Benny Anderson net worth
What is Benny Anderson’s Net Worth?
Benny Andersson is a Swedish musician and composer who has a net worth of $230 million. Anderson is best known for his work with ABBA, a popular Swedish music group that achieved widespread commercial success in the mid-70s and early 80s. In addition to his work at ABBA, he has collaborated extensively on several projects with ABBA member Bjorn Ulvaeus. These include musicals like “Chess” and films like “Mamma Mia!” In 2001, he founded his own band, Benny Anderssons Orkester.
early life
Göran Bror Benny Andersson was born on December 16, 1946 in Stockholm, Sweden. Although his father was a civil engineer, he also played the accordion. A tradition inherited from Anderson’s grandfather. At the age of six, Benny acquired her own accordion and was taught how to play Swedish folk music, traditional music and schlager. Initially, Anderson was influenced by Elvis because one of the first records he bought was “Prison Rock”. By the age of 10, Benny had acquired a piano and quickly taught himself to play. By the age of 15, he left school to focus on his music career.
In these early days, he played mainly in youth clubs. At this time, he met his first girlfriend, Christina Grenvall. When Benny was 16, he and Christina welcomed their first child. Two years later, they had their second child. By the time Benny was 18, he had joined his first major band, The Electricity Board Folk Music Group.
Profession
Anderson first began to experience true musical success after joining Hep Stars in 1964. He played keyboards for the band, who scored their first hit in 1965 with “Cadillac.” Over the next few years, Hep Stars became one of Sweden’s most popular pop groups. Anderson became a teen icon, and he soon began writing his own hits. These include “No Response,” “Sunshine Girl,” “Wedding,” and “Consolation.”
Benny first met Björn Ulvaeus in 1966, when the two began writing songs together and performing for their respective bands at the same time. They found they worked well together, and these initial songwriting sessions resulted in many famous songs. It was during this time that Benny met Anne-Fried Rinstad. Anderson began dating Rinstad in 1966 after separating from his fiancée, Christina.
Over the next few years, the two continued to create music together, even though both artists were in separate bands. Eventually, both Andersson and Ulvaeus got married and began involving their wives in the music-making process. This led to the establishment of ABBA in 1972. They had a breakthrough at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, singing “Waterloo”. They then followed up with the hit “Honey, Darling.”
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By 1976, they were international stars with hits like “Fernando.” That year, they released their fourth studio album, Arrival, which included hits like “Knowing Me, Knowing You” and “Dancing Queen.” Ultimately, this level of success had a serious impact on the personal lives of Ulvaeus and Andersson, and their marriage broke down, which led to an indefinite hiatus for ABBA in the 1980s. However, the two artists continued to collaborate on various projects including musicals. Anderson then reunited with ABBA in 2018.
After ABBA’s hiatus in the ’80s, Andersson and Ulvaeus continued their songwriting collaboration. First, they created the stage musical “Chess” with Tim Rice. The musical’s concept album has sold 2 million copies worldwide. The play took place in London’s West End in the 1980s. Then it went to Broadway, where it received negative reviews. Also in the mid-’80s, Andersson began collaborating with his siblings on new songs, such as “Mio My Mio.” It’s a song from the movie “Mio of a Far Land”, with Anderson serving as music co-producer.
In 1987, Benny released his first solo album “Klinga Mina Klockor”. He composed and performed all the music, playing the accordion and accompanied by a violinist. He then released a similar album in 1989. In 1990, Anderson topped the Swedish charts with “Lassie”. During this time, he went on to write several musicals, including a Swedish-language play called Kristina fran Duvemala. The play premiered in Sweden in 1995 and ran for nearly five years. The English version later ran for two nights in New York City.
Anderson and Ulvaus then collaborated on another musical called “Mamma Mia!” which proved to be their most successful venture after ABBA. Featuring 24 of ABBA’s songs, the musical became a global phenomenon, spawning various sequels. A film version was later created, which became the most successful film musical of all time.
Since 2001, Benny has focused primarily on Benny Andersson Orkester. The group features traditional Swedish music and has released five albums in Sweden. Some of the band’s material was written by Ulvaeus. Outside of the music industry, Benny is known for his work in the film industry. He has composed music for films and TV series such as “Song on the Second Floor,” “You Are Alive,” and the 2012 documentary “Palm.”
Substance Abuse Problems
Anderson struggled with alcoholism for most of his career and life. In 2001, he started abstinence, but it wasn’t until later in 2011 that he fully disclosed the extent of his alcoholism.
