Keith Richards: Net Worth, Sobriety, Health & Mick Jagger

There aren’t many rock stars who’ve fallen out of a palm tree, undergone brain surgery, and still headlined stadiums in their 80s. Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones’ founding guitarist and chief architect of rock’s most famous riff, has spent six decades defying expectations — and medical logic.

Age: 81 (born 18 December 1943) ·
Years active: 1962–present ·
Children: 5 ·
Studio albums (Rolling Stones): 30 ·
Solo albums: 3

The table below compiles essential biographical details about Keith Richards, from his full name to the labels that released his music.

Who is richer, Mick Jagger or Keith Richards?

Net worth comparison: Keith Richards vs Mick Jagger

• Estimates from The Telegraph (UK broadsheet) put Richards’ net worth at at least £400 million, partly thanks to his songwriting royalties on classics like “Satisfaction.”
• By contrast, Jagger’s wealth — estimated in the same range — comes more heavily from touring revenue and brand endorsements, according to multiple financial profiles.
• Because the Stones’ songwriting credits are split primarily between Jagger and Richards, the pair’s publishing income has been roughly equal for decades, but Richards’ share of the most-streamed catalogue tracks gives him a slight edge in recurring royalty income.

Ranking of Rolling Stones members by wealth

• Richards and Jagger sit at the top, with former bassist Bill Wyman and guitarist Ronnie Wood trailing significantly.
• The late Charlie Watts, who died in 2021, held an estimated £200 million estate from his decades as the band’s drummer, per industry estimates.
• Original guitarist Brian Jones, who died in 1969, left a much smaller estate after his sacking from the band months before his death.

The pattern: songwriting credits for the band’s most-perpetual hits — “Satisfaction,” “Paint It Black,” “Sympathy for the Devil” — are the real wealth engine, and both Richards and Jagger share them. The trade-off: a single stream of one song yields fractions of a penny, but multiplied across billions of plays over six decades, it creates generational wealth.

What happened to Keith Richards?

Early life and formation of the Rolling Stones

• Richards met Mick Jagger in 1961 at a train station in Dartford, Kent, according to his autobiography. They reconnected over a shared love of blues records — particularly those by Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry.
• Along with Brian Jones, they formed the Rolling Stones in 1962, naming themselves after a Muddy Waters song.
• Richards’ guitar partnership with Jagger’s frontman energy created a songwriting dynamic that would produce 30 studio albums and dozens of global hits.

Substance abuse and notorious incidents

• Richards developed a heavy heroin addiction in the 1970s, culminating in a 1977 arrest in Toronto for heroin possession — a turning point that threatened his career and freedom.
• He also faced legal troubles for drug possession in the UK, including a 1967 raid on his Redlands estate that resulted in a prison sentence (later overturned on appeal).
• His public persona — “rock’s greatest survivor” — was cemented by stories of staggering excess.

Health scares and personal tragedies

• In 2006, Richards fell out of a palm tree in Fiji, fracturing his skull. He later underwent brain surgery in 2007 to relieve a subdural hematoma — a life-threatening condition that required doctors to drain fluid from his brain.
• He also suffered a fractured skull after falling from a horse in 1998.
• Despite these incidents, Richards has maintained a grueling touring schedule, including the Stones’ 2024-2025 “Stones Tour 2024” in support of the album Hackney Diamonds.

What this means: Each health scare Richards has survived could have ended his career — or his life. That he continues to perform not merely as a nostalgia act but as a working musician in his 80s marks a defiance of rock-star mortality that few have matched.

“We’re two brothers who fight. But we’re still brothers.”

— Keith Richards on his relationship with Mick Jagger, from his autobiography ‘Life’ (2010)

When did Keith Richards get sober?

Sobriety timeline: heroin and alcohol

• Richards quit heroin in 1978, following his Toronto arrest in 1977 — a legal ultimatum that pushed him into treatment. Men’s Health (the men’s lifestyle magazine) reported that he initially used methadone as a bridge before quitting entirely.
• He gave up alcohol in the early 1990s, though the exact year remains fuzzy. In a 2018 interview with Men’s Health, Richards said, “I pulled the plug on it. It was time to quit.”
• He still allows himself “a glass of wine occasionally, and a beer,” as he told Men’s Health, suggesting a moderated approach rather than total abstinence.

Method of quitting and maintenance

• Richards has been open about using methadone to wean off heroin, a medically supervised method that he later described as effective but difficult.
• For alcohol, he simply stopped — without formal rehab or programs — citing his own decision to be done with the lifestyle.
• He continues to use cannabis and cigarettes, which he has never claimed to have given up.

The implication: Richards’ sobriety story is less a clean break than a negotiated truce with his habits. He stopped the two substances that nearly killed him (heroin and heavy alcohol) but kept others (cannabis, occasional wine, cigarettes). For fans who idolize rock excess, his path suggests that survival isn’t about total purity — it’s about eliminating the specific threats that could end you.

