Bill Walker is an American politician who currently serves as Alaska’s 11th Governor. He won the November 4, 2014, gubernatorial elections on an Independent ticket. He ran on the ‘Alaska First Unity Ticket’ with Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Byron Mallot. Walker had to renounce his long-held Republican Party membership in order to run on the consolidated ticket. He had previously run for Governor on a Republican ticket but was defeated in the party’s primary by incumbent Governor Sean Parnell. He ran as an independent to avoid another difficult primary against Parnell and won in a state that had previously preferred either a Republican or a Democrat as Governor. He opposes the ‘Pebble Mine’ and acknowledges that climate change has occurred as a result of the government’s energy policies. He supports policies that would help mitigate the harmful effects of climate change but also supports expanding gas and oil production capacities. He also supports new petroleum drilling projects in the area known as the ‘Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.’ He is a supporter of gun rights and believes Alaska should have a greater degree of sovereignty. He backed the Medicaid expansion made possible by the ‘Affordable Care Act.’
Adolescence & Childhood
Mike Shinoda was born in Los Angeles to a father who was Japanese and a mother who was European. He grew up in Los Angeles’s suburban neighborhood of Agoura Hills.
His mother desired that he learn classical music, and thus enrolled him in professional piano lessons at the age of six. He desired to play jazz, blues, and hip-hop by the time he reached the age of adolescence.
Along with his future Linkin Park bandmates Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon, he attended Agoura High School. Shinoda attended Art Center College of Design after graduating from high school in order to study graphic design and illustration.
Shinoda obtained employment as a graphic designer following graduation and continued to work on his band, ‘Xero.’ Due to the band’s lack of a singer, Jeff Blue was summoned from Arizona, and the band was renamed ‘Linkin Park’.
Career of Bill
With the release of the band’s debut album, ‘Hybrid Theory,’ in 2000, Shinoda became involved in the technical aspects of the band and the early albums. Only in the United States, the album sold over ten million copies.
Shinoda directed, structured, and oversaw the entire creative process for Linkin Park’s first remix album, ‘Reanimation,’ released in 2002. The album aided in the exposure of a number of underground hip hop artists featured on it.
With the band’s second album, ‘Meteora,’ in 2003, Shinoda continued to develop as a musician and studio engineer. Additionally, he collaborated on the artwork for the album with graffiti artist DELTA, graphic designer Frank Maddocks, and Joe Hahn.
Linkin Park released ‘Collision Course’, a mash-up of their songs with Jay-Z, in 2004. Shinoda produced and mixed the album, which was nominated for a Grammy for ‘best rap/song collaboration’.
Shinoda’s first public art exhibition, ‘Diamonds Spades Hearts & Clubs,’ showcased his artistic and graphic abilities in 2004. It featured a ten-piece painting series that became the artwork for ‘The Rising Tied.’
While collaborating with Linkin Park, he formed the hip-hop side project ‘Fort Minor’ and released the album ‘The Rising Tied’ in 2005. Its chart-topping single ‘Where’d You Go’ reached No. 4 on the Hot 100.
He provided vocals for tracks such as ‘Bleed It Out’, ‘Hands Held High’, and ‘In between’ on Linkin Park’s ‘Minutes to Midnight (2007)’. He was ranked 72nd on ‘Hit Parader’s’ All-Time Top 100 Metal Vocalists list.
Shinoda’s subsequent public art exhibition, ‘Glorious Excess (BORN),’ opened in 2009 at Los Angeles’ Japanese American National Museum. The exhibition featured nine new works of art and an exclusive opening night signing.
Shinoda’s most recent work includes the production of Likin Parks’ latest albums, ‘A Thousand Suns (2010)’—which he co-produced with Rick Rubin—’Living Things (2012)’ and ‘Recharged (2013)’—which includes a remix of ‘Living Things’ and the single ‘A Light That Never Comes (2014)’.
Works of Significant Value
Shinoda is a multifaceted artist known for his work as the rapper, guitarist, keyboardist, and producer for the American rock band Linkin Park. In 2007, he established himself as a vocalist with his vocals on ‘Minutes to Midnight.’
Distinctions & Honors
Apart from winning two Grammys for Linkin Park’s ‘Crawling’ and ‘Numb/Encore’ singles, Shinoda received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from Art Center College Of Design and the EWP Visionary Award in 2010.
Personal History and Endowment
In March 2003, Shinoda married Anna Hillinger. The couple has two children together, with Otis Akio Shinoda as the eldest.
Estimated Net Worth
Bill is one of the wealthiest basketball players and is ranked among the most popular. Bill Walker’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $59.3 million, based on our analysis of Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.
Trivia
Shinoda began writing for ‘The Big Issues’ in 2012 as a correspondent for the 2012 US presidential election.
In 2006, he received the Award of Excellence from the Japanese American National Museum.
Shinoda and Brad Delson reworked The Beatles’ ‘Numb/Encore’ and ‘Yesterday’ into a mash-up track that was performed live at the 2006 Grammy Awards by Jay-Z, Linkin Park, and Paul McCartney.
In 2006, his hip-hop project ‘Fort Minor’ won an MTV Video Music Award for ‘Best Ringtone’ and was featured in the films and television shows ‘Entourage’, ‘Boston Legal’, ‘Gridiron Gang’, ‘Freedom Writers’, ‘Friday Night Lights (TV)’, ‘The Karate Kid’, and ‘Numbers’.
His spouse is a children’s book author. He resides in the Beverly Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.