Richard Theodore Otcasek, better known by his stage name Ric Ocasek, was a musician, record producer, vocalist, and composer from the United States. He gained fame when he started the rock group “The Cars” in the latter decades of the 20th century.
A co-lead vocalist, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist were all members of the group. He has received numerous honors over the course of his career, which spans more than five decades, with his most recent being his admission into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Cars.
An Overview Of Ric Ocasek’s Background
Along with producing music for bands like No Doubt, Suicide, Weezer, Nada Surf, Bad Brains, and Guided by Voices, Ric Ocasek also achieved fame. He was born in New York City, New York, on March 23, 1944, but grew up in Baltimore, Maryland.
His family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio when he was a teenager, where his dad joined NASA and worked as a systems analyst at the Lewis Research Center.
After graduating from Maple Heights High School in 1963, he enrolled at Bowling Green State University and Antioch College.
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What Is the Networth of Ric Ocasek’s
Ric Ocasek’s net worth was $40 million at the time of his passing in 2019. He was an American music producer and musician. Together, he and his wife of thirty years, supermodel Paulina Porizkova, have a combined net worth of that amount.
| Net Worth: | $40 Million |
| Date of Birth: | Mar 23, 1944 – Sep 15, 2019 (75 years old) |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.93 m) |
| Profession: | Record producer, Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter, Musician, Actor, Film Score Composer, Film Producer |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
It should be emphasized, however, that Ric’s will, which was discovered after his passing, indicated that he had not intended for Paulina to receive any share of his personal property apart from the marriage. His will said that among other liquid assets on hand, there was at least $5 million worth of copyrighted intellectual property. To preserve the seclusion of his family, the vast majority of his considerable fortune was kept in trusts.
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An Overview of Ric Ocasek’s Career
He eventually left both because he wanted to focus on his singing career. He met Benjamin Orr, who would go on to play bass for the Cars, in Cleveland in 1965. By 1968, they were simultaneously booking bands and giving performances at numerous locations, including the Ohio State University. Before moving to Boston, the two played in a number of bands in Michigan and Columbus during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
After he and Benjamin Orr founded the Cars in the 1970s, the singer, songwriter, and record producer amassed wealth. After meeting Eliot Easton, Greg Hawkes, and David Robinson, the band was formally founded in 1976. At the Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire, they performed their debut concert together. They published their debut single, “Just What I Needed,” the next year, and soon after that, Elektra Records offered them a record deal.
They released their first studio album under their own name in June 1978, and it was a great hit. Not only did the debut album make it onto the charts in four separate nations, but it also earned several platinum certifications in both Canada and the US.
Roc Ocasek also rose to fame as a record producer by the 1980s, which helped him amass more than $500,000, according to estimates. His early production contributions included “Do the Collapse” by Guided by Voices and “Rock for Light” by Bad Brains.
Bebe Buell, Nada Surf, Weezer, Suicide, Bad Religion, D Generation, Martin Rev, Jonathan Richman, and the Pink Spiders are just a few of the artists he has produced. His net worth had already surpassed an estimated $1 million by the closing years of the 20th century, and he had established himself as a rock and roll sensation.
Ric Ocasek’s connection to Cars contributed to his success. He made significant contributions to the success of the group throughout his stay with them as a rhythm guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and writer.
Six gold and platinum-certified albums that the trio recorded between 1978 and 1988 enjoyed great success not only in the US but also in other nations including Australia, New Zealand, and Norway, to name a few.
Ric Ocasek started releasing his own solo projects at the same time as he was working on music projects for other musicians and bands in addition to the Cars. He released his first studio solo album in 1982. The “Beatitude” album debuted at number 28 on the US Billboard 200 and was both critically and commercially successful. He recorded six more studio albums over the ensuing decades, with “Yesterday” from 2005 serving as the last.
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Personal Life
In his entire life, Ric Ocasek was married three times; the second time, he was married to Suzanne Ocasek, and the two of them divorced in 1984. Ric Ocasek met Paulina Porizkova, an 18-year-old model, in 1984 while he was filming a music video for The Cars.
Following their 1989 nuptials, Paulina signed an endorsement agreement with Estée Lauder, which earned her $6 million year through 1995. She made $42 million from a single transaction (without taxes). At the current exchange rate, the amount is around ($80 million). Although they had been “peacefully separated” since May 2018, they were nonetheless legally married until Ric’s passing in 2019.
Death
On September 15, 2019, Ocasek’s wife Paulina Porizkova discovered him dead at their condo in New York City. At the time, he was still healing from surgery.
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Summing-Up
One of the most well-known and adored singers to come out of the 1980s is Ric Ocasek. He conquered the globe with his love of music shortly after starting out in the music industry as a member of the Cars. He continued to establish himself and succeed in the music industry even after the band split up, in the 1990s and 2000s.
He has produced numerous chart-topping successes for both himself and other musicians, and he has seven solo studio albums to his name. To demonstrate how prosperous this singer and record producer was, his estimated net worth was more than $40 million prior to his passing in September 2019.