Frank Shepard Fairey was born on 15 February 1970, in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. He is a street artist, illustrator, graphic designer, and activist who first came to prominence for his “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” sticker campaign.
So how rich is Shepard Fairey? He has an estimated net worth of $15 million, which he has amassed from his sticker and poster designs.
Shepard Fairey Net Worth $15 Million
Fairey is the son of Strait, a doctor, and Charlotte, a realtor. He went to Wando High School, which at the time started taking an interest in street art. He then attended Idyllwild Arts Academy in California and eventually the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where Fairey came up with “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” sticker campaign, in which he drew wrestler and actor Andre the Giant along with titled text. He later modified the message to “OBEY”, which was intended to make people question their surroundings. The “OBEY” campaign gained attention and was displayed on various campuses in the US. Shepard then graduated with a degree in Fine Arts in 1992., and started a printing business named Alternate Graphics which sold t-shirt and sticker art using silkscreens. He was also a co-founder of design studio BLK/MRKT Inc., which listed Pepsi, Hasbro and Netscape among their clients from 1997-2003. In 2003, he and his wife built the Studio Number One design agency, which was responsible for the album artwork of Black Eyed Pea’s Monkey Business as well as the movie poster for “Walk the Line”. His net worth was growing steadily.
In 2008, Fairey designed a series of posters in support of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, which consisted of a stylized picture of the then-senator with words such as “PROGRESS,” “VOTE,” “CHANGE” and “VOTE” at the bottom. He then released a new version with the word “Hope”, which became Fairey’s most iconic poster. The Obama campaign used this poster along with the two variants “CHANGE” and “VOTE”. Fairey received a letter from Obama himself to thank him for his support and contribution to the campaign. He also created a similar image of Obama which became a cover for Time magazine’s 2008 Person of the Year. His net worth was still growing.
The success of his “HOPE” poster also brought forth several lawsuits from of the Associated Press. Fairey was charged with using a copyrighted photo of Obama taken by Garcia without a license. Although his legal team built him a good defense, he destroyed evidence on his computer leading his team to cease from representing him. He took the blame for destroying the evidence and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service, two years of probation and a fine of $25,000.
Since then, he has been involved in several political and humanitarian organizations such as RUSH Philanthropic Arts Foundation, David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace (DLF), and LA Fund for Education to name a few. He has been helping raise funds for these organizations through his artwork. He is currently enjoying a successful career in graphic design, and is also known to DJ in many clubs in LA.
In his personal life, Fairey is married to Amanda and has two daughters. They are currently living in Los Feliz, Los Angeles.
