Bottom line: James Hetfield was born in Downey, California, in 1963. He is the co-founder of Metallica, and as such, he is the second wealthiest member. He, too, makes most of his money from touring and recording.
Hetfield lives in Vail, Colorado — in 2017, he purchased an 11,509-square-foot home for $23 million. He also owns property in Maui, Hawaii, and he donated property in Marin County, California, that he once lived on. The story goes that he wanted to develop the Marin County property located near Skywalker Ranch, but neighbors objected. He abandoned the project in 2011 and pulled up stakes in California for Colorado. He and his wife, Francesca, later donated 1,100 of their 1,500 acres to the Marin Agricultural Land Trust.
In 2021, he sold deal 20 acres of land in Pima County, Arizona, to the Rosemont Copper Company in a straight-cash deal for $1.2 million.
Hetfield also has a massive car collection that consists of 11 custom vehicles, including a 1932 Ford Roadster, a 1934 Packard, a 1948 Jaguar “Black Pearl,” the 1961 Lincoln Continental “Dead Kennedy” and a 1967 Chevy Camaro, among others. The collection is on display at LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, until 2023.
