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Ace Frehley had an estimated net worth of approximately $1 million at the time of his death in October 2025 — a stark contrast to the hundreds of millions in revenue generated by KISS, the rock band he co-founded in 1973. Frehley, born Paul Daniel Frehley, created the iconic “Spaceman” persona that became one of the most recognizable images in rock history, yet decades of addiction, legal disputes, and financial mismanagement ultimately diminished the personal fortune he accumulated at the height of his career. He died on October 16, 2025, at age 74, from complications following a fall.
Updated March 2026: According to Forbes, Frehley died on October 16, 2025, at age 74, following a fall that resulted in a brain hemorrhage. In the days following his death, his music surged back onto charts — Forbes reported that his solo work, including “New York Groove,” re-entered the Top 10 rock charts as sales skyrocketed posthumously.
Paul Daniel Frehley was born on April 27, 1951, in the Bronx, New York City, the youngest of three children born to Carl Daniel Frehley, an engineer of Dutch and German descent, and Esther Anna Hecht, who had German and Cherokee heritage. The Frehley household was musical — Carl played the piano — and Paul took an interest in guitar from roughly age 13, teaching himself to play. He attended several schools in the Bronx, including DeWitt Clinton High School and Theodore Roosevelt High School, before attending Our Saviour Lutheran High School, from which he was reportedly expelled. He ultimately earned a high school diploma.
As a teenager in the Bronx, Frehley was involved in gang activity and had brushes with local trouble, though music increasingly became his focus. He adopted the nickname “Ace” — reportedly given to him by friends who found him unpredictable and unusual. By his late teens and early twenties, he was playing in local New York City bands and developing the technically proficient, blues-influenced hard rock guitar style that would define KISS.
In January 1973, Frehley responded to a Village Voice classified advertisement placed by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, who were assembling a new rock band. He was the fourth and final founding member to join, completing the lineup alongside Stanley, Simmons, and drummer Peter Criss. KISS performed their first concert on January 30, 1973, at the Coventry club in Queens, New York. The band signed with Casablanca Records the following year.
KISS released their self-titled debut album in 1974, and the band’s combination of elaborate costumes, pyrotechnic stage shows, and anthemic hard rock quickly built a devoted following. Frehley’s “Spaceman” persona — silver and black face paint with a star over one eye — became one of the most iconic images in rock. The band’s commercial peak came in the late 1970s, with albums including Destroyer (1976) and Alive! (1975), which helped establish their live reputation.
In 1978, all four KISS members released simultaneous solo albums. Frehley’s self-titled solo record went platinum, driven by his cover of Russ Ballard’s “New York Groove,” which reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 — his highest-charting single and a song that remained his signature solo track for the rest of his life. He left KISS in 1982 following mounting personal conflicts and substance abuse issues, and was replaced by Vinnie Vincent.
Frehley pursued a solo career throughout the 1980s, releasing albums with his band Frehley’s Comet starting in 1987. He rejoined KISS for the massively successful Reunion Tour in 1996, which ran through 2002 and generated an estimated $18–20 million for Frehley in tour revenue and merchandise, according to music industry reporting. According to Billboard, the reunion was one of the highest-grossing rock tours of the era. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of KISS in 2014. His final studio album, 10,000 Volts, was released in 2024. He had canceled a series of tour dates in September 2025 following a fall, and died the following month.
A tribute concert was held at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in December 2025, and members of his solo band announced an Australian tribute tour for September 2026, as reported by Blabbermouth.
At his peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Frehley commanded significant income from KISS reunion activities. Key income sources over his career included:
Frehley married Jeanette Trerotola in either 1976 or 1978 (sources vary on the exact year). The couple legally separated in 1985 but never formally divorced. They had one daughter together, Monique Frehley, born in 1980. Some reports reference a second daughter named Lindsay. Frehley resided in Morristown, New Jersey at the time of his death. He had lived in various properties in Connecticut and New York over the years, including a home that went into foreclosure during his financial difficulties.
He struggled with alcohol and cocaine addiction for much of his adult life, which he discussed candidly in interviews and in his memoir No Regrets (2011). He achieved sobriety in 2006 and remained sober until his death. He was an avid guitar collector and continued recording and performing into his mid-70s. His death on October 16, 2025, was confirmed by his family; he was 74 years old.
At the time of his death in October 2025, industry sources estimate Ace Frehley’s net worth at approximately $1 million — a figure that reflects decades of financial mismanagement, addiction-related losses, and legal expenses that eroded the substantial income he earned during the KISS reunion tours of the late 1990s and early 2000s. At his peak earning years, he generated an estimated $18–20 million from KISS reunion activities alone.
“New York Groove,” a cover of Russ Ballard’s 1975 song, was Ace Frehley’s biggest commercial solo success. Released on his 1978 platinum solo album, it reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained his signature track. Following his death in October 2025, the song re-entered the Top 10 rock charts as sales surged, per Forbes reporting from late October 2025.
Yes. Ace Frehley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a founding member of KISS, alongside Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss. The induction recognized the band’s foundational role in hard rock and glam metal, as well as their commercial and cultural impact from 1973 through the 1980s and beyond.