With nearly half a century as a pivotal member of the Rolling Stones, Ronnie Wood stands as an icon in the pantheon of rock legends, enjoying a life of international acclaim and affluence.

The band’s immense success, amassing billions, has cemented Wood’s image as part of rock royalty. Yet, a recent courtroom disclosure by his son, Jesse Wood, has cast an unexpected shadow over this glittering narrative.

Just last month, Jesse, a 49-year-old guitarist and former model, appeared before a West London magistrate. His testimony painted a stark contrast to his father’s opulent lifestyle.

Facing charges related to a minor driving infraction, Jesse revealed his current financial struggles. He admitted to being out of work and surviving on approximately £1,000 each month, with an annual income hovering around £14,000, relying heavily on his savings to get by.

Unemployed and pleading guilty to a minor driving offence, he outlined a financial reality utterly at odds with his father’s iconic status. 

Jesse told the court he was living on just £1,000 a month, with an annual income of around £14,000 and said he was surviving on his savings.

Why Ronnie Wood’s children aren’t Rolling in Cash: The truth behind the Stones’ money myth as guitarist’s son Jesse reveals he’s living on barely £1,000 a month (pictured in 2011) 

When Ronnie Wood joined the Stones in 1975, he entered a band that had already written its most iconic, royalty-generating hits (Ronnie and Mick pictured in 1979) 

Despite being the son of a Rolling Stone, a man with an estimated net worth of £150 million, Jesse is scraping by on a modest income and pleading for leniency over a £957 court bill. 

Yet this is because there is a fundamental misunderstanding of the Rolling Stones’ fortune, a lifetime of turbulent personal finances, and a family philosophy where the Wood children have always been expected to stand on their own two feet.

A music industry source with knowledge of the band’s finances told The Daily Mail: ‘People see the stadiums and assume it’s one big pot of money for everyone. It never has been.

‘Mick [Jagger] and Keith [Richards] operate in a different financial stratosphere. Ronnie’s world has always been more complicated, and that has trickled down.’

The core of this disparity is publishing. When Ronnie Wood joined the Stones in 1975, he entered a band that had already written its most iconic, royalty-generating hits. 

The multi-million-pound annual revenue from classics like Satisfaction and Jumpin’ Jack Flash flows primarily to songwriters Mick and Keith.  

Meanwhile, Ronnie’s wealth, while substantial, is built on touring shares, performance fees, and later work – a lucrative but less perpetual income stream.

‘He gets paid handsomely to be a Rolling Stone, but he doesn’t own the jukebox,’ the source explains. 

The multi-million-pound annual revenue from classics like Satisfaction and Jumpin’ Jack Flash flows primarily to songwriters Mick and Keith (pictured in 1980) 

 Despite being the son of a Rolling Stone, a man with an estimated net worth of £150million, Jesse is scraping by on a modest income and pleading for leniency over a £957 court bill (Jesse pictured as a baby with Ronnie and his then wife Krissy) 

‘That’s the difference between being wealthy and being generationally, unfathomably rich.’

This chasm is starkly visible in the lives of their children. 

Mick Jagger commands a fortune of £440million and Keith Richards one of £430million, wealth that places them at #6 and #7 respectively on lists of the world’s richest rock stars, alongside peers like Sir Elton John and billionaire Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney. 

However, Ronnie’s name is conspicuously absent from such rankings.

His bandmate’s offspring navigate their careers from a position of immense financial security and social capital. 

Jagger’s eight children have built wealth in their own right; his eldest, Karis, is a producer reportedly worth $12million, while supermodel daughter Georgia May Jagger has an estimated $20million fortune. 

Meanwhile Keith has already structured future security, as revealed by a £1.8million trust fund established for his grandchildren alone.

Indeed, Mick himself mused recently that his children ‘don’t need $500million to live well,’ suggesting his wealth might benefit charity. 

Yet the contrast in starting points could not be clearer. There is no public record of a child of Mick or Keith ever outlining a precarious £1,000-a-month existence in a courtroom.

This reality has been underscored by Ronnie’s own, often fraught, relationship with money. 

He has been candid about the chaotic years where cash flowed out as fast as it came in. ‘I was terrible with money,’ he once admitted. ‘I didn’t understand it.’

During the height of his struggles with addiction, his finances became so strained that he was forced to borrow a reported £250,000 from his bandmates.

His first wife, Jo Wood, provided a stark glimpse behind the curtain following their divorce, revealing times where the rock ‘n’ roll fantasy collided with domestic reality.

‘There were times when Ronnie didn’t have the money to pay the children’s school fees,’ Jo Wood confessed in her autobiography (pictured Keith, his wife Patti, Ron, Jo and Mick) 

During the height of his struggles with addiction, his finances became so strained that he was forced to borrow a reported £250,000 from his bandmates (Mick and Ronnie pictured in 2024)

‘There were times when Ronnie didn’t have the money to pay the children’s school fees,’ she revealed in her 2013 autobiography, Hey Jo: The Rolling Stones, Ronnie Wood, and Me. 

‘People assume rock stars are rolling in it, but that wasn’t our experience.’

People close to the guitarist say this history of instability directly shaped his approach to parenthood. 

‘Ronnie has always believed his kids should make their own way,’ a family friend told the Daily Mail. 

‘He’s supportive, but he’s not a blank cheque book. After everything he’s been through, security is his obsession, not splashing out.’

This dynamic was echoed by Jamie Wood, Jo’s son from a previous relationship, who was adopted by Wood. 

Jamie once characterised the rocker as being ‘tight’ with money. He recalled: ‘I’d walk up and ask for some cash and he’d give me a tenner.

‘That’s why I was always hustling from a young age.’

Meanwhile for Jesse, this meant building a career in modelling and music – most notably with the band Woods – and raising his two children with ex-wife, presenter Fearne Cotton, largely independently. 

Jesse built a career in modelling and music – most notably with the band Woods – and has been raising his two children with ex-wife, presenter Fearne Cotton (pictured in 2016) 

Jesse had to build his own a career in modelling and music – most notably with the band Woods as his dad has always believed ‘his kids should make their own way’ 

Meanwhile Ronnie’s £150million figure is anchored in valuable but illiquid assets: a multi-million-pound art collection (he is a prolific painter), property and investments. It is not a cash reserve, certainly not for monthly allowances.

‘His wealth is structural,’ explains a financial advisor familiar with entertainment assets. 

‘It’s in paintings and properties and future tour revenues. That’s not the same as having millions in a bank account to distribute. It requires careful management, especially with a young family.’

Ronnie and his current wife Sally are parents to six-year-old twins, adding a long-term financial responsibility that my sources say has made him even more financially vigilant.

Jesse’s £1,000-a-month reality is not a family scandal, but the logical outcome of a complex financial legacy. 

It is the result of a rock star who arrived after the songwriting gold rush, who weathered personal storms that burned through cash and who emerged with a believer’s faith in self-reliance.

Last month the Daily Mail revealed the true extent of Jesse’s financial woes following his divorce from Fearne Cotton.

He candidly revealed how he was living on barely £1,000 a month and struggling for work since the breakdown of his 10-year marriage.

Company accounts then showed his business deeply in the red and burdened with mounting debts.

Rekognition Sound Limited – of which Jesse is the sole director and shareholder – has just £10,943 in its bank accounts while owing £111,903 to creditors. Of that sum, £37,352 relates to bank loans.

Most recent accounts, covering the 12 months to the end of November 2024, show the company is £101,562 in the red – a sharp increase from £56,211 the previous year.