Bruno Mars is a singer and performer with an estimated net worth of $70 million. Born October 8, 1985 in Honolulu, Hawaii to parents Peter Hernandez and Bernadette San Pedro Bayot, his given name is Peter Gene Hernandez, but he developed the nickname Bruno when he was only a toddler. One of six kids, his parents were both heavily into music. His father played percussion and his mother was a hula dancer. Beginning at age three, Mars began to perform on stage, singing and using his musical talents in local shows and stage performances where his parents and his uncle, an Elvis impersonator, would be. He became a very successful young Elvis impersonator, and by the time he was only five he was performing in Hawaii five days a week and was even in “Honeymoon in Vegas” thanks to his skills.
Throughout the rest of his childhood, Bruno Mars continued to play music with his friends in bands and with his family. By the time he graduated from high school, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of being a musician. He decided that he did not like his given name, so he used his nickname and the fact that many people called him out of this world as a reference to Mars; and that’s how he developed his stage name. In 2004, Mars signed a deal with Motown Records that went nowhere. However, he met and collaborated with another artist signed to the label, Philip Lawrence. The two wrote songs together, selling them when they could so that they could make ends meet and continue to write. Their first song sold for $20,000 to Menudo.
Before he was signed with Atlantic Records in 2009, Bruno Mars was credited with writing and producing songs for famous singers such as Adam Levine, Travie McCoy and even Flo Rida and Sean Kingston. He was making a decent living doing this, but he still wanted to sing. He was featured in songs such as B.o.B’s “Nothin’ on You,” as well as the hit song “Billionaire,” but the famous Travie McCoy. Bruno Mars finally received his big break when he released the hit single, “Just the Way You Are,” in 2010, and the song spent 20 weeks at the top of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
Only a few months after his song went number one, he received his first Grammy and six nominations at the awards. It was then that his career really took off. By the time 2014 rolled around, Bruno Mars was listed as the 12th richest musician of the year with more than $18 million in earnings, as well as Artist of the Year and he was ranked the number one on Forbes list of 30 under 30. Only a year later, he was earning more than $60 million and had already been the featured performance for the SuperBowl Halftime Show. It was a big year for Bruno Mars, and he continues to see success with his very laid-back disco sound.
Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel
