English record producer and trance DJ Paul Oakenfold has an estimated net worth of $58 million. Born Paul Mark Oakenfield on August 30, 1963 in London, England, he describes his early life as a bedroom deejay and said he grew up listening to The Beatles. At 21 years old, he and Ian Paul moved to 254 West 54th Street ran by Studio 54’s Steve Rubell. The two used faked passes to sneak into places in New York where they met Maze, Bobby Womack and Bob Marley whom they interviewed while they were claiming to be NME and Melody Maker journalists.
Paul Oakenfold’s musical career began in the late 1970s. He started playing soul in a Covent Garden wine bar where he met Trevor Fung. He also played Earth, Wind and Fire and other popular British bands in Rumours in London. He spent several months in New York City’s West Harlem in 1984 where hip-hop was the most popular sound in the area. He also began breaking into the mainstream while he was working as an A&R man for Champion Records. He signed DJ Dazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince as well as Salt-n-Pepa. He appeared on the Blue Peter BBC program for children with a breakdancing crew. He then became a promoter and British agent for the Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C. Healso appeared at The Project in Streatham playing soul and jazz music.
Oakenfold’s career as a music producer started in 1985. Since then, he has worked with many well-known British music groups and American rappers to produce a seemingly endless array of albums where many of them have been commercially successful. He remains active in the industry and is one of the busiest producers working today. He got his break doing major work in the film Swordfish (2001) where he also served as the film’s music supervisor.