Reflecting on the death of folk music’s “leftist icon” Pete Seeger, Stephen Mihm, an associate professor of history in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, wrote about the songwriter’s uncomfortable relationship with his wealth in an article for Bloomberg News.
“With his tattered work shirts and his left-wing politics, Seeger looked the part of a man of the people, a card-carrying member of the 99 percent,” Mihm wrote.
Yet Seeger’s musical success inevitably led to him making millions. Mihm chronicled how Seeger was generous with his wealth, but he still was estimated to be worth $4.2 million—“putting him just a couple million shy” of being a member of the so called “1 percent” of the wealthiest Americans.
