David Gilmour has been on the world stage since he joined Pink Floyd in 1968, just a few months after they released “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” and made the charts. In ’85, he took over leadership of the band after Roger Waters departed. It’s in no small part to him that as of 2012, Pink Floyd was one of the best-selling bands of all time, with over 250 million sales worldwide. The music world recognized that, inducting him into the U.S. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, the U.K. Music Hall of Fame in 2005, and a CBE in 2003.
Gilmour’s net worth is estimated between 115 and 180 million pounds, and he has poured much of that into various charities over the years, going so far as to sell his own home to English nobility and donate every cent of the proceeds, over 3.6 million pounds, to Crisis, a U.K. charity which supports the homeless with housing, employment, and health care.
In 2019, Gilmour found himself touched by the vehement activism of Greta Thunberg, the young voice for the environment whose message swept the world. And he put his life on the stage to the service of that message, auctioning off several of his most famous guitars for charity.
“The global climate crisis is the greatest challenge that humanity will ever face,” tweeted Gilmour. “We need a civilized world that goes on for all our grandchildren and beyond in which these guitars can be played and songs can be sung.”
He donated the black Fender Stratocaster which he plays in “Dark Side of the Moon,” Pink Floyd’s most legendary album, as well as “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” and also a 12-string Martin he played in “Wish You Were Here.” The black strat sold for nearly $4 million, making it the most expensive guitar ever sold. These two, along with three others he sold, raised $21.5 million, all of which he donated to ClientEarth, an international environmentalist charity which uses its funds to ensure companies are held accountable for their pollution footprint.
Source: Mother Jones
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