As of 2025, Tommy Lee is worth an astonishing $70 million. Keep in mind that we’re talking about the drummer and musician Tommy Lee, not Tommy Lee Jones, who’s well known for his role as K in the Men in Black Trilogy.
The drummer has made a fortune in 60 years that many people couldn’t make in multiple lifetimes. In this guide, we’ll show you his success road and how it all started.
Tommy Lee’s Early Life
Tommy Lee was born Thomas Lee Bass in Athens, Greece, on October 3, 1962, which makes him 62 years old at the time of writing. His mother, Vassiliki “Voula” Papadimitriou, was Miss Greece in 1957, and his father, David Lee Thomas Bass, was a Welsh army sergeant.
His family moved to California when he was just two years old, and his love for drumming immediately ignited. He received his first drumsticks at the age of four, and his first drum kit as a teenager.
Tommy Lee held drumsticks
Image source: Google
Education-wise, he attended the Royal Oak High School, where he met the living legend Vince Neil and was part of the marching band. However, he chose not to continue his education to focus on his musical career, a risky move that was extremely lucrative.
After all, when you’re a metalhead just at the age of four, it won’t take long for the likes of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Cheap Trick to make you think about nothing but music.
However, Tommy’s primary influence in drumming came from Alex Van Halen, Tommy Aldridge, and Terry Bozzio.
Tommy Lee’s Early Career
Tommy Lee’s actual career began in the late 1970s, playing in a local Los Angeles club band called Suite 19. He stayed there for a few years, but his actual big break came in 1981 when he co-founded the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe with Nikki Sixx.
It didn’t take long for the band to start gaining attraction, especially with the infectious energy that Lee put into his drumming. Currently, he’s well-known for hitting those double bass drums as if it were his last performance, but apparently, he was like that from day one.
With the band, Lee achieved massive commercial success throughout the 1980s. The band released several platinum-selling albums, including but not limited to:
- Shout at the Devil (1983)
- Theatre of Pain (1985)
- Dr. Feelgood (1989) – which was particularly special because it featured Lee’s powerful drumming on hit songs like “Kickstart My Heart” and “Dr. Feelgood.”
Buckle up, we’re just getting started here.
Tommy Lee’s Late Career
While still a member of Mötley Crüe, Lee began to explore other musical avenues in the late 1990s and beyond. He formed the rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, releasing a self-titled album in 1999.
This was one bold move from him as a musician. For one, he was dividing his efforts among two bands. Two, and most importantly, he blended heavy metal with hip-hop and electronic music, another risky decision that worked out well for him.
In the 2000s, Lee continued to release solo music while experimenting with various genres and collaborating with different artists. It worked out once with Methods of Mayhem, there was no reason not to try it again.
‘Tommy Lee Goes to College’
Image source: Google
He also appeared in reality TV shows, such as “Tommy Lee Goes to College” (2004), and pursued some acting roles in film and television. This, in addition to his music, pumped up his income even more.
Still, despite pursuing other projects, Lee remained committed to Mötley Crüe. If anything, he’s still with the band to this day, that’s around 44 years of work with the same band. Nothing short of impressive.
The band continued to tour and release new music in the 2000s and 2010s, with Lee’s drumming to Mötley Crüe being as vital as Chester Bennington to Linken Park. Fortunately, unlike the late Chester, we are still seeing some work from Tommy Lee.
The Farewell Tour (2014-2015)
In 2014, Mötley Crüe announced “The Final Tour,” a massive farewell tour intended to be their last. They even famously signed a “cessation of touring agreement,” a legally binding document stating they would no longer tour as Mötley Crüe after the tour’s conclusion.
Mötley Crüe announced ”The Final Tour”
Image source: Google
This added a significant amount of weight to the “finality” of the tour, which spanned North America, and international dates, and culminated with a final performance on New Year’s Eve 2015 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, their hometown.
This particular event was intensely promoted and filmed. It was the end of an era, after all, or at least that’s what we thought.
The Reunion (2018-Present)
Despite the signed agreement and the emotional farewell, rumors of a reunion began to circulate a few years later.
These rumors were fueled in part by the massive success of the band’s biopic, The Dirt, released on Netflix in 2019. The film introduced Mötley Crüe’s music to a new generation and reignited interest in the band among older fans.
In 2018, the band members began hinting at a possible return. The official announcement came later, much to the excitement (and some skepticism) of fans.
The band cited the renewed interest following The Dirt and the feeling that they still had more to offer as reasons for their change of heart.
They also mentioned that they missed playing together. The “cessation of touring agreement” was reportedly nullified, although details of how this was accomplished were not widely publicized.
While the reunion was initially planned for 2020, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, in 2022, Mötley Crüe started “The Stadium Tour” alongside Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.
The tour was a massive success, playing to sold-out stadiums across North America and beyond. The band has continued to tour since then.
Tommy Lee with his wife Brittany Furlan
Image source: Google
Final Words
We know that we didn’t do Tommy Lee justice, but we tried to highlight his work the best he could. The work he has done in over four decades of music will remain for generations to witness.
Fortunately, his reward of over $70,000,000 should be enough to pay him back for his work. He earned it.
Featured image source: Google
