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Wolfgang Van Halen: The Huge Career of Eddie Van Halen’s Son

wolfgang van halen with his father eddie van halen on stage performing
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He’s a guitarist, keyboardist, bassist, songwriter, drummer, and everything in between. Wolfgang Van Halen may have come into the world as the son of one of the greatest guitarists in history, Eddie Van Halen, but he has proven himself a great talent in his own right.

Is Wolfgang Van Halen a great guitarist? What is Wolfgang Van Halen’s net worth? Find out that and more below.

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Net Worth

Wolfgang Van Halen’s net worth is $22 million. He’s taking after his parents for sure.

How Much Does Wolfgang Van Halen Make a Year?

Wolfgang Van Halen may still be young, but he’s doing well for himself. He has an estimated annual salary of more than $2 million. That’s a yearly income to be proud of.

How Did Wolfgang Van Halen Get Rich?

Wolfgang Van Halen’s massive wealth and fortune are primarily attributed to his work performing with various bands, including Van Halen and Tremonti.

His inheritance following his father’s death, Eddie Van Halen, also added to the growth of Wolfgang Van Halen’s net worth.

an up close image of eddie van halen wearing sungalsses
Image from Shutterstock.

Wolfgang Van Halen’s House

Last we knew, Wolfgang Van Halen paid nearly 2.8 million dollars on a modern WeHo house in West Hollywood, California, in October 2013.

Considering nothing more has ever been reported, including the home being put on the market, it seems he’s a celebrity who is content to stay in one place for an extended period of time, which we applaud him for.

How Much Does Wolfgang Van Halen Make Per Show?

While that number is not completely clear, based on research surrounding how much various bands he’s been involved with made per show, the price for Wolfgang Van Halen to appear is steep.

For example, Van Halen, the band he is most popularly attributed to, is said to at one time have made $1.2 million per show.

How Much Are Wolfgang Van Halen Tickets?

Wolfgang Van Halen is most closely attributed to working with his solo rock band Mammoth WVH. It won’t cost fans too much if you want to see him in concert in 2023. On average, a single ticket price is between $75 and $100.

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Early Life and Career

Wolfgang Van Halen heard music from inside the womb, although he has said he didn’t realize his dad was a rock star until he saw pictures of him on album covers. 

Van Halen would start learning drums at age nine from his uncle, Alex Van Halen, eventually learning how to play the bass guitar and keyboards. He has noted that he “figures things out by ear” as a mainly self-taught musician.

He constantly inspired his father, Eddie Van Halen, who collaborated with Peavey to create the Wolfgang series of guitars, even naming a custom guitar after him, the Fender EVH Wolfgang, in 2008.

Wolfgang’s birthday is referred to in “316” on Van Halen’s album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.

He started his professional career in 2004 when he made guest appearances with Van Halen, his main guest appearances being during his father’s extended guitar solo and playing with him on “316.”

His father has described his son’s bass guitar skills as a “rhythm bassist like I’m a rhythm guitarist and a bassist put together.”

Related: 38 Best Guitar Solos Of All Time: The Definitive Ranking

How Did Wolfgang Van Halen Become Famous?

Wolfgang Van Halen may have already been known by many thanks to his parental connections. Still, he earned international fame when he was named the new bassist for the famed rock band Van Halen in 2006, an announcement made by his father via an interview with Guitar World.

Why did Wolfgang replace Michael Anthony in Van Halen? The decision to bring Wolfgang into the band had many speculations over the years; however, Wolfgang Van Halen cleared up the rumors in a 2021 interview when he revealed that his dad’s struggles with sobriety were part of the reason he came on as the bassist for the reunion tour instead of the long-running Anthony.

“It’s not like my dad was like, ‘F*** you, get out of here (to Anthony),’” Wolfgang explained, noting that his father “wasn’t going through a good time.”

“I completely understand that he wouldn’t want to be around my dad when he was like that.”

wolfgang van halen playing guitar on stage with his dad
Image from Shutterstock.

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Career

Upon his rise to the bassist of Van Halen, Wolfgang Van Halen not only played on the reunion tour but also appeared on a father-son issue of Guitar World with his father in 2008 and played bass for the band’s studio album, A Different Kind of Truth, released on Feb. 7, 2012, and their live concert album Tokyo Dome Live in Concert in 2015.

In 2012, he also appeared on Halestorm’s album The Strange Case Of… for which he played on the bonus track, “Here’s to Us (Guest Version).”

Just a few months later, Wolfgang Van Halen was called upon to fill in for yet another band’s bassist when Mark Tremonti of the heavy metal band Tremonti announced he would join the group for their first tour instead of Brian Marshall.

Becoming an official member of Tremonti in 2013, Van Halen played bass for two of the band’s albums, Cauterize (2015) and Dust (2016).

Wolfgang Van Halen wasn’t just spending his years playing for various bands. In June 2019, Clint Lowery, guitarist of Sevendust, revealed in a Tweet that “[Wolfgang] will be playing drums, maybe some bass,” for his debut solo album. “I’ll do the rest. Just not good enough on the kit myself to pull it off in the studio.”

