Editor’s note: The original March 2023 version of this article was lost. The Lee Daily Register rebuilt it in October 2026 from the sources cited below. The original version put Kenny G’s net worth at $100 million and said his album “Duotone” had sold more than 75 million copies. We found no credible outlet that has published a net worth figure for him, and the 75 million figure describes his total album sales, not one record. The RIAA lists “Duotones” at five times platinum. The original also said he invested $10,000 in Starbucks in 1998; we found no support for that, and he has described investing much earlier.
How much is Kenny G worth? There is no reliable public answer. We found no net worth estimate for the saxophonist from Forbes, Bloomberg or any other outlet that reports on personal fortunes, and he has not disclosed one himself.
What is on record is his sales history, and an early bet on a Seattle coffee company.
From a Seattle high school to Arista
Born Kenny Gorelick, he grew up in Seattle and studied accounting at the University of Washington between music jobs, AARP reported in 2021. At 17, he played with Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra, and he later played in the Jeff Lorber Fusion before starting a solo career in the early 1980s, according to Seattle public radio station KUOW.
Clive Davis signed him to Arista Records, TheWrap noted, and the RIAA lists Arista as the label on the albums below. In a conversation KUOW published in 2014, he said he still played the soprano saxophone he bought after placing a newspaper ad as a 17-year-old at Franklin High School, and that he practiced three hours a day.
The certifications
AARP reported that he has sold 75 million albums around the world. In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America’s database lists these album certifications, among others:
- “Breathless” (1992): 12-times platinum, certified in June 1998; AARP describes it as a Diamond award honoree
- “Miracles: The Holiday Album”: eight-times platinum
- “Duotones”: five-times platinum
- “Silhouette,” “The Moment” and “Kenny G Live”: four-times platinum each
- “Faith: A Holiday Album” and “Greatest Hits”: three-times platinum each
AARP and KUOW have both described “Breathless” as the best-selling instrumental album of all time, and KUOW called “Miracles” the best-selling Christmas album. Those are the outlets’ descriptions; we did not verify them against sales data. The RIAA also lists the singles “Forever in Love” and “Songbird” as gold, certified in October 2021 and March 2022.
“Forever in Love” won him the 1994 Grammy Award for best instrumental composition.
An early Starbucks investor
Kenny G told CNBC in 2017 that his uncle introduced him to Howard Schultz in the 1980s and that Schultz persuaded him to invest when Starbucks was still a Seattle coffee shop. He said he felt lucky to have made that choice and that he had also done well with other stocks, including United Airlines, CNBC reported. The reports we read do not say how much he invested or what the stake is worth.
In a February 2015 report, NBC described him as one of the company’s early investors. It said a Starbucks representative confirmed to “Today” that his feedback to Schultz in the early 1990s helped inspire the Frappuccino, which debuted in 1995, NBC News reported.
Pilot, golfer, and still recording
Outside music, he is a skilled pilot and golfer, AARP noted. He played on Kanye West’s Grammy-winning 2019 album “Jesus Is King,” and in late 2021 he released “New Standards,” his first album in six years, alongside the HBO documentary “Listening to Kenny G.” AARP described the film as exploring why he is both one of the most successful and one of the most reviled musicians among critics. TheWrap’s review of the film, directed by Penny Lane, said many people, particularly in the jazz community, hold a negative view of his music.
