Keith Richards is 81 years old in 2025, stands 5 feet 8.5 inches tall, weighs around 150 pounds, and boasts a net worth of $600 million. Happily married to supermodel Patti Hansen since 1983, he still earns an estimated $20–30 million salary every year from Rolling Stones tours and royalties. From wild 1960s dating stories to becoming rock’s ultimate survivor-granddad, here’s the full updated story of the man who refuses to fade away.
Early Years: The Dartford Boy Who Found Open-G Tuning
Born on December 18, 1943, in war-torn Dartford, England, Keith was the only child of Doris and Bert Richards. His grandfather Gus Dupree, a jazz sax player who once led a big band, put a guitar in tiny Keith’s hands when he was just four. That battered acoustic changed everything.
By age ten he was singing soprano in Westminster Abbey for the Queen. By fifteen he was expelled from technical school and carrying Chuck Berry records under his arm. A chance meeting with Mick Jagger on a train platform in 1960—both clutching rare blues albums—set the Rolling Stones in motion. The rest is six decades of noise, fame, and somehow still standing.
The Rolling Stones Empire & How He Still Earns Millions
From “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” in 1965 to the $500 million-grossing Hackney Diamonds Tour in 2024, Keith’s guitar riffs have banked the band over 250 million album sales worldwide.
In 2025 his annual income still hovers between $20 and $30 million—mostly royalties from the Jagger-Richards song catalog plus his cut of any new Stones activity. Whispers from the band’s camp say a follow-up to Hackney Diamonds is being recorded right now.
| Biography Quick Facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Keith Richards |
| Date of Birth | December 18, 1943 |
| Age in 2025 | 81 years old |
| Height | 5 ft 8½ in (174 cm) |
| Current Weight | ≈150 lbs (68 kg) |
| Net Worth 2025 | $600 million |
| Annual Salary/Income | $20–30 million |
| Spouse | Patti Hansen (married 1983–present) |
| Children | 5 (Marlon, Angela, Theodora, Alexandra + late son Tara) |
| Grandchildren | 7 |
| Main Residence | Connecticut, USA & Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos |
Love, Heartbreak & the Marriage That Saved Him
The 1960s and 1970s were pure rock-and-roll chaos. His eight-year relationship with actress Anita Pallenberg produced two children and endless headlines. Tragedy struck in 1976 when their infant son Tara died of SIDS—Keith has rarely spoken of the pain publicly.
Everything changed in 1979 when he met American model Patti Hansen at Studio 54. They married on his 40th birthday in 1983 in Cabo, Mexico, and have been together ever since—42 years and counting. Patti fought bladder cancer in 2007; Keith was by her side every day. Their daughters Theodora and Alexandra are now models and musicians themselves.
“Patti is my harbor in the storm. She’s the one who kept me alive.” – Keith Richards, 2023
Solo Adventures, Pirates, and a 3,000-Book Library
When the Stones slowed down, Keith didn’t. He released three acclaimed solo albums with the X-Pensive Winos, played Captain Teague (Jack Sparrow’s dad) in Pirates of the Caribbean, and wrote the million-selling autobiography Life in 2010.
Most people don’t know he owns one of the world’s great private libraries—over 3,000 rare books—catalogued like a university. He quit cigarettes in 2020 (“the last one was for the grandchildren”) and now starts the day with yoga and shepherd’s pie ingredients.
| Career Highlights | Year |
|---|---|
| First Stones single | 1963 |
| “Satisfaction” riff invented | 1965 |
| Talk Is Cheap (solo debut) | 1988 |
| Pirates of the Caribbean cameo | 2007 & 2011 |
| Quit smoking after 55 years | 2020 |
| Hackney Diamonds Tour gross | 2024 – $500 million |
| Connecticut Governor’s Award | March 2025 |
| New Stones album in progress | 2025 |
Health, Wealth & Why He’s Still the Coolest 81-Year-Old Alive
Five drug trials, a brain operation after falling out of a palm tree in Fiji, and decades of every excess known to man—yet here he is at 81, lean, sharp-eyed, and still grinning like a pirate who found the treasure map twice.
His current net worth sits at $600 million, built on songwriting royalties that will pay forever and a lifestyle that finally slowed down just enough. He cooks a mean shepherd’s pie, plays with his seven grandkids, and still picks up a Telecaster every single day.
In March 2025 he’ll accept the first-ever Connecticut Governor’s Award of Excellence. When asked how he’s lasted this long, he just laughs: “I was born to have adventures—and I’m not finished yet.”
For the full detailed timeline, see his Wikipedia page.