In 2021, Wolfgang Van Halen started taking his career into his own hands when he released his debut solo band’s self-titled album, Mammoth WVHThis led to a Mammoth WVH American tour alongside John Jourdan, Ronnie Ficarro, Frank Sidoris, and Garrett Whitlock.

The solo band of the same name features Van Halen providing every instrument performance and showing off his songwriting skills, having penned every song himself.  

“The name Mammoth is really special to me,” Wolfgang has said of the new project. “Not only was it the name of Van Halen before it became Van Halen, but my father was also the lead singer.

“Ever since my dad told me this, I always thought that when I grew up, I’d call my own band Mammoth because I loved the name so much,” he continued. “I’m so thankful that my father was able to listen to and enjoy the music I made. Nothing made me happier than seeing how proud he was that I was continuing the family legacy.”

He will follow the debut solo album up on Aug. 4, 2023, with the release of his upcoming second studio album, Mammoth II.

Related: The 16 Greatest Guitar Players of All-Time

When Was Wolfgang Van Halen Born?

Wolfgang William Van Halen’s birthdate is Mar. 16, 1991.

He was named after famed classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Zodiac sign is Pisces, which means he’s highly creative and imaginative. As a successful musician, that’s not a stretch for him.

How Tall is Wolfgang Van Halen?

Wolfgang Van Halen’s height is 5 feet, 10 inches.

How Much Does Wolfgang Van Halen Weigh?

He’s slightly heavier set. Wolfgang Van Halen’s weight is approximately 187 pounds.

Where Is Wolfgang Van Halen From?

Wolfgang Van Halen was born and raised in Santa Monica, California.

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Parents

Wolfgang Van Halen has been in the spotlight his entire life, as he is the only son of famed guitarist Eddie Van Halen and Golden-Globe-awarding-winning actress Valerie Bertinelli.

wolfgang van halen and his mom valerie bertinelli
Image from Shutterstock.

Related: Valerie Bertinelli’s Net Worth: Her Big Life as Van Halen’s Ex

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Ethnicity

Wolfgang may be an American Caucasian, but he also has some Italian and British roots thanks to his mother’s ancestry.

Who is Wolfgang Van Halen Dating?

Wolfgang Van Halen will soon be off-the-market officially. On Jul. 6, 2022, he announced his engagement to his long-time girlfriend, Andraia Allsop. The pair first started dating in December 2015. She is a software engineer.

Related: Best Rock Songs: The Ultimate Top 40

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Tattoos

Wolfgang Van Halen sports a couple of tattoos.  

He has a small tattoo of a “family crest” on his wrist, which matches his mother, Valerie Bertinelli, and an ink of the Mammoth WVH logo.

Along with a photo of the tattoo, he wrote, “I did a thing. Thanks so much to the legendary @TokyoHiro_SKUNX for the amazing work.”

Who is Wolfgang’s Favorite Guitarist?

You may be surprised. It’s not his father. No, Wolfgang Van Halen has named Aaron Marshall as his favorite guitar player.

“He manages to work in the catchiest melodies,” Wolfgang Van Halen said. “His melodic sensibility is one of my favorite things about his playing.”

He’s also listed Primus’ Less Claypool, Tool’s Justin Chancellor, and The Who’s John Entwistle as some of his other favorite bass guitarist inspirations. Cream’s Jack Bruce has also been named in past interviews “and all of the classic players.”

Related: Long Live The Who

wolfgang van halen with the other members of the van halen band
Image from Shutterstock.

Does Wolfgang Van Halen Drink or Smoke?

No. Wolfgang Van Halen has never smoked or drank.

This has led many to speculate that part of it is he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes his father did, which ultimately led to his parent’s divorce and his father’s death from oral cancer caused by his years of smoking.

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Awards and Recognition

In just a few short years of being in the limelight as a respected artist in his own right, Wolfgang Van Halen has received quite a few notable recognitions.

One of the biggest was when he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 2022 for his song “Distance.” Unfortunately, he lost to the Foo Fighters’ “Waiting on a War.”

When his father, Eddie Van Halen, was in the complicated stages of his cancer battle, Wolfgang wrote and played the song for him. “He cried when he first heard it. It was really a special moment that I’ll never forget,” Wolfgang said of the song.

Knowing the personal struggle it took to write the song and the moment it brought between father and son, we sure wish he would’ve won, but we know that memory will last him a lifetime.

“Distance,” along with “Don’t Back Down,” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart, making him the first to do so since Glorious Sons in 2019.   

You never know what’s coming, but we think this is only the start for Wolfgang Van Halen, and we can’t wait to hear more. 

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Written by Katie Peterson

Katie Peterson received her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth in 2015. She has worked in journalism since 2015, beginning as production assistant and eventual head staff writer of the Fort Leavenworth Lamp newspaper in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Currently, she is a multimedia journalist with the Diocese of Nashville's Office of Media and Evangelization where she writes, does photography, and edits for several types of content, including the Tennessee Register, Catholic Awakenings, and NashvilleCatholic.org. She has also worked as a freelance journalist with the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas's newspaper, The Leaven, since 2016.
In her spare time, Peterson enjoys reading, spending time with her pup, Sadie Lynn, singing and songwriting.

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