What Is Children's Musician and Global Child Rights Advocate Raffi's Net Worth?

Raffi's Net Worth

Singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur and activist Raffi has an estimated net worth of $10 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. Raffi is considered the most popular children's singer in the Western world and some of his most popular songs are "Bananaphone," "Baby Beluga," "Down by the Bay," and "All I Need." He is also a global advocate for children's rights and the founder of the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring.

Sources of Income

Career in Music

Raffi started his career by playing folk guitar in coffee houses in Toronto and Montréal. In 1972, he hitchhiked to Vancouver to find fame but did not find much success. He returned to Toronto and found success singing at a public school. He went on to establish his music label Troubadour Music, through which he released his first album of children's music, "Good Luck Boy," in 1975. In 1976, he released "Singable Songs for the Very Young," which included hit songs like "Down by the Bay," "Robin in the Rain," and "The Sharing Song."

Further in 1977, he released two albums, one for kids, "More Singable Songs," and one for adults, "Adult Entertainment." In 1980, Raffi released one of his most popular albums "Baby Beluga," featuring the popular title song.

Other songs on the album included “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" and "All I Need." He then went on to release several more albums including "Rise and Shine," "Raffi's Christmas Album," "One Light, One Sun," and "Everything Grows." These albums produced hits like "The Wheels on the Bus," "De Colores," "Just Like the Sun," and "Let's Make Some Noise."

In his career, he released over a dozen albums and sold over 12 million copies in North America alone. He also released some non-album singles, like the "Wave of Democracy," written in support of US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Most recently, Raffi along with Lindsay Munroe, released the album "Nursery Rhymes for Kinder Times," in 2022.

Career as an Author

Raffi has written several children's books, mostly based on his songs, like "Shake My Sillies Out," "One Light, One Sun," "Baby Beluga," and "Down by the Bay." For adults, Raffi published his autobiography "The Life of a Children's Troubadour," in 2000. He also wrote the book "Lightweb Darkweb: Three Reasons to Reform Social Media Before it Re-forms Us," published in 2013.

Real Estate Assets

Raffi settled on Salt Spring Island decades ago. That is when he had the idea of creating a child honoring centre. His home is located on a serene island which is the largest of the Gulf Islands off the Vancouver, B.C. coast.

Social Media Following

Personal Life

Raffi married Deborah Pike in 1973. It was Pike’s mother who invited Raffi to sing at a nursery school which started his career in children’s music. The two got divorced years later and they don’t have any children.

"Child Honouring"

Raffi established the concept of "Child Honouring", described on the website as "a unique social change revolution, one with the child at its heart. It is a positive vision that holds 'the primacy of early years” as key to activating the powerful potential of our species'. He co-edited an anthology "Child Honouring: How to Turn This World Around," which outlines this philosophy. The book features a foreword by the Dalai Lama, and chapters from David Korten, Mary Gordon, and Barbara Kingsolver.

He also established the ‘Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring’, which advocates for children's rights. In 2012, Raffi and the foundation partnered with Sandy Garossino and Mark Busse to found the Red Hood Project, which seeks to protect children from the harmful influence of the Internet.

Awards

1990 Juno Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award

1995 Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year For “Bananaphone”

1990 Gemini Award for Best Children's Program or Series

FAQs

How old is Raffi?

Raffi is 75 years old.

Does Raffi have any kids?

Raffi never had children.

What does Raffi do now?

Raffi is the president of Troubadour Music Inc. and the founder of the Raffi Foundation For Child Honouring.

How many languages does Raffi speak?

Raffi speaks English, French, Arabic, Turkish, and Armenian.