Inside a century-old church in Pasadena, California, Blake Shelton sits alone on a faded wooden pew, praying. Smoke and lights are pumped into the darkened sanctuary as a camera circles, filming the video for his latest single, “Let Him In Anyway.” It’s a ballad about a recently deceased best friend whose eternal salvation is in doubt, but the director has an idea to inject some optimism into the song that is not suggested by the lyrics. He instructs two crew members to open the church doors as the song concludes, letting in streams of California sunshine that hint at an answered prayer.
“I try to make all my decisions by listening to what everyone else has to say,” Shelton tells Forbes. “We’ll go edit it—and if it works it works, and if it doesn’t, nobody besides you ever knows it happened.”
The 49-year-old country music superstar describes all his ventures with similar aw-shucks humility. But those he works closest with say not to underestimate the business savvy of a man who has recorded 31 No. 1 country radio hits, opened a national chain of restaurants, launched a Hollywood production company and amassed a personal fortune that Forbes estimates at more than $200 million.
“Even though he plays this folksy good ol’ boy, he’s a smart dude. I have a lot of respect for his intuition,” says Colin Reed, Shelton’s longtime friend and executive chairman of Nashville, Tennessee–based Ryman Hospitality Properties. “I think he really enjoys this persona he’s built over the years, and it’s natural—but I think he thinks about it a lot.”
In many ways, Shelton’s career has been defined by the tug-of-war between show business and the life of hunting, fishing and farming he prefers in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, where he lives on a sprawling ranch with his wife, pop star Gwen Stefani. “I don’t even care if I miss an opportunity by not responding to a text or a phone call,” he says of his time there. “It’s really the only way I can maintain some sanity.”
Balancing his personal and professional lives was much easier before 2011, when Shelton was chosen as one of the coaches for a new singing competition show, The Voice, NBC’s attempt to unseat Fox’s ratings juggernaut American Idol. The Voice quickly became the top-rated show in primetime, and Shelton was its breakout star, with fans falling for his quick wit and odd-couple chemistry with the other coaches, particularly Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine.
As different artists shuffled in and out of the four coaches’ chairs, Shelton was the anchor for The Voice’s first 23 seasons, churning them out at a pace of two per year between 2012 and 2023 and by the end earning an estimated $26 million annually from the show. It coincided with the most prolific stretch of his recording career as well, as he released 20 No. 1 songs over those 11 years, including the multiplatinum hits “God Gave Me You,” “Boys ’Round Here” and “God’s Country.” In 2021, Shelton sold his stake in those master recordings to BlackRock-backed catalog investor Influence Media Partners for an estimated $50 million.
Around that time, Shelton received a text from his business managers. Early in his career he’d asked them to inform him when he’d made enough money to to sustain his lifestyle without working, and one day they sent him a message—adorned with fireworks animations—telling him he was set. Ever since, he says the less time he has to spend thinking about money, the better.
“If you start talking to me about [financial] stuff in a meeting, I start hearing birds chirping in the background. It’s not that I don’t care,” he says, pausing. “Maybe it is that I don’t care, actually. I’ve learned over the years to stay in my lane.”
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