Sir Rod Stewart Pays For Strangers’ Medical Scans And Shakes Cheapskate Label

Mar 01, 2023 by apost team

Rod Stewart has left an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of millions of people worldwide and continues to make an impact in the lives of many up until today through his music. But outside his career as an artist, Stewart is known for being a great family man. Having been given the gift of becoming a grandfather for the first time in 2011 when his daughter Kimberly Stewart gave birth to her own daughter, Delilah, the father-of-eight will soon welcome the newest addition to their family.

Stewart is among the best-selling music artists of all time. He started his career in 1962, joining Jimmy Powell and The Five Dimensions as the band's harmonica player and vocalist. He is most known for his hits like “Sailing,” “Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” and “You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim),” among many other chart-toppers that eventually became classic hits.

Stewart is a recipient of a Grammy Award, a BRIT Award and an Ivor Novello Award. In 1994, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005, was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and was awarded a CBE in the 2007 New Year Honours. Eventually, he was appointed Knight Bachelor during the 2016 Birthday Honours. For all his achievements over his six-decade career, Stewart’s worth now stands at $300 million.

But despite his fortune, Stewart has been described as a cheapskate and a stingy person by many people, including his ex-girlfriend. But because of a shocking deed the singer made in February 2023, many seem to believe that he is turning into a generous person. 

Read on to learn more about Stewart’s surprising generosity.

Born in January 1945, Stewart was raised in a family that was neither poor nor affluent, but he has said his childhood was “fantastically happy.” When his career catapulted to greater heights because of his incredible talent, Stewart valued the fortune and wealth he got when he started earning. 

He inherited his eventual frugal lifestyle from his father, whom he discussed with Esquire. 

“My father, being a Scotsman, taught me to look after finances. I’m shrewd. Some people may call me tight. My old pal Ronnie Wood loves making jokes about it. ‘Tight as two coats of paint,’ he calls me. Tight as two coats of paint,’” he told the magazine. 

His ex-girlfriend in the '70s, Britt Ekland, also confessed to Express UK how penny-pinching Stewart was before they started living together.

“I had to pay $100 a month. I would watch him buy clothes from Yves St Laurent but nothing for me. He did used to like to wear my underwear though,” she revealed. “He would wear these baggy satin trousers and needed little satin pants. Rod would wear my knickers. He liked them.”

Talking to The Sunday Post in 2018, the now 78-year-old singer expressed his annoyance at his children who had been wasteful of food. 

“Kids! Two mouthfuls off the top. Then they just leave them all over. So what I do is I pour them all into one big bottle, then I refill them and screw the tops back on. They never know,” he confessed. 

But for Stewart, even though he is said to be “tight as two coats of paint,” he said that he was trying to prove a point – that one could not just waste things. 

“Obviously, when you’ve got a lot of money, it changes you,” he told The Los Angeles Times. 

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True enough, being someone with wealth gives you the capacity to give back to people. And while many branded Stewart as a cheapskate, it seems like giving back to his country is something he became fond of after the pandemic. 

According to Sky News, Stewart called in January 2023 offering to donate money or pay for medical scans after he heard stories about people's treatment woes from the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. 

"There are people dying because they cannot get scans," Stewart told the outlet. "I don't need the publicity, I just want to do some good things, and this, I think is a good thing. If other people follow me I would love that."

On Feb. 24, 2023, Stewart visited the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, the hospital to which he had offered to pay for scans, to prove that he is not just “all mouth and trousers,” meaning he could also walk the talk. 

During his visit, Stewart was candid about his decision to help local healthcare, even suggesting that if it went well, he may have to continue doing it in Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester until someone follows suit and does the same thing he did, The Daily Mail reported. 

“There must be enough money in the coffers to pay up for these nurses — only two years ago we were clapping and now,” he said. “Bless them, they work so hard, salt of the earth.” 

In 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Stewart gifted a nursing student $6000 after spending 22 days on a ventilator.

During his 2023 hospital visit to the Essex hospital, Stewart also alluded to giving private jets to Ukraine in support of ending their ongoing conflict with Russia. 

What do you think of Rod Stewart's change of heart in spending money? Are you also thrifty like him, or are you more relaxed about spending money? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends and other Rod Stewart fans!