin’,” “Monday, Monday”… those songs are classics! I know they sold a ton of records back in the day, but figuring out how much money he actually got from that is tricky. Royalties are complicated, and things were probably way different back then.
Considering Other Income
He also wrote songs for other people, like “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” for Scott McKenzie. That’s gotta be worth something, right? Songwriting royalties can be a big deal, especially for a hit like that. But again, it’s tough to put a dollar amount on it without all the inside info.
The Later Years
I know he had some rough patches later in life, with substance abuse issues and stuff. That kind of thing can really drain your resources. I saw some mentions of him doing reunion tours and things like that, so he probably was still earning, but maybe not as much as in the peak years.
My Conclusion (It’s Not Perfect!)
Honestly, I couldn’t find a solid, definitive answer. All those websites with numbers? I don’t really trust them. My gut feeling, after looking at all of this, is that he was probably pretty well-off, especially during the band’s heyday. But because of the ups and downs in his life, it’s hard to say exactly how well-off he was when he passed away. It’s more like an educated guess based on his career and what I know about the music business, you know?
I wish I could have found a real, concrete number,I just could’t.