“I pulled the plug on it. It was time to quit.”

— Keith Richards, from a 2018 interview with Men’s Health

What is Keith Richards doing now?

Recent Rolling Stones tours and performances

• Richards continues to tour with the Rolling Stones. The band’s 2024 “Stones Tour 2024” — in support of their 2023 album Hackney Diamonds, their first album of original material since 2005 — has been a commercial success, with sold-out stadium shows across North America and Europe.
• The 2025 leg of the tour is expected to include additional dates in major markets.

Solo projects and other collaborations

• Richards released his third solo studio album, Crosseyed Heart, in 2015. The album debuted at No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart and was praised for its rootsy, blues-inflected sound.
• He also contributed to his side project, the X-Pensive Winos, though the band has been inactive since the 1990s.
• Richards has appeared as a guest musician on albums by artists ranging from Buddy Guy to Aretha Franklin.

Acting roles and media appearances

• Richards gained a new generation of fans by playing Captain Teague, father to Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow, in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series (2007-2017).
• He published his autobiography Life in 2010, which became a New York Times bestseller and was praised for its candid, unvarnished prose.
• He’s active on Instagram (@officialkeef), where he posts tour updates, guitar photos, and occasional personal reflections.

The catch: Richards in his 80s is more visible and creatively active than most artists half his age. He’s not merely coasting on legacy — he’s releasing new music, starring in films, and managing a social media presence that connects him to fans young enough to be his grandchildren.

Are Mick Jagger and Keith Richards still friends?

History of friendship and creative partnership

• Richards and Jagger met as teenagers in Dartford and bonded over blues records, forming a creative partnership that has now spanned 63 years.
• Their songwriting dynamic — Jagger writing lyrics, Richards crafting riffs and arrangements — produced rock’s most durable catalogue, from “Satisfaction” to “Start Me Up.”
• They have openly acknowledged that their relationship is more like family than friendship — with all the friction that implies.

Public feuds and reconciliations

• The most notable rift occurred in the 1980s, when Richards briefly left the Stones after Jagger pursued solo projects and a solo tour. Richards described the period as “a divorce” in his memoir.
• In 2014, Jagger told Far Out Magazine that he and Richards are “not friends” but “colleagues,” a statement that made headlines worldwide.
• Richards responded by saying the two have resolved their differences and continue to work together because “the music is what matters.”
• Most observers note that their public contradictions — comparing each other to brothers, then distancing — are part of a dynamic that has fueled the Stones’ creative tension for decades.

The pattern: Richards and Jagger’s relationship is less a friendship in the conventional sense than a half-century-long creative marriage. They’ve had public feuds, private reconciliations, and periods of deep resentment. Yet they keep making music together because, as Richards himself said, neither one has found a better creative partner.

“We are not friends. We are colleagues.”

— Mick Jagger on his relationship with Keith Richards, Far Out Magazine (2014)

Timeline signal

• 18 December 1943: Keith Richards born in Dartford, England
• 1962: Co-founded the Rolling Stones with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones (Wikipedia)
• 1965: Wrote the riff for ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’
• 1977: Arrested in Toronto for heroin possession — a turning point that led to sobriety
• 1978: Gave up heroin after the Toronto arrest; released solo debut ‘Talk Is Cheap’ 10 years later
• 1983: Married model Patti Hansen
• 1986: Briefly left the Rolling Stones after feud with Jagger
• 1990s: Gave up alcohol, though exact year is not publicly confirmed
• 2006: Fell from a palm tree in Fiji, suffered a head injury
• 2007: Underwent brain surgery to relieve a subdural hematoma
• 2010: Published autobiography ‘Life’
• 2015: Released third solo album ‘Crosseyed Heart’
• 2024-2025: Continued touring with the Rolling Stones, including the ‘Stones Tour 2024’

What this means: Richards’ timeline is a study in extremes — early creative triumph (1960s), legal and addiction crisis (1970s), estrangement and reunion (1980s), physical near-death events (2000s), and improbable late-career productivity (2010s onward).

For a detailed breakdown of his finances, see Keith Richards net worth.

Frequently asked questions

For music fans who’ve watched the Rolling Stones evolve from 1960s blues-rock rebels to a stadium-filling institution, Keith Richards stands as one of rock’s most improbable survivors. The man who wrote the riff for “Satisfaction” at 21 and nearly died from heroin at 34 is now — at 81 — still on stage, still touring, and still creating. Richards’ journey from excess to endurance, and from feuding with his creative partner to performing alongside him, offers a rare lesson: the relationships and habits that nearly destroy you can also be the ones that sustain you. For anyone following his story, the implication is clear: true longevity in rock isn’t about avoiding risk — it’s about surviving the risks that matter enough to keep playing.