What Is Bill Berry’s Net Worth?

Bill Berry, an acclaimed American musician, boasts a net worth of $40 million.

Berry gained fame as the drummer for the iconic band R.E.M. His musical journey began in high school when he teamed up with bass player Mike Mills. The duo played in various bands before relocating to Athens, Georgia. There, they crossed paths with Michael Stipe and Peter Buck in 1978, leading to the formation of R.E.M. in 1980. Berry’s contributions to the band went beyond drumming; he also played guitar, bass, keyboards, piano, and mandolin, and lent his voice to backing vocals. His songwriting skills shone through on tracks like “Everybody Hurts” and “Man on the Moon.” R.E.M. released 15 studio albums, selling over 85 million records globally. They achieved two #1 spots on the Billboard 200 chart and saw three albums reach 4x Platinum status, with hits like “The One I Love,” “Orange Crush,” “Stand,” “Losing My Religion,” “Drive,” “Man on the Moon,” “Everybody Hurts,” “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?,” and “The Great Beyond.” Berry departed from R.E.M. in 1997, and the band eventually disbanded in 2011. In 2007, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Post-R.E.M., Berry pursued farming in Georgia but occasionally reunited with the band, making a music industry comeback in 2022.

Early Life

Born William Thomas Berry on July 31, 1958, in Duluth, Minnesota, Bill was the son of Anna and Don Berry. His family moved to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, when he was three, living there for seven years before settling in Sandusky, Ohio, in 1968. Another move came in 1972 to Macon, Georgia, where Berry attended Northeast High School and met Mike Mills. They played in several bands, including Shadowfax, and later lived together in an apartment on Arlington Place. Berry worked at a nearby booking agency. In 1978, they relocated to Athens, Georgia, where they met future R.E.M. members Michael Stipe and Peter Buck. Berry initially pursued a pre-law degree at the University of Georgia but left college before completing it.

Career

Forming R.E.M. in 1980 alongside Stipe, Mills, and Buck, Berry contributed significantly until his departure in 1997. During his tenure, the band released albums such as “Murmur” (1983), “Reckoning” (1984), “Fables of the Reconstruction” (1985), “Lifes Rich Pageant” (1986), “Document” (1987), “Green” (1988), “Out of Time” (1991), “Automatic for the People” (1992), “Monster” (1994), and “New Adventures in Hi-Fi” (1996). Starting with “Out of Time,” many R.E.M. albums topped charts in numerous countries. The band achieved top 10 Billboard 200 hits with singles like “The One I Love,” “Stand,” “Losing My Religion,” and “Shiny Happy People.” Berry’s songwriting prowess was evident in songs like “Man on the Moon,” “Everybody Hurts,” and “I Took Your Name.”

In 1984, Berry played drums for Hindu Love Gods, a band featuring Mills, Buck, Bryan Cook, and Warren Zevon. After his R.E.M. days, Berry embraced farming in Farmington, Georgia. Reflecting on R.E.M.’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2007, Bill expressed his joy at reuniting with his bandmates, saying, “It’s a great chance to get back together and perform with R.E.M., which I always loved doing.” In 2020, he appeared on the “Song Exploder” podcast to discuss “Losing My Religion.” By 2022, Berry had formed a new supergroup, The Bad Ends, with Mike Mantione, Geoff Melkonian, Dave Domizi, and Christian Lopez. The band released the single “All Your Friends Are Dying” in October 2022, followed by the album “The Power and the Glory” in January 2023.

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Personal Life

Bill tied the knot with Mari Lou Burgi on March 22, 1986, and they relocated to Farmington, Georgia, in the early 1990s. During a 2019 interview on the “In Weird Cities” podcast, Berry shared his decision to diversify his investments in 1988: “I wanted to buy land and found this spot. It’s sixty acres, and it’s far enough outside of town that it was cheap. It was, like, $2,000/acre back in ’88. Land’s more like $10–$12,000 now. It was strictly an investment; I was going to sell it later.”

Bill and Mari divorced in 1997, and Berry welcomed a son with Cybele Lange in 2003.

In March 1995, Bill collapsed onstage at the Patinoire Auditorium in Switzerland during an R.E.M. concert due to a ruptured brain aneurysm. He underwent surgery and rejoined the band after his recovery, but he later decided to leave R.E.M. In 1997, Berry told MTV, “I wasn’t specifically thinking about quitting the band, but maybe reassessing my priorities and things I want to do with the rest of my life.” He added, “Maybe not as much travel, for one. Being away from home. I had a lot of time to lay around in a hospital bed and think about things. Maybe I started feeling sorry for myself.”

Awards

R.E.M. received 13 Grammy nominations during Berry’s time with the band, winning three in 1991: Best Alternative Music Album for “Out of Time” and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best Music Video, Short Form for “Losing My Religion.” They earned three Brit Awards for International Group (1992, 1993, and 1995), and in 1991, they won Billboard Music Awards for Top Modern Rock Artist and Top Billboard 200 Album for “Out of Time.” R.E.M. has received numerous MTV Video Music Award nominations, and when Bill was in the band, they won for Best Post-Modern Video for “Orange Crush” (1989); Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Editing for “Losing My Religion” (1991); Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography for “Everybody Hurts” (1994); and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award (1995).