Led Zeppelin's $200,000 Robbery Remains Unsolved After 53 Years—Here's What Happened
Led Zeppelin's $200,000 Robbery Remains Unsolved After 53 Years—Here's What Happened
Grace ChavesWed, July 29, 2026 at 8:38 PM UTC
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It’s been 53 years since Led Zeppelin was robbed of $200,000, yet the story still sparks fascination in their fans — because over five decades later, the case still hasn’t been solved.
At the time, Led Zeppelin was on the second leg of their 1973 North American tour. They were promoting their latest album Houses of the Holy, featuring songs like “Over the Hills and Far Away” and “The Rain Song.” Just before taking the stage to perform at Madison Square Garden in New York, the band’s road manager Richard Cole realized that their safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel had been robbed.
Led Zeppelin's managers told detectives they kept cash on them because they had “a lot of expenses to pay,” their website states. Cole reported that the money was in the box when he opened it at around 1:20 a.m. on Sunday, but at 7:30 p.m., only passports remained in the deposit box. He said between $203,800 and $220,000 was missing.
Despite the robbery, guitarist Jimmy Page recalled that the band went on stage with passion.
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“I was informed as we were on the side stage just before going on to perform that there had been a robbery at the Drake Hotel where the safety deposit box had been relieved of cash the previous night,” Page said in an Instagram post. “Somehow all this manifested in even more passion in that night's performance.”
Although the case was never solved and the $200,000 never recovered, the band did make an estimated $4 million from their 1973 tour. Riding the wave of Houses of the Holy’s success, the band traveled in a private Boeing 720B jet airplane, sold out shows at Madison Square Garden, and broke attendance records in Atlanta, Tampa, and San Francisco.
Although Led Zeppelin broke up in 1980, the band recently found itself on Official Charts’ Rock and Metal Albums Chart. Breaking back in at No. 37 earlier this month, the band remains a fan-favorite today.
This story was originally published by Parade on Jul 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
